Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Code Quest: Hieroglyphs by Sean Callery, illustrated by Jurgen Ziewe Kingfisher, 2010. 48 pages. Non-fiction Callery's sumptuously illustrated volume on ancient Egyptian culture and language interleaves descriptions and explanations of tomb raiders, cat worship, ideograms, and the Rosetta stone with the story of a Dr. Cameron Stone and a mysterious green-eyed woman named Nefret, as they seek a golden cat stolen from a tomb. Readers must decipher hieroglyphic clues, adding spaces and vowels to transliterations, all the time gleaning information about ancient Egypt. With the study of Ancient Egypt as a core curriculum item in our school, Callery's new book should be just the ticket for students and Egyptology fans.

Subway by Christoph Niemann HarperCollins, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. Niemann's jouncy rhymes and iconographic pictures will give kids and their grownups the flash and feel of a subway ride in the Big Apple, New York, NY. The background is underground black and the riders are thickened up mostly ghostly white stick figures with heads like full moons. Subway is the next best thing to an actual ride. Niemann's judicious use of color mimicking the flash of signage and track in the glare of the headlights propels the book at subway speed from start to finish. Some fun! and a great read-aloud.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier New York : Graphix, 2010. 213 pp. Graphic novel. Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier. As a sixth-grader Raina suffered an unfortunate accident that would affect her life for years to come. Her two front teeth were knocked out, thus beginning an extensive dental/orthodontic/periodontal nightmare. Raine tries to keep an upbeat attitude despite the lack of support she receives from her friends. Never having had orthodontia myself, I wasn't sure I would be able to empathize with Raina's character. I needn't have worried. Raina is a great character who took everything in stride yet was completely believable and realistic. Despite having different issues to deal with, I could totally see myself in some of Raina's situations. A great read with warm and friendly illustrations. Reading Smile was like spending time with a friend from junior high, and don't worry that can be a good thing.

Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth by Sandra Dutton juvenile realistic fiction 134 pages Boston : Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010 Mary Mae is ten-years-old and full of questions. The questions make her mother very uncomfortable as they challenge her interpretation of The Holy Bible. Many of her queries stem from her science class and what she is learning about fossils and the dinosaurs. In an attempt to stifle her curiosity the Pastor suggests that her Sunday School class perform a puppet show about the Creation. Mary Mae is happy to do this although it spawns even more questions for her. Mama is so determined that she stop learning about such things that supposedly conflict with her beliefs, that she pulls Mary Mae out of school with the intention of homeschooling. Thankfully Mary Mae has the support and listening-ear of her beloved great-grandmother with whom she shares a passion and talent for music. How long will Mama ignore the evidence in her very own backyard before she rea...

Frankly, Frannie by A.J. Stern intermediate chapter book 124 pages New York : Grosset & Dunlap, 2010 Move over Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody, there is a new girl in town. Frannie, or Mrs. Frankly B. Miller as she prefers to be called (for the moment) is a girl that knows what she wants and goes for it despite the trouble that seems to follow her everywhere. Frannie loves offices, briefcases, big words, business cards and anything else from the Grown-Up World. The problem with Frannie is that despite all of her "scientific evidence" she doesn't always do the right thing. She thinks she is "helping" when in fact she is causing nothing but Trouble with a capital T! Will her good intentions with disastrous results cause her to be banned from her class field trips? Read Frankly, Frannie by A. J. Stern to find out. This is a very cute and humorous series for beginning chapter book readers that is now on my favorites list.

The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck Toronto : Kids Can Press, c2010. 126 pp. Chapter book. Jack Lime has made a name for himself in the corporate city of Iona. Fellow classmates come to him to solve crimes ranging from missing pets to missing students. Jack shares three of his adventures with a narrative reminiscent of early noir detective films and comics. The writing invokes the feeling of a sleepy little town that seems innocent on the surface but with mischief and mayhem underneath. Enter Jack Lime to rid the world, okay the high school, of all sorts of criminals. A unique delivery of a mystery for the middle school and teen age-group. The book is short in length which should appeal to older reluctant readers.

13 Modern Artists Children Should Know By Brad Finger Prestel, 2010. 46 pp. Juvenile nonfiction. This gorgeous volume, part of a series of art-based books, is a fantastic introduction to some of the most well-known modern artists and art pieces through the years. The format is bright, airy, and very attractive with beautiful, crisp photographs of various modern artwork. The text is straightforward and inviting and very accessible. These volumes are highly recommended for children wanting to learn more about important artists and artwork. They provide an excellent foundation for art history and should be read by all children interested in art. Highly recommended.

The Danger Box by Blue Balliett Scholastic, 2010. 304 pgs. Fiction. Zoomy lives with his grandmother and grandfather in Three Oaks, Michigan, because his father is jail bait who doesn't know he exists and his mother left him on their doorstep when he was a baby. Zoomy has Pathological Myopia and is legally blind. He likes to make lists in notebooks, using a purple pen. Suddenly his life is complicated by the appearance of his father, driving a stolen red pickup truck with an odd-looking box on the seat. "Dad" stashes the box in the garage and drives off, but not before being a jerk to the son he didn't know he had. In this way, Zoomy and his new friend Lorrol are drawn into a mystery--is the old notebook Zoomy finds in the box meaningless or a priceless artifact? Will Zoomy's icky father take him away from his beloved Gam and Gumps? And what does his and Lorrol's increasing interest in Charles Darwin have to do with it all? Blue Balliett's sparkling new pu...

No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve Scholastic, 2010. 186 pgs. Fiction. Ansel, a boy mute since the death of his mother, has hired on with Brock, a dragonslayer, to attend him as he follows a quest into the northern mountains. As most everyone knows, including Brock, there are no such things as dragons but there is not that much difference between a real dragon and "the fear of a dragon" so Brock makes his living making people feel safe from phantom monsters. But when he and Ansel climb the steep cliffs above Drachenburg there are unexplained noises, scattered bones, a dark figure out of the corner of one's eye, a shadow overhead, that suggests what everybody knows may not be true. A short, accessible, very scary book, No Such Thing as Dragons is unlike any other dragon story for children. In all except the obligatory hypocritical, cowardly friar, Reeve has wisely created his characters against type: the sacrificial maiden is a short, dark, bushy-browed peasan...

AlphaOops! H is for Halloween! By Alethea Kontis; illustrated by Bob Kolar Candlewick Press, 2010. Unpaged. Picture book. In this delightful picture book, all the letters of the alphabet are introduced in a zany, Halloween-themed way. Simple, graphic shapes and bright, luminous colors layered with light texture bring extra zip and drama to the story. The letters all have big, fun personalities and are each easily recognizable although decked out with the occasional costume as well as legs and arms. Kids will love all the funny things the letters say and will definitely learn a few hefty vocabulary words like "lycanthrope" and "buccaneer." Altogether, this is a fun presentation of the alphabet and ahead of the game for those looking for Halloween books!