The Witch's Curse, by Keith McGowan

The Witch's Curse, by Keith McGowan (Henry Holt, 2013), takes up right where The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children left off, with Sol and his little sister Connie escaping from the city where they were almost eaten by the witch who lived next door.  But what Sol had hoped would be a simple bus ride through the forested mountains to their aunt's house turns into a nightmare when the two children find them selves lost in the cursed forest of yet another evil witch.  A witch who turns children into animals, and then sends out her fearsome hunter to slay them.

If they can make it through the forest, they'll be safe, but the power of the witch is strong, and it is all very touch and go indeed.  The witch has had, after all, years of experience entrapping children...and the children are still new at the business of escaping.  And since I don't want to spoil particulars of the plot, that's all I shall say.

It's a  more straightforward adventure than the first book, which was more playful in its juxtaposition of the witch's culinary musings with the danger the children were in of becoming part of her meal plan.   Here we also have glimpses into the point of view of both the witch and her huntsman, but it's a more familiar story of lost children in danger in an evil forest....Though it takes a while for Sol and Connie to realize the extent of the danger they are in, because the reader is privy to the bigger story, what might otherwise have been a slowish start is instead almost immediately tense, and gets more so.  And as was the case in the first book, the relationship between the siblings, sometimes fraught with tension of its own, adds a human element to the supernatural dangers.

Here's what I especially liked--the fact that the hunter himself is under a curse, and is therefore not clearly evil.  I like my antagonists nuanced, and I hope we see more of him in the next book.  That being said, this particular witch is not nuanced at all--at least the witch in the first book was killing children for a reason, not just as part of a sadistic game--but an all out wicked witch is perfectly acceptable, I think, in a fairy tale.

The Witch's Guide was a reimagining of  Hansel and Gretel, and The Witch's Curse is a retelling of the more obscure Brother and Sister.   There's no need to rush out and read the original story first, but having just done so myself after the fact, I appreciate the way it is twisted here lots!  Sol and Connie are not the two original children, but rather follow in their footsteps, walking unwittingly into a nightmare for which they are poorly prepared (for instance, Sol's homemade computer/gps/etc. device, which should have been able to save the day, begs to be recharged at a crucial juncture!).

Highly recommended for intelligent readers who like a nice, dangerous adventure with twists and turns;  though not, perhaps, a series for the child who's already frightened of what's out there in the dark woods...

The Witch's Curse is one of many fine books nominated for this year's Cybils Awards in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.  Anyone can nominate books they love, but nominations close tomorrow night, so time is short....

disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher

This week's round-up of Middle Grade fantasy and science fiction postings from around the blogs

Next week will be the 200th MG SFF round-up post!  I will try to make it Special in some way... In the meantime, if I missed your post this week (and there were some open tabs on my computer that were closed by certain younger persons in my house, so I might well have) let me know!

The Reviews:

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett, at The Book Smugglers

Exile, by Shannon Messenger, at Book Nut

Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit, at Fantasy Literature

Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamilllo, at Books of Wonder and Wisdom, books 4yourkids, and Book-a-day Almanac

The Ghost Prison, by Joseph Delaney, at In Bed With Books

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Let the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at A Reader of Fictions

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Catherynne M. Valente, at A Reader of Fictions, The Book Monsters, and Good Books and Good Wine

Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka, at A Reader of Fictions

The Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

House of Hades, by Rick Riordan, at What a Nerd Girl Says and there are doubtless tons of other, which perhaps you can find for yourself it you are interested :)

How to Catch a Bogle, by Catherine Jinks, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at alibarymama

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde, at Challenging the Bookworm and Becky's Book Reviews

Listening for Lucca, by Suzanne LaFleur, at The Children's War

The Lost Kingdom, by Matthew J. Kirby, at The Last Entwife

The Magic Half, by Annie Barrows, at Hope is the Word

Magic Marks the Spot, by Caroline Carson, at The Book Smugglers

The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, by John Bemelmans Marciano, at Librarian of Snark

The Princess and the Goblin, by George MacDonald, at Views from the Tesseract

The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, at The Book Smugglers, books4yourkids, The Book Monsters,  Bookyurt, and The Brain Lair

The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson, at Charlotte's Library

The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, at She Has Left the Room

The Strangers (Books of Elsewhere 4), by Jacqueline West, at Charlotte's Library

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Twighlight Robbery, aka Fly Trap, by Frances Hardinge, at Things Mean a Lot

Wake Up Missing, by Kate Messner, at Next Best Book

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children, by Keith McGowan, at Charlotte's Library

Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series review, at Bunbury in the Stacks


Authors and Interviews

Anna Staniszewski (My Epic Fairytale Fail) at Katie L. Carroll

Frances Sackett (The Misadventures of the Magician's Dog) at Paperback Writer Blog


Other Good Stuff:

At Teen Librarian Toolbox, you can find tips for turning your library into Lovecraft Middle School (a series by Charles Gilman)

Three recommended speculative fiction series-es at Project Mayhem

Found at Educating Alice--help Jonathan Stroud write a Halloween story, with the characters from Lockwood and Co.!

