Peter and the Star Catchers

Recommended grades 4-6.  Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson attempt to answer the question, "How did Peter meet Captain Hook?"  in their prequel to J.M. Barrie's timeless tale of the boy who would never grow up, Peter and the Starcatchers (Hyperion, 2004).  In the first book of what is now a series, readers find Peter aboard a ship called the Neverland with fellow orphans, headed to be dropped in the hands of a loathsome Caribbean king.  On the way, Peter comes in contact with inexplicable magic that will change his fate forever.

Barry and Pearson craft a fun and fast-paced narrative, sure to keep readers entertained.  Published under Disney's publishing arm, the book has been optioned for a series sure to entertain fans of Pirates of the Caribbean and the many adaptations of Barrie's original work.  The authors provide convincing backstories while still allowing for the magic created by Barrie.  And for that, this Peter Pan fan is grateful.

Highly recommended, ****

The Future of Us

Recommended grades 7-10.  Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler bring forward a fascinating question; if you were able to see our future Facebook posts in 1995, what would you think of the life you lead today?  This is exactly what happens to Josh and Emma, high school Sophomores who unwittingly download a free AOL sample and gain access to their Facebook pages in 2010.  The 1995 world they create will make older reader smile, and will make all readers think about how we use social networking technology.  The narrative, which switches perspectives between the two characters, is fast-paced and engaging.  This book is a wonderful thought experiment, and a great coming-of-age story.  Highly recommended, ****.

ALSC

Professional Blog.  The Association for Library Service to Children, or ALSC, blog offers great resources for information professionals working with children.  Whether at a school library, public library, or something else altogether, ALSC bloggers share great, concrete strategies and ideas for planning and carrying out programs.  Chock full of full program plans, book recommendations, and personal experiences of librarians "on the ground," ALSC is a great place to browse when looking for new ideas.  The blog is relatively easy to navigate; tags show topics as well as blog authors, and readers can peruse full articles without having to click on to separate pages.  Authors post pictures with program plans so that readers can get a better idea of program outcomes.  The ALSC blog also offers posts for librarians who want to stretch themselves professionally; a recent post was dedicated to learning about students with disabilities.  It not only featured the authors personal experiences, but also children's books that address different disabilities.  The ALSC blog is an excellent resource for those who want to stay connected with the professional organization and grow as professionals in between conference.  Highly recommended, ****.

Ticket to Ride

Recommended grades 6 and up.  Ticket to Ride is a German-style board game that allows players to earn points by building train-routes across the country.  Players need to strategize by building routes before their opponents can.  Ticket to Ride can be adapted to the middle school level because the rules are simple, and unlike other strategy games like Risk, a single game can be played relatively quickly.  As users' skills increase, the game becomes more challenging.  Playing this game can build geography skills as well as critical thinking.  The original game board is a map of the United States, though other versions are available, including Europe, Germany, and Asia.  The game does include lots of little pieces which can be easily lost.  Highly recommended, ****

Brainpop

Recommended grades K-12.  Brainpop contains educational videos on a wide variety of topics featuring two lovable characters, Tim & Moby.  Tim is your average knowledgeable guy and Moby is his curious and mischievous, fact-loving robot.  Together they explore the major academic content areas, from history to math to science.  Tim & Moby make complex topics seem shockingly simple, and their videos will be great introductions to students that are new to topics. Videos come with interactive quizzes and worksheets to complete while watching the videos.  Brainpop Jr. leaves Tim behind for Annie, a younger guide with videos meant for a K-3 audience.  Brainpop comes with a hefty price tag, but could be useful in a variety of settings, from independent research, to whole class lessons.  Information in the videos is high quality and very engaging, even to the most reluctant learners.  Brainpop does provide rotating material for free.  Recommended, ****

Hippo Hurray!

Recommended birth to age 4.  Sandra Boynton's hilarious counting hippos book has been made into a board book surely to be enjoyed by a new generation of readers.  This new edition brings Boynton's fun, costumed, rolly-polly hippos along, against boldly colored backdrops.  One hippo all alone is quickly joined by an increasing number of hippo pals (and a monster!).  Once the party goes berserk, the hippos are forced to counting down again to one.  The new edition in sturdy cardboard will be able to withstand many hippo parties, or silly bedtimes, and will be ready to pass on to the next generation.  Highly recommended, ****.

