The Unnameables - by Ellen Booraem
Fantasy. Medford Runyuin washed up on the shore of Island when he was a baby. There, every thing and every adult has a straightforward name that clearly states its purpose: cows are "Greater Horned Milk Creatures," people who sew clothing are named Tailor, the town hall is called Town Hall...and Medford, whose last name is meaningless, has always been treated as an outsider. Soon he will transition to adulthood, and he's worried. Islanders only value usefulness, and Medford has been secretly making things that have no practical use at all, which could get him banished. Then the Goatman washes ashore, and everything on Island is thrown into chaos. If you liked the strange world of
The Giver and also enjoy sly humor, don't miss this eye-opening book about breaking with tradition.
The Chimera's Curse - by Julia Golding
Publisher:
Marshall Cavendish
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Pub Date:
11/1/2008
ISBN: 9780761454403
ISBN-10: 0761454403
Eco-Fantasy. In
The Secret of the Sirens, 11-year-old Connie Lionheart joined the Society for the Protection of Mythical Creatures, a secret group sworn to defend beings such as unicorns, dragons, and selkies from extinction. Each member of the society has the ability to communicate with a particular type of creature, but Connie, a "universal companion," is special: she can talk to all creatures. But the evil shapeshifter Kullervo, seeking revenge for the destruction of nature, wants to steal Connie's power in order to wipe out all of humanity--and in
The Chimera's Curse, 4th in the Companions series, he believes that his time has finally come. Fans of Rick Riordan's
The Lightning Thief, as well as any animal-loving fantasy fans, will be enchanted.
White Sands, Red Menace - by Ellen Klages
Historical Fiction. It's 1946; since the death of her father, a mathematician who worked on the atomic bomb, mechanically minded 13-year-old Dewey Kerrigan has been living with the Gordon family in New Mexico. Dewey and her sort-of sister, Suze Gordon, are starting eighth grade together and get along well (most of the time). Mr. Gordon is working feverishly with other scientists to beat the Russians into space, while Mrs. Gordon is trying to rally people against nuclear war. Then Dewey's mother--who left Dewey and her father long ago--shows up wanting her daughter back. Readers who enjoy stories about family relationships, science and engineering, or post-World War II history will be riveted by this sequel to the award-winning book
The Green Glass Sea.
The Last Invisible Boy - by Evan Kuhlman; illustrated by J.P. Coovert
Publisher:
Atheneum Books
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Pub Date:
10/21/2008
ISBN: 9781416957973
ISBN-10: 1416957979
Fiction. Twelve-year-old Finn is becoming invisible. Ever since "The Terrible Day That Changed Everything"--the day that his dad died--his hair and skin are becoming paler by the minute. Worried that soon he'll be completely erased, Finn writes and illustrates a book to try to understand what is happening to him, and why. This book may remind readers of Jeff Kinney's
Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it reads kind of like a diary and is full of drawings, but (even though it does have funny moments) Finn's story is sad and painful, yet ultimately comforting.
The White Gates - by Bonnie Ramthun
Publisher:
Random House
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Pub Date:
11/25/2008
ISBN: 9780375945540
ISBN-10: 0375945547
Mystery/Adventure. Torin ("Tor") Sinclair has just moved to the resort town of Snow Park, Colorado with his mom, who is the new doctor in town. He hasn't even unpacked when his mom wakes him in the middle of a bitterly cold night; there's been an accident, and Dr. Sinclair wants Tor to go to the emergency room with her. Tor notices that the locals seem hostile toward his mom, and eventually he learns of the curse that a Ute woman supposedly put on Snow Park's doctors many years before. But after his mom's patient unexpectedly dies, Tor is determined to figure out what's really going on.
The White Gates is a fast-paced read packed with action, drama, and snowboarding thrills.
Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones - by Brandon Sanderson
Publisher:
Scholastic Press
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Pub Date:
11/1/2008
ISBN: 9780439925532
ISBN-10: 0439925533
Humorous Fantasy. In
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, the 1st book of this madcap, hilariously ridiculous series, our hero Alcatraz Smedry discovered and began fighting against a conspiracy of evil librarians who control the world by withholding information. Now Alcatraz must use his talent for breaking things to evade the half-man, half-machine Scrivener's Bones and rescue his grandfather from the Library of Alexandria--which, contrary to librarian-spread rumors, was never actually destroyed. This exciting, funny, and frequently interrupted (by Alcatraz, who often speaks directly to readers) adventure is one that fans of the Artemis Fowl series or the Lemony Snicket books will love.
On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History through the Spirituals - by Nikki Giovanni
Nonfiction. Using lyrics from 47 well-known spirituals as a starting place, world-famous poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni traces the history of Africans in America from their enslavement to the present. She writes in a personal, heartfelt way about how music has helped African Americans maintain the courage and strength to survive and triumph over adversity. Readers who love music--especially spirituals--will be fascinated by this book, and those with interests in either politics or history will find much food for thought in the facts and opinions that Giovanni shares.
Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance - by Laban Carrick Hill
Nonfiction. In the 1920s, "Harlem was the center of the universe if you were black or just a white hepcat from downtown who knew where the action was." Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and many other truly great musicians, writers, artists, and thinkers were a part of the period now known as the Harlem Renaissance, a tremendous surge of creativity, activism, and black pride during the early years of the 20th century. This gorgeous book is jam-packed with photos, artwork, poems, and songs that bring the era to life; it also explains the circumstances and political movements that led to Harlem's extraordinary cultural explosion. Don't miss it!
Powerful Words: More than 200 Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans - by Wade Hudson
Publisher:
Scholastic Nonfiction
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date:
2003
ISBN: 9780439409698
ISBN-10: 0439409691
Nonfiction. A well-known adage says that "the pen is mightier than the sword," and the men and women whose formidable words are featured in this book would probably agree. From Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Lauryn Hill,
Powerful Words collects the speeches, letters, poems, songs, books, articles, and essays of 36 well-known Americans and explains both what motivated the writings and the impact that they had. If you'd like to learn about African-American history from the people who made (and continue to make) it happen, this is the book for you.
The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students - by Suzanne Jurmain
Nonfiction. In 1833, Prudence Crandall was teaching at her own exclusive girls' academy in Canterbury, Connecticut. By 1835, she had been threatened, harrassed, dragged off to jail, and--after the school was set on fire--sued. What had she done to prompt such treatment? Ms. Crandall had previously allowed a young black woman to join her class of white students, after which the white girls' parents refused to let their children return to the school. So, Ms. Crandall closed and immediately re-opened the school as a boarding school for African-American girls...and that's when the trouble began.
The Forbidden Schoolhouse tells a riveting but little-known story that readers won't soon forget.
Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers - by Patricia C. McKissack & Fredrick L. McKissack
Nonfiction. What do whaling ships have to do with African-American history? Quite a lot, actually. Between 1730 and 1880, one of the only jobs that either freed or runaway slaves could get was as a member of a ship's crew. When the Civil War ended in 1865, black whalers' numbers were increasing, and it wasn't long before more than half of all whalers were African-American. And they weren't just swabbing the decks, either. They were sailors, inventors, captains, and shipbuilders in the whaling industry; some of them were also abolitionists, which makes this already fascinating story even more interesting.
The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West - by Gary Paulsen
Historical Fiction. Hey, you fans of the wild, wild West: who's the biggest hero of the American frontier? Wild Bill Hickock, you say? Wyatt Earp? Shoot, you must be a greenhorn. Get yourself comfortable now, sit back, and get ready to learn all about a true hero--rancher and lawman Bass Reeves, who may have been born a slave but who died a legend. Author Gary Paulsen (
Hatchet) includes plenty of bonafide facts about the real-life Bass Reeves in this story, but he's filled in gaps in the historical record--most of them during Reeves' childhood--by using his imagination. Makes for one heckuva read!
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