Kid Lit News: Released This Week

Ideas Are All Around By Philip C. Stead

As an author and his dog, Wednesday, walk through their neighborhood, they look at sunflowers, say hi to Frank, a turtle, who makes quick for the water and disappears, and watch a train rumble by as they walk uphill to a big purple house that belongs to their friend Barbara. Wednesday chases squirrels while the two friends discuss fishing and war and how back before the neighborhood was there enormous woolly mammoths roamed where houses now sit. Thoughts open up to other thoughts, and ideas are born and carried forward, often transforming into other ideas until he finds that ideas really are all around, you just have to know what to do with them.

Little One By Jo Weaver

Spring is here and new life is stirring. There is so much for Big Bear to teach her new cub as they step out into the forest. Together they eat, swim, fish, and play as one season becomes the next. With Big Bears help, Little One grows more and more confident, until winter comes once more and its time to head home. With gentle text and stunning black and white illustrations, Jo Weaver reveals the wonder of nature, the first steps of independence, and the strength of parental love.

The Sound of All Things By Myron Uhlberg and Ted Papoulas

A day in the life of a young hearing boy and his deaf parents. The Brooklyn family takes an outing to Coney Island, where they enjoy the rides, the food, and the sights. The father longs to know about how everything sounds, and his son does his best to interpret the noisy surroundings through sign language but finds it difficult. He simply needs more words to convey a wider variety of sounds. When the family drops in at the library on the way home, the boy realizes that in these many books he will be able to find a wealth of new words to help him explain the hearing world to his father.

Cricket Song By Anne Hunter

A poignant and beautiful bedtime book, Cricket Song connects two children on different continents through the evocation of sound and smell. Readers will love identifying various creatures portrayed in the book and watching what they are doing as the two children begin to fall to sleep in their beds on seemingly opposite sides of the world. While differences between cultures may be obvious, ultimately, this lovely story of sleep is a tale about interconnection.

Normal Norman By Tara Lazar and S. Britt

What is "normal?" That's the question an eager young scientist, narrating her very first book, hopes to answer. Unfortunately, her exceedingly "normal" subject—an orangutan named Norman—turns out to be exceptionally strange. He speaks English, sleeps in a bed, loves his stuffed toy, goes bananas over pizza, and even deep-sea dives! Oh, no: what's a "normal" scientist to do?

Treat By Mary Sullivan

In this hilarious and heartwarming companion to the Geisel Honor-winning picture book Ball, there's a new dog in town and he doesn't want to play ball, he wants a TREAT.

President Squid

By Aaron Reynolds and Sara Varon

Join Aaron Reynolds and Sara Varon as they explore the ideal qualities of leaders, diplomats...and giant squid. Squid knows all about being president. It means living in a big house, doing all the talking oh, and having a tie is crucial. He's all set! In the next election, make a more informed choice. Vote for President Squid!"

The Dead Bird By Margaret Wise Brown and Christian Robinson

This heartwarming classic picture book by beloved children’s book author Margaret Wise Brown is beautifully reillustrated for a contemporary audience by the critically acclaimed, award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson. One day, the children find a bird lying on its side with its eyes closed and no heartbeat. They are very sorry, so they decide to say good-bye. In the park, they dig a hole for the bird and cover it with warm sweet-ferns and flowers. Finally, they sing sweet songs to send the little bird on its way.

Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies

By Carmen Oliver and Jean Claude

All the students in the class are assigned reading buddies. Except for Adelaide. She already has one. A bear! And Adelaide is quite persuasive as she explains to her language arts teacher, Mrs. Fitz-Pea, and the reader, that bears really do make the best reading buddies. They sniff out good books. Their claws are just right for turning pages.

Friends

By Aiko Ikegami

A girl from a faraway place begins her first day at school. She doesn't speak the language and she looks different. She just doesn't fit in. But one day, she makes an unexpected friend--a squirrel! Then a rabbit joins them. Soon the girl's fuzzy woodland friends are followed by human ones and school becomes more fun! When a surprising new student joins the class, the girl and her new friends know just how to make him feel at home.

Dario and the Whale

By Cheryl Lawton Malone and Bistra Masseva

When Dario and his mother move to Cape Cod from Brazil, Dario has a hard time making friends since he doesn't speak English well. But one day Dario meets someone else who has just arrived in New England and he doesn't speak any English at all because he's a right whale! Day after day Dario and the whale meet at the beach. But what will happen when it's time for the whale to migrate?

The Cow Who Climbed a Tree

By Gemma Merino

Tina isn't like the other cows. She believes that the sky is the limit and that everything is possible. But her sisters aren't convinced--and when Tina tells them she has climbed a tree and met a dragon, they decide that her nonsense has gone too far. Off they go into the woods to find her and soon discover a world of surprises!

Some Birds

Matt Spink

Swooping and squawking, flapping and fluttering, there are many different kinds of birds in the world, all with their own special traits and abilities. Some Birds celebrates the colors and shapes of beaks and feathers with a rollicking, rhyming text and intricate design. The lively illustrations with a mod, retro feel are full of style and mesmerizing detail.