YALSA Blog

Professional Blog.  The official blog of the Young Adult Library Services Association, YALSA provides quick tips and up-to-date news on techniques for reaching out and connecting with teen patrons.  The site lists over fifty authors from libraries all over the country, many of whom provide examples of what they are doing in their own libraries.  Authors clearly see new media as a way to reach out to adolescent users; to YALSA, it is not enough to build a teen room in your library and leave them to their own devices; young patrons need programs that will engage and stimulate them, and YALSA will connect librarians to many new ideas.  Navigation of the blog is simple, with tags to direct readers to specific topics like podcasts or social media.  Longer entries can be expanded to a full page, but readers have to navigate away from the main blog to do so.  YALSA is a great place to get new ideas, whether you are comfortable with new technologies or not, there is something to be learned from these passionate youth librarians.  Recommended, ****

Demigods Ride Again

Recommended grades 6-8.  Rick Riordan revives Camp Half-Blood, the boot camp for the mortal children of Greek gods featured in the best-selling Percy Jackson Series.  In The Lost Hero (Hyperion, 2010), Riordan introduces us to three new heroes destined to save the gods, and all of humanity.  Lovers of Percy Jackson will equally enjoy this new adventure, even though their favorite hero is missing for the adventure-packed 500+ pages.  Rick Riordan has a talent for bringing ancient myths to life- this time he introduces Medea, King Minos, and many other classic Greek characters.  Riordan stays true to the mythic characters, while having fun with his young demigods.  Highly recommended, ****.

Russian Vampires

Recommended grades 7-12.  Duchess Katerina of Oldenburg has a lot on her plate.  She wants nothing more than to become a doctor, but in the high society of Tsarist Russia, she is expected to marry a prince. Her prince turns out to be anything but charming, as he comes from an evil family of sorcery and blood-drinking.  Author Robin Bridges recreates an imperial magic filled with magic; good and evil.  Katerina must choose a side to protect everything she cares about.  The Gathering Storm (Delacorte, 2012) is Twilight meets Anna Karenina.  Fans of Twilight will definitely want to check this out, but Twilight nay-sayers should check it out too.  Bridges carefully researched Russia and writes artfully.  The characters are true flesh and blood (no pun intended!).  Highly recommended, ****

Guys Lit Wire

Review Blog.  Guys Lit Wire pulls together books for boys, a notoriously hard group to find material for.  In near-daily posts, the group of bloggers behind Guys Lit Wire review books that will get guys excited about reading.  Most of the books reviewed are targeted at a middle school to high school range, though a few lower level books slip in here and there.  Most reviews are long and include passages, critiques, and the personal reflections of the bloggers.  Many of the writers include a short excerpt on the main page with a link for more material, so that readers can decide if they want to go through the full review or not.  The bloggers employ a system of tagging, though navigation is not always clear to the reader, with categories including, "Flying Cars and Lost Cities," and "So You Want to Rule the World."  Guys Lit Wire reviews a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction, contemporary and classic.  They push the edges of what boys would be interested in; they don't settle for flashy action books, but encourage the adults who influence boy readers to get into the classics too.  Definitely recommended for book lovers who work with teenage boys.  Recommended, ****

Whole Story of Half a Girl

Recommended grades 5-7.  Sonia Nadhamuni is a girl of the 21st century-- half Indian, half Jewish, and completely conflicted.  The Whole Story of Half a Girl (Delacourt Books, 2012) is an excellent updated companion to Judy Bloom's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.  Like Margaret, Sonia inhabits the grey area between her parents' cultures.  When her father loses his job, Sonia must leave the comfort of her progressive private school to face public school.  There she is forced to choose a racial identify-- should she join the perky blond cheerleaders or align herself with the African-American students bussed from other neighborhoods?  Sonia is neither blond nor black, and is frustrated at having to identify as Jewish because her family is not religion.  Sonia faces the question that many young people face today-- with an over abundance of cultures, how can you pick and choose which to identify with?  Author Veera Hiranandani gives Sonia an eloquent and empathetic voice, and addresses sensitive issues with grace.  In addition to race and religion, Sonia reckons with her father's chronic depression, which tears him away from the family.  Overall an excellent, entertaining, intellectually stimulating YA novel that would complement any library collection. Highly recommended, ****.