A post about Other Worlds at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles (the first of three)

The Cybils nomination period closes on Tuesday--I have several lists of books for those who haven't yet nominated in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, the most recent of which is this list of books that look interesting to me. 

And just another reminder that Kidlitcon is on in Austin Veterans Day weekend.  I have my Insiders Guide: Austin 2009 guidebook in hand, and am busily reading such gems as  "One startling statistic is that the Austin labor force increased 44 percent in the decade from 1980 to 1990" (page 5) and the fact that the Austin airport has "two runways (as opposed to one)" (page 31).   I have also learned that the residents of Austin are "hardworking."  I'm arriving Thursday and staying over Sunday, and plan to visit the Zilker Botanical Garden (the image below is from their Prehistoric Garden) and as many used book stores as I can find (suggestions welcomed!)

Books that sound intriguing that have not been nominated for the Cybils yet

So nominations for the Cybils close on Tuesday.  We are at about 80 books in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, and last year we ended up with 150....which means that there are lots of worthy books still to be nominated!  A few days ago I compiled a list of books whose lack of nomination surprised me, and today I offer a list of books I've not read, and don't know much about, but which sound interesting to me personally.  Some of them fall into that tricky tween space between Middle Grade and YA, but I've tried to only include the ones that look to me like they tilt toward the former.

And of course if you don't see anything you loved on this list, feel free to check my Really Long List of all the books reviewed by Kirkus that looked eligible to me when I was compiling it...

City of Death, by Laurence Yep

“When Did You See Her Last?” by Lemony Snicket

Back to Blackbrick, by Sarah Moore Fitgerald

Undertown, by Melvin Jules Bukiet

The Alchemist War, by John Seven

Thrice Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris

Earthfall, by Mark Waldon

Ghost Prison, byJoseph Delaney

Villains Rising, by Jeramey Kraatz

The Princess of Cortova, by Diane Stanley

The Winter of the Robots, by Kurtis Scaletta

Code Name 711, by F.T. Bradley



 

The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson

When The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Teen, 2013) was nominated for the Cybils in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction,  I looked at the suggested age ranges for the book at all the various sources (Kirkus, for instance, says 10-13, SLJ says grades 6-10; its publisher says Young Adult), read reviews, talked to people who had read it, and considered the fact that it was shelved in most libraries in the YA section... and sent it over YA Spec. Fic.  It got sent back, at which point is was clear that I had to read it myself (which was fine with me--it sounded rather good, and indeed I found it so).

It is a magical school story, set at an institution for higher learning in which a gifted few study the two-dimensional geometric magic of chalk drawings (Rithmatism), and everyone else doesn't.   The main character, sixteen-year old Josh, is one of the ungifted later.  He's a charity kid (his mother's on the cleaning staff), and for him, the chalk is just chalk--his lines have no preternatural force, and his drawings never become squiggling, attacking chalkling creatures.  But still he wants to learn all he can about the history and theory of the Rithmatists, and he's determined not to let their snobbish exclusivity thwart him.  It's very good school stuff, with lots of actual learning, reading books, doing badly in uninteresting courses and getting lectured about what the point of studying really is, combined with interesting personal dynamics between Josh, one of the professors, and Melody, a Rithmatist student struggling with basic circle drawing (but darn good at the chalkling creature side of things!).

Of course, if you are not interested in school type stories in which the main character is obsessed by a single subject, and not only that, but a subject which, though magical and really neat (I think), involves a lot of geometry, you might find the first part of the book boring.  However, things pick up with a vengeance.

We learn more about the alternate Earth in which the story is set--one in which the Aztecs sailed to a Europe conquered by an Asian empire, and in which the European colonists of the United Islands (instead of States) found wild and savage chalklings, basically two dimensional killing machines, lurking in the wilderness.*  And in this alternate world, there is a zesty little element of steampunkness, for those who like their clockwork contraptions.

And, in the second half, we get nicely into the meat of the plot.  The peace of the school has been shattered by the disappearance of some of the Rithmatist students; foul play involving Rithmatism is suspected, and Joel and Melody find themselves embroiled in a very dark, dangerous, and magically fascinating mystery! 

I liked it lots, and will look forward to the next book!

And I agree with Kirkus--10-13 years old is pretty spot on.  There's no romance, no distressingly detailed violence, and the central focus is on the external story, not the emotions of the main characters.  Even though Josh and Melody are solidly teenagers, as written, they could pass as twelve.  On top of that, the little guides to Rithmatism, sprinkled throughout, include drawings of chalklings that will have 10-year-olds reaching for their own chalk so they can play too.

So, since three of the years from 10-13 are Middle Grade, and only one is YA, The Rithmatist is back where it was originally nominated, in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.


