Provo Library Children's Book Blog

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 118 pgs. Fiction. Morris here retells the ancient story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for little dudes. In this version, Gawain starts out as Sir Gawain the Undefeated , so sure of himself and of the saving-the-fair-damsel drill that he is deeply discourteous to a lady whom he has delivered from a dragon. Soon after the Green Knight appears, offering to let a knight chop his head off if a year hence the champion will put his neck on the block at the Knight's Green Chapel. The story proceeds as outlined, but with lots more laughs than the original. Youngsters should enjoy the adventure and the humor of Gawain's adventures, and will learn much about knightly honor as Gawain allows himself to be defeated for friendship's sake, and becomes Sir Gawain the True. This book is the third in Morris's The Knight's Tales, but the books may be read in any order.

Caveman: A B.C. Story written and illustrated by Janee Trasler unpaged picture book New York : Sterling, c2011 Who knew a caveman's life was so exciting? This wonderful picture book is pure genius! The story is told simply using just single words alphabetically. Paired with brilliant illustrations. "Acorn...Bear...Cave...Dinosaur...Eat...Faint". That is the only part of the story I will share. You must see the pictures to fully appreciate the entertainment level of this story. A laugh-out loud adventure!

Trundle's Quest (The Six Crowns) by Allan Jones, illustrated by Gary Chalk HarperCollins, 2010. 151 pgs. Fantasy Trundle Boldoak is a hedgehog who is a lamplighter on Shiverstones, a floating fragment of a planet shattered by a massive explosion in prehistoric times, and one among many of the Sundered Lands. One night he finishes his shift, goes home looking forward to some hot cabbage tea and a good book, but he is immediately thrown into turmoil by the somewhat violent arrival of one Esmeralda, self-styled Princess in Darkness, who has read the Badger Blocks and knows Trundle to be the Lamplighter who will help her retrieve the Six Crowns that will reunite the Sundered Lands. Things move swiftly after that as the wicked Captain Grizzletusk arrives to wreck and pillage Shiverstones. Trundle and Esmeralda escape as stowaways and wind up on the mining/slave planet of Drune where it takes all their wits and courage to escape a terrible fate--and to find the first crown. T...

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Velchin New York: Henry Holt, 2011. 150 pgs. Fiction. Sasha has waited his whole life to join Stalin's Young Pioneers, the young people's arm of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. He is even more excited to know that his father, a ranking official in the State Security quartered at Lubyanka, will come to school to tie on his red neckerchief, along with those of his classmates. But on the night before the ceremony, jack-booted State Security agents come to Sacha's apartment and take his father away. Almost before he can get back into the house, the neighbors who have denounced his father and caused his arrest have moved into his apartment and thrown his stuff out onto the landing. Sacha goes to his aunt's house, but his uncle tells him to get lost so they won't get into trouble. When he goes to school he is denied membership in the Young Pioneers since his father has become an enemy of the state. When he accidentally breaks ...

Thriller (Guys Read) ed. Jon Scieszka HarperCollins, 2011. 272 pgs. Short Stories Second in the Guys Read series' collections (after Funny Business ), Thriller assembles natural and supernatural tales intended to encourage boys to read, as an extension of Jon Scieszka's Guys Read website. Unfortunately, the stories in this volume run a bit flat--not as thrilling as one might have hoped. Several are funnier than they are scary; e.g., Anthony Horowitz's "The Double Eagle has Landed," starring the doofy Diamond Brothers, or "Pudding," a Lunch-Lady-like cartoon story that ends unexpectedly. Gennifer Choldenko's "The Snake Mafia" has scary moments, and scary characters. Both James Patterson and Walter Dean Myers have contributed stories with a moral to the story. Most of the pieces in this collection are well-written, as one might expect from the A-list authors who have contributed, but not close to as scary or suspenseful as, say, most any ...

Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney Little Brown, 2011, 278 pgs. Historical Fiction This is a historical fiction about three kids, Hibernia, Willie, and Otis, who live in Depression Era New York State. All them them have dreams: Hibernia wants to be a Jazz singer, Willie want to be a famous boxer, and Otis just wants to be with his family. All of them are dealing with issues at home that stand in the way of their dreams. Although the three children don't have much in common, they all like to listen to the Joe Louis fights on the radio and that is what brings them together. There is not a whole lot of plot to the book, but Pinkney makes the children's voices so real, interesting and sympathetic, the reader can't help but be transported through time and space to that difficult period in America's history. Even though the children are black and living in a primarily black community, the book is not about overcoming racism. It is just a glance into the life of ...

