Staff Picks for Children

Life wasn't easy for anyone during the Great Depression, but it could be even harder if you were African American. In this work of historical fiction, Hibernia a preacher's daughter, dreams of becoming a singer.  Willie is recovering from a burn that will keep him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a boxer. Otis, an orphan, is struggling to find happiness but finds comfort in his family's radio and the sense of humor that was passed down to him from his father. On June 22, 1937, all of them, including the rest of the nation, are fixed to the radio listening to a boxing match between Joe Louis and James Braddock. It was a matter of African American pride. This book has been widely reviewed and is selected as a 2012-2013 Read On Wisconsin book. Take a peek at this book trailer put together by Whitehorse Middle School, Madison. Recommended for students in grades 4-8.

Book 1 of the Books of Beginning Series. This fantasy adventure story starts off with the main characters, Kate - 14, Michael-12, and Emma – 11 left as orphans when they were taken from their home at night during Christmas. The children are passed from one orphanage to another within a ten year span until they end up at a secluded orphanage operated by Dr. Stanislaus Pym. The mansion is located in the remote town of Cambridge Falls and the children find out they are the only ones there. While investigating the house they discover a magical door that reveals a hidden study. In the study they find a magical book that allows them to travel through time. Michael takes a picture and places it inside the book and the children are transported to an early Cambridge Falls. While there they encounter an evil witch, her guardians, the Screechers, and other monstrous creatures.

The Countess, the evil witch, is holding the children hostage and forcing the men to hunt and dig for a hidden treasure. Kate realizes that she has a special relationship with the magic book and she learns by traveling back in time she has the power to change the course of history and discover their parent’s fate. Even though Katie has seen her mother in the past she cannot connect her to the present.

The children realize that they have special powers and are destined to go on a quest to find out the purpose of the book. The cliffhanger leaves the reader waiting for the next book in the trilogy.

The age group for this series is grades 4 through 8.

This is a goofy book, a fast and fun read for young graphic novel fans.  Ace and Bub are beaver brothers, who enjoy life on Beaver Island.  While Ace prepares for the Beaver Island Surfboard Competition, his board is suddenly stolen by strange penguins, who escape to the deep waters offshore.  In hot pursuit, Ace gets only a glimpse of their underwater hideout, but he knows that the penguins are up to something, and it doesn’t look good.   Without his surfboard, he can’t hope to beat the island’s brawny hot shot, Bruce.  So Ace and Bub decide to do some deep-sea diving of their own.  Meanwhile, Bruce is out to sabotage Ace’s efforts in the surfing competition.  Will Ace get his surfboard back?  Can he and Bub figure out the penguins’ evil plan, and save Beaver Island from disaster?  Will Bruce keep Ace from winning the surfing competition?  These questions, and more, are answered with humor, action, and two penguins named Bob.  The artwork is simple but full of life, the story full of sight gags and kid-friendly jokes. 

Readers who enjoy this book may enjoy The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Fishy Business, also released this year.  For more information about the author, visit:  http://www.maxwelleaton.com

Great for reading alone for out loud!  Recommended for kids Grades 1 and up.

Jasmine & Tai-Tai’s grandfather Agong comes to live with their family from a faraway land. One day he tells Jasmine that she is ready for magic. Agong asks Jasmine to make a wish and then he puts his hand over hers and they dip the brush and touch it to the paper. The two tell the story of Jasmine’s wishes through Chinese characters, which can be found in each dreamlike illustration. Jasmine & Agong practice their calligraphy all spring until Agong becomes ill in the fall and passes away. Jasmine is sad until one day Tai-Tai wanders into Agong’s room during naptime and Jasmine tells him he is ready for magic. The Magic Brush is a beautifully written and illustrated story. The back of the book includes a pronunciation key, a short history of Chinese art and a description of some of the Chinese treats Jasmine mentions in her wishes.

Mac Barnett, author of the Brixton Brothers chapter book series, offers up an unusual look into how a book is written and illustrated. He writes about a girl named Chloe who is wandering through the forest. When illustrator Adam Rex decides to draw a dragon instead of the lion Mac has written about, Mac calls him out and fires him. He hires a new illustrator, Hank, who draws a lion which promptly eats Adam. Hank does not live up to the expectations Mac has for his book, and he starts to miss Adam. He fires Hank and decides to do the illustrations himself, but find that his talent is not in the art of drawing, but in writing. Chloe goes through the forest looking for someone to free Adam from the inside of the lion, and runs into several literary characters along the way, none of which are able to help. Ultimately Chloe comes up with a wonderful plan to free Adam, who can finish illustrating the story. This book is reminiscent of "Do Not Open This Book" by Michaela Muntean, which is also about an author trying to write a book while being constantly interrupted.