Reading Raps

Professional Programming.  Rita Soltan explores a variety of family book club structures in Reading Raps: A Book Club Guide for Librarians, Kids, and Families (Libraries Unlimited, 2006).  Soltan describes four unique book club styles for young readers and their families; whole family book clubs, mother-daughter books clubs, father-son book clubs and 'Reading Raps, book clubs for young readers to participate in without their families.  For each type of club, Soltan recommends 25 appropriate books, including summaries, notes on theme, discussion questions, and a quick list of other books that share the theme.  Soltan emphasizes books that do not have alternate media tie-ins (i.e. movies or TV shows).  Soltan does not shy away from controversial books, on the contrary, she explains how family book clubs can be an excellent way for families to openly discuss tough subject.  This guide is an excellent source for books selection, however it is not enough to carry book club leaders through the whole discussion.  Highly recommended for public librarians who are interested in engaging families in new and interesting ways; especially those who want to create more family programming for readers in upper elementary and middle school for whom story time is not quite cutting it.  Recommended, ****

It Gets Better

Grades 7-12.  When advice columnist Dan Savage and husband Terry Miller decided to share their story of coming out and overcoming bullying on YouTube they expected some response.  Dan Savage hoped that maybe 100 videos would be made to encourage LGBT youth to remain strong in their identity.  Instead more than 22,000 responses have been shared, including personal stories from notable American figures, including Ellen Degeneres, Tim Gunn, Perez Hilton, and David Sedaris, as well as words of encouragement from President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and many more.  In response to the overwhelming impact of the YouTube phenomenon, Savage and Miller have edited a print version of the project, given the same name.  It Gets Better (Dutton, 2011) includes more than 100 essays, some of which were transcribed from the original videos, on the subject of coming out, surviving adolescence, and living rich and full lives out of the closet.  Not only will this book appeal to those dealing with issues of sexuality and bullying, but it will also appeal to those who wish to serve as allies.  It also could appeal to those readers who enjoy the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series; the stories shared in It Gets Better are at once deeply personal, devastating, as well as touching and at times hysterical.    The book also includes curriculum guides for teachers, as well as information on other LGBT support projects, including the Trevor Project, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education network) and the ACLU LGBT Project.  One excellent feature of the book is found on the back cover; cut-out reference guides for young people who are ready to come out as well as resources for their parents.  This book is essential to those libraries that support a diverse population.  Highly recommended, ****

Adventures in Cartooning

Recommended grades 3-5.  Comic artists James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost break down the art of comic-making in Adventures in Cartooning (First Second, 2009).  Sturm and company instruct on the form through the Magic Cartooning Elf, who accompanies a knight on a comic adventure to defeat a dragon.  Throughout, the Elf plays with aspects of comics, including panels, speech bubbles, and ways to express emotion through drawings.  The illustrations are simple enough for children to imitate (there are even step-by-step directions at the end), though the coloring adds shade and depth.  The artists behind the book clearly care a lot about demystifying comics and encourage readers to use the lessons learned to create their own stories.  Excellent for students who are interested in art and comic books, and even those who aren't will enjoy the fun characters and creative story-telling.  Highly recommended, *****.

Why We Broke Up

Recommended grades 7-12.  Why We Broke Up is the story of a boy and of a girl.  Min and Ed were a match made in... Shakespeare.  He is a jock and she is "arty."    Unlike Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Min and Ed escape the relationship with their lives, if not their pride, and with a box full of artifacts.  In order to get past the heartbreak, Min undertakes the project of returning the artifacts to Ed, along with a 200+ page letter tracing the roots of their breakup.  Author Daniel Handler (the man behind Lemony Snicket and his Series of Unfortunate Events) brings intelligence and tragedy in the voice of Min.  Female readers in particular will be able to empathize with the thrill of her first love and the devastation of the fall out.  Artist Maria Kalman contributes color paintings of each item as it appears in the letter.  The paintings bring the stories into life and out of abstraction.  The marriage of the text and the images forms a sentimental, heart-wrenching tale that almost all readers, tween, teen, and adult can relate to.  Highly recommended, ****

A Doll's Life

Recommended grades 7-10.  Tanya Lee Stone dives into the life of American Sweetheart, Barbie with her unauthorized 'biography, ' The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us (Viking, 2011).  Stone covers a variety of aspects about the doll everyone loves to hate and hates to love, from the story of her creator, Ruth Handler, to her own development in the last fifty years.  Stone also approaches many of the criticisms Barbie has faced over the years, from her impossible-to-achieve figure, to her Euro-centric hair texture, Stone does not shy away from controversy.  Stone makes her voice quite clear as a researcher, openly explains her interpretations of her sources, and offers the final decision up to her readers; is Barbie to blame for anorexia or to celebrate for encouraging professional women?  In addition to her open tone, Stone includes a detailed list of source notes at the end of the text as well has a brimming bibliography.  The book is filled with black and white photos illustrating Stone's many points and showing Barbie over time.  Additionally, Stone includes a color insert of photos that benefit from full color.  This book is not only informative, it also serves as an excellent conversation starter and a model of good research.  Highly recommended, ****.