A Complicated Case (Detective Gordon # 2) By Ulf Nilsson

Detective Gordon is a pudgy toad with a strong penchant for cakes and a predilection for naps. Luckily for all involved, his assistant Buffy, an energetic and kind-hearted mouse, is always by his side and ready to work. When Buffy discovers that not everyone in the forest is happy and, indeed, some have become "sad and serious," the two set off to investigate. As they interview various witnesses, such as a weepy crow and a depressed rabbit, the two realize that someone is being intentionally cruel, and this constitutes a major crime for these gentle creatures. In order to solve the case, Buffy and Gordon must brave some of their own fears to figure out who is spreading gloom throughout the land.

Child of Spring By Farhana Zia

Engaging writing and a delightful protagonist bring life in a contemporary Indian village to life. Basanta longs for the beautiful ring worn by her young mistress, but when it comes into her possession, she realizes that it's not the wonderful possession she expected. Increasingly aware of the struggles of her less privileged friends, Lali and Bala, she finds a way to improve their lives and entertain their community and the beautiful ring takes on new meaning.

The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez By Robin Yardi

Life is confusing for Mateo Martinez. He and Johnny Ramirez don’t hang out anymore, even though they used to be best friends. He and his new friend Ashwin try to act like brave, old-time knights, but it only gets them in trouble. His parents keep telling him to hold his sister’s hand when crossing busy streets, even though she’s the one who always runs ahead. And last night, two skunks stole Mateo’s old trike. Wait—two skunks stole his trike? Mateo is too big for that rusty kid toy. He has a cool, shiny new bike anyway. But Mateo also has a neighborhood to protect. And he’s about to begin a big, stinky quest to catch the thieves. A quest that starts in the middle of the night!

The Maypop Kidnapping By C.M. Surrisi

C.M. Surrisi's debut middle-grade mystery, The Maypop Kidnapping is set in a small coastal Maine village filled with eccentric locals. When 13-year-old Quinnie's beloved teacher goes missing, Quinnie leads a relentless, sometimes misguided search – against her mother's orders.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

By Leslie Connor

Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth—and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?

Forest of Wonders (Wing & Claw #1)

By Linda Sue Park

Raffa Santana has always loved the mysterious Forest of Wonders. For a gifted young apothecary like him, every leaf has the potential to unleash a kind of magic. If only Raffa's cautious father would allow him to experiment freely, Raffa knows he could discover miracles. When an injured bat crashes into Raffa's life, he invents a cure from a rare crimson vine that he finds deep in the forest. The powers of the vine are stronger than Raffa could have imagined. His remedy saves the animal but also transforms it into something much more than an ordinary bat, with far-reaching consequences. Raffa's experiments lead him away from home to the forbidding city of Gilden, where troubling discoveries make him question who he can trust . . . and whether exciting botanical inventions, including his own, might actually threaten the very creatures of the forest he wants to protect.

Tru and Nelle

By G. Neri

Long before they became famous writers, Truman Capote (In Cold Blood) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) were childhood friends in Monroeville, Alabama. This fictionalized account of their time together opens at the beginning of the Great Depression, when Tru is seven and Nelle is six. They love playing pirates, but they like playing Sherlock and Watson-style detectives even more. It’s their pursuit of a case of drugstore theft that lands the daring duo in real trouble. Humor and heartache intermingle in this lively look at two budding writers in the 1930s South.

The Land of Forgotten Girls

By Erin Entrada Kelly

Soledad has always been able to escape into the stories she creates. Just like her mother always could. And Soledad has needed that escape more than ever in the five years since her mother and sister died and her father moved Sol and her youngest sister from the Philippines to Louisiana. Then he left, and all Sol and Ming have now is their evil stepmother, Vea. Sol has protected Ming all this time, but then Ming begins to believe that Auntie Jove—their mythical, world-traveling aunt—is really going to come rescue them. Have Sol’s stories done more harm than good? Can she protect Ming from this impossible hope? Erin Entrada Kelly writes with grace, imagination, and deepest heart about the meaning of family and about finding hope in the hardest circumstances.

Dreambender

By Ronald Kidd

Everyone in the City is assigned a job by the choosers--keeper, catcher, computer. Callie Crawford is a computer. She works with numbers: putting them together, taking them apart. Her work is important, but sometimes she wants more. Jeremy Finn is a dreambender. His job is to adjust people's dreams. He and others like him quietly remove thoughts of music and art to keep the people in the City from becoming too focused on themselves and their own feelings rather than on the world. They need to keep the world safe from another Warming. But Jeremy thinks music is beautiful, and when he pops into a dream of Callie singing, he becomes fascinated with her. He begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe. Defying his community and the role they have established for him, he sets off to find her in the real world. Together, they will challenge their world's expectations. But how far will they go to achieve their own dreams?

#justreleased #kidlitnews #february2016