Author, Helen Frost elegantly hides poetic verse within a three part story told through the internal monologues of two girls whose paths will coincidentally cross twice in life. Darra and Wren, both ages 14, recognize each other at summer camp. The memories that both have of each other are from a disturbing incident. At the age of 8, Wren was hiding in the back seat of a car that Darra's alcoholic father stole. Not knowing that Wren was inside, he hid the car in his garage. Darra saw the car in the garage and heard the news about a stolen car and a missing girl. Darra knew that Wren was there. Frost develops stark contrasts between each of the girls’ memories and mixed feelings about their heartbreaking past, but the ending is hopeful.  Readers who like fast paced drama and thoughtful character development will enjoy this book. (Recommended for grades 6 and up.) 

Young children will delight in this charming story of the famous American cook Julia Child living in Paris with her husband Paul and her mischievous tortoiseshell cat, Minette. Julia Child learns to cook with passion and endless energy. Minette inhales the delicious aromas and dines on the most scrumptious meals, yet being a cat, still prefers a good fresh mouse. Incorporating actual dialogue from other works on Julia Child, French expressions, genuine French dishes and the postwar Parisian lifestyle, this biography reveals the creative turning point of Julia Child before she became known as a chef, an author, and a popular television personality who introduced French cuisine to America. An afterword on her life, a glossary of French words, and a wonderful author’s note describing Reich’s meeting Julia Child at Child’s eightieth birthday party, at which Reich had the privilege of designing the extravagant floral arrangements, complete the book. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Julia Child’s birthday (August 15, 1912). Celebrate it by sharing this marvelous book with a young cat lover or an aspiring cook. Recommended for ages 3 – 7.

This is book 2 of 3 in The Kane Chronicles. It is preceded by The Red Pyramid, and followed by The Serpent's Shadow.  The Throne of Fire is a 2011 fantasy adventure novel based on Egyptian mythology.

The Kane children are on another adventure to save the world from chaos.  Carter Kane, age 15 and Sadie Kane, age 13, are the main characters.  The story is told in chapters by both Carter and Sadie in the form of an audio tape recording.  With the help of the newly trained magicians, Jaz and Walt, they set off to find the Book of Ra, which will allow them to raise Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, in order to help them imprison Apophis, the lord of chaos.  If they do not prevent Apophis from breaking free from the underworld than the world will come to an end.  The Book of Ra is broken up into three separate scrolls and scattered all over the World.    Their adventure takes them to the Brooklyn museum, Russia, and Egypt in the pursuit of the Book.  After obtaining all three scrolls they are then transported to the Duat, the Egyptian version of the underworld.  In the Duat there are 12 Houses.  There they encounter other demons and traps, and eventually they find Ra and revive him.

Will the children overcome the many obstacles that they face and save the world?  Will Sadie be able to help Walt from his curse he has inherited from his Egyptian ancestors?  The curse causes its victims to die at a very young age and the more they practice magic, the faster it progresses. What happens back at Brooklyn House?  These are just a few of the challenges and problems that Carter and Sadie and their friends face in their quest.

Readers who have read other books by Rick Riordan will definitely enjoy this new series.  If you have read the first in this series, than this second book is a must to read.

The book is geared for grades 5 – 8.

It’s a big universe out there, and information about it can be overwhelming. Teacher and author Mark Weakland helps to make sense of the nature of asteroids and comets in this graphic novel-style book from the “Graphic Library Adventures in Science” series by Capstone Press.   Text boxes chock full of information on these objects from space are framed and complemented by cosmic cartoon panels by artist Carlos Aón.   Different aspects of nature of comets and asteroids are covered, including what they are, what they are made of, their impact on the solar system, and earth (and dinosaurs) in particular, what people in earlier civilizations thought about them, and what and how scientists have found out about them.  The author also raises questions about the future of space observation and exploration for readers to ponder.  The information is organized into chapters, making it even easier for readers to take in.

Recommended for Grades 3-6