Prisoners in the Palace

Recommended Grades 8-12.  Queen Victoria is arguably one of the most well-known monarchs in Western Civilization.  She was the Queen of Great Britain when it was at it's peak of "the Sun Never Setting" and the longest ruling monarch in British history.  But what was her life like before she was the queen?  Michaela Macoll answers just this question in her well-researched historical fiction novel, Prisoners in the Palace (Chronicle Books, 2011).  It turns out, Victoria's life was shockingly similar to that of Cinderella's; she was greedily watched over by a vapid mother and evil stepfather (well, not truly stepfather, but her mother's consort), trapped in the palace doors, locked away from the rest of the world, in an attempt to influence and control her power.  Instead of singing mice and a fairy godmother, Victoria has Liza, the orphan of a knighted family down on her luck.  Liza, the true main character of the story, comes to terms with her dramatic fall from grace, while empowering the young princess to rise to her greatest heights.  Liza is fictional, though Macoll clearly put a great effort into making her, and the rest of the scenarios, as true to history as possible.  She includes excerpts from Victoria's diaries and letters, bringing to life a true teenage girl.  Overall, this is an entertaining, informative, and compassionate telling of British history.  Highly recommended, ****

Friends

Recommended Grades K-3.  It is a deep wish in the human imagination that animals develop the same emotions and relationships that humans do.  Though we know it is a "dog eat dog" world out there, we still desire compassion and connection from our animal friends.  Catherine Thimmesh makes this dream a reality in her narrated photo essay, Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships (Houghton Mifflin, 2011).  Thimmesh brings together a series of touching photographs of cross-species companions; an orangutan and her pet cat, a piglet and baby lion raised together in Namibia, among others.  The pictures are accompanied by a poem about friendship, using language accessible to younger readings.  Each picture is also accompanied by an in-depth paragraph giving the background of the photograph, meant to be shared with older readers.  Though Thimmesh shows us a variety of heartwarming animal alliances, she is very honest that some of these pals are not pals for life.  She does not sugarcoat the fact that some animals use each other for survival and nothing more, while showing how some animals have formed genuine attachments.  Recommended, ****

Forsythia & Me

Recommended Grades K-2.  Forsythia & Me (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011) is the touching and hilarious story of Chester and his best friend Forsythia.  'Best' is a title Forsythia wears proudly, as Chester explains to us her many accomplishments, including taming the zoo and bringing all of the animals to tea time!  Ultimately, Chester is the 'best' too, at supporting his friend and their friendship builds them both up to their best ability!  Author Vincent X. Kirsch provides playful illustrations in bright colors and incredible detail.  The colors pop, and the thin-lined characters seem more exaggerated for their minimalist features.  The reader can read this book over and over, finding something new to laugh at in the illustrations, which add depth and meaning to the words.  This book is an excellent and enjoyable lesson in friendship!  Highly recommended, ****

Mockingjay

Recommended grades 6-9.  Katniss Everdeen is back in the final installment of the Hunger Games series, written by Suzanne Collins.  In Mockingjay (Scholastic, 2010), Katniss is thrown into the most dangerous game of all, actual war with the Capitol that has tortured its people for so long and killed so many of her friends.  As always Katniss is not alone, but she still can't always know who to trust as some of her closest allies are turned against her.  Collins has an artful way of putting concepts of loyalty and authority into question in a more caustic way than other young adult authors (J.K. Rowling comes to mind) have.  Though Katniss always has many people on her side, she is never quite sure who, and why.  Mockingjay serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series, though the writing and flow is a bit choppier than previous books.  Collins has made such a rich and open world filled with battles of epic proportion, though she doesn't always know how to transition between ideas.  Readers may put Katniss and her world to sleep after reading this book, though many will be hungry for more of Collins's writing.  Highly recommended, ****