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty Harcourt, 2011. 343 pgs. Fantasy. While Sacha Kessler is shopping with his Mom at Lassky & Daughters Kosher Baked Goods, he sees an aura around Mrs. Kessler's head. "How did you do that?" he asks and is almost immediately fingered by an NYPD Inquisitor. Inquisitor's ferret out illegal magic in this alternate history of turn-of-the-century New York and Sacha's ability to see witches gets him a job as an apprentice to the NYPD's chief Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf. Not a line of work a nice young Jewish boy really wants to get into, but it's a job that will bring cash to his impoverished family so he agrees. Soon he and his fellow apprentice Lily Astral (one of the upper East Side, rich as Croesus Astrals) are racing to discover who is trying to kill Thomas Edison and keep his mechanical witch detector from ever seeing the light of day. Robber barons, Harry Houdini, the Elephant Hotel of Coney Island, ...

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy Penguin, 2011. 353 pgs. Fantasy. Janie Scott is having a hard time adjusting to her new home in England where her parents have moved to avoid the witch-hunts of 1952 McCarthy era California. At first Janie is lonesome, cold, and intimidated by suddenly having to learn Latin. But she soon meets a stand-out young man whose mild-mannered father is an apothecary. Benjamin wants to be a spy rather than following in his father's footsteps, but when the apothecary hides the young people in the basement just before he disappears, and charges Ben with caring for an ancient Pharmacopoeia , Ben discovers his father is much more than he has ever been cracked up to be. Ben and Janie must keep the book safe while dodging Russian agents and searching for the missing apothecary. Birds in the sky, piles of salt, and pinkie fingers suddenly become magical and mysterious parts of a puzzle which will carry everyone involved into great danger as a motley assortment of kids...

Grandpa Green By Lane Smith Roaring Brook Press, 2011. Unpaged. Picture book. A young boy chronicles his grandfather's life as all the aspects are displayed through a beautiful topiary garden. The garden shows how his grandfather grew up on a farm, how he met his wife, and follows him through the war he fought in. Lane Smith has a huge winner here. I've been a long-time fan of his since reading The Happy Hocky Family and have loved all his books I've read since. Not only is this book gorgeously, delicately illustrated--it's written with great poignancy and love. There are a few sly moments in the story, but mostly it's very tenderly written. The aspect of family history is made significant by the child's love for his grandpa. Smith's style in this book is a little reminiscent of the illustrations by N.M. Bodecker (Half-Magic series) and are just fantastic--creative genius and great ability combine to make standout artwork. I truly hope it wins the Cal...

The Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine Harper Collins, 2011, 328 pgs. Fantasy In this new story by the author of Ella Enchanted , twelve year old Elodie travels to a new city in hopes of becoming an apprentice to some traveling "mansioners" or players. When she arrives she discovers that she does not have enough money to pay the apprentice fees, so she starts working for a dragon named Meenore. In this town there are, of course, two castles. One is owned by the king who is human, and the other by a duke, who is a shape shifting Ogre. The dragon is a detective, and Elodie uses her mansioning skills to help her new master discover who is trying to kill the king and the ogre. This fairytale mystery is well written and interesting. Elodie is clever and brave, yet caring and loyal. At the heart of the story is the friendship that slowly develops between Elodie, Meenore and the ogre. Levine ends the book well, but leaves the door open for sequels. I don'...

The Book that Zack Wrote by Ethan Long unpaged picture book Maplewood, NJ : Blue Apple Books, 2011 The story begins simply enough with an adorable pink pig "that oinked in the book that Zack wrote". As this cumulative tale unfolds you might wonder just who Zack is, but never fear he makes a grand appearance in the unexpected ending. Ethan Long's cartoon illustrations are perfect to showcase the zany characters traipsing through the story. An entertaining format helps make this predictable book a unique and wonderful read with your child.

The Silver Bowl Diane Stanley Harper, 2011. 307 pgs . Fiction. When Molly is employed in the castle as a scullery maid, she has no idea what she is letting herself in for. Trained to polish the royal family's very expensive silver, Molly soon discovers that there is a strong curse on one of the bowls in their collection. A curse that could wipe out the King's whole family. It is up to her and her best friend Tobias to stop the unimaginable from happening. Resourceful, strong and courageous, Molly takes us on an exciting fairytale adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seat. Just a hint of romance makes this the perfect read for tween and teen girls.

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer National Geographic, 2011. 144 pgs. Non-fiction. Rosalyn Schanzer's powerful pictures combine with her chilling text to tell the tale of one of the darkest episodes in American History. Nineteen people were hanged during the Salem Witchcraft Trials, one died from being pressed to death, and from four to seventeen others died in prison. Schanzer tells the stories of each victim in a calm, understated prose that heightens the horror of regular people imprisoned and executed on the basis of Spectral Evidence generally given by hysterical/mentally ill/or malicious children. Irrational fears and grievously misplaced zeal led to misery and tragedy for many families in Puritan New England, and Rosalyn Schanzer's remarkable book tells the tale for young people in an impressive fashion.