*Although I liked the book, I was disturbed by replacement of Native North Americans by Wild Chalklings.  The world is alternate enough (North America being a bunch of islands, and the Aztec equivalent people being the great seafarers, etc.) that I could have lived with it, if Sanderson hadn't decided to incorporate an actual incidence of a bloody episode in 17th century New England (from the captivity narrative of Mary Rolandson) into his worldbuilding.  He describes a colonial encounter with bloodthirsty Chalklings by replacing the Native Americans involved with Chalklings, and explains that he does this in an author's note, so that even if you missed it while reading, you can't escape the fact that Native Americans are being equated them with monstrous and inhuman things. 

Some middle grade sci fi/fantasy books I'm surprised haven't been nominated yet for the Cybils, with commentary

So nominations for the Cybils have slowed to a trickle, and though there's always a surge at the end, I can't help but wonder which potentially short-listable books will be left outside, crying (probably in the icy rain, this being fall and all hereabouts).

Here are some I'm surprised not to see on the list yet, with reasons why, which isn't the same as "books I personally really liked and wish you would nominate" because that wouldn't be good since I'm judging them and all.  At some point I will offer a list of "books that sound interesting that I haven't read yet but maybe you have and think they should be nominated."  You can also go visit my lists--Kirkus reviewed books and SLJ reviewed books.  And here's what's already been  nominated.

So anyway, it surprises me that no one has, as of this writing, nominated:

No one has nominated The Girl Who Soared Above Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Catherynne M. Valente!!!!!

The Hostage Prince, by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple.   ? Jane Yolen should have fans, yes???

A Dash of Magic, by Kathryn Littlewood We have three magical dessert books on the list already...it could be four! These things are hot right now!

Bot Wars, by J.V. Kade .  The only eligible robot sci fi book that I can think of. This sub-genre needs to be encouraged.  Edited to add--there a second, just come out robot book- The Winter of the Robots, by Kurtis Scaletta

Fyre, by Angie Sage, is the last of a well-loved series.  I haven't read it yet--maybe the fans don't think it can hold its own???

The Watcher in the Shadows, by Chris Moriarty, the sequel to The Inquisitor's Apprentice.  I don't know if this series has all that many fans, but it deserves them.

Saving Thanehaven, by Catherine Jinks.  I have been on hold for this one at the library for, like, forever.  Maybe everyone else is on hold for it too, and No One Has Actually Read It!  Pause while I do a blog search--it's been read!  Teen Librarian Tool Box said  "Although all readers can appreciate this fun romp, gamers in particular will be enchanted by this unique look at their world.  And in typical Jinks fashion, there is a lot of light humor and fun twists." 

The Whatnot, by Stefan Bachman--it's the sequel to The Peculiar, and I haven't had a chance to read it myself yet, but I loved the Peculiar and am hoping this gets nominated so I can read it with a clear conscience!

and if you are interested in other categories, here's a round-up of other people's lists of The Un-Nominated. 


Originally on this list, but now nominated:

Hokey Pokey, by Jerry Spinelli  got all sorts of buzz when it came out, most of which I missed, because I didn't realize it was fantasy, but people were even talking Newbery....

Sleeping Beauty's Daughters, by Diane Zahler.

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, by Jane Yolen

The Abominables, by Eva Ibbotson.  It's her last book.  Sniff.

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, by Kate Saunders

The Vengekeep Prophecies, by Brian Farrey  Fuse #8 said this about the book back in November 2012:  "With great humor and dexterity Farrey creates a new fantasy world where magic is kept in check, only popping up once in a while to bite our heroes on the bum. Fast and funny, this is one of those rare 400-page novels where I wouldn’t cut so much as a sentence or a paragraph if it meant making the story any shorter." 

Now Nominated Goulish Song, by William Alexander, because, uh, it's the sequel to a National Book Award Winner?

Now Nominated Cats of Tanglewood Forest, by Charles de Lint is another that got lots of good buzz...and he's a famous writer for grown-ups, so surely has fans among readers of MG fantasy?

(Now Nominated--but after looking at it closely, I offered it to YA)  The Reluctant Assassin, by Eoin Colfer.  Another author with fans (at least I think there are fans.  Maybe his fans just don't know about the Cybils).

(Now nominated) Texting the Underworld, by Ellen Booraem.   I thought it would be one of the first to be nominated...There's a Book said "Not only was the premise fantastic, but the characters were strong and well-developed."

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children, by Keith McGowan

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children, by Keith McGowan (Henry Holt, 2009), is a Hansel and Gretel reimaging--in this case, the children, and the witch who wants to eat them, are nextdoor neighbors in a modern urban setting.  The reader knows from the get go what's up, as the book opens with passages from the witch's journal, describing her nasty dietary habits and the means of procurement she uses.  And it does not take long for eleven-year-old Sol and his little sister Connie to realize that something is very wrong with their neighbor--scientifically minded Sol can't help but notice that her dog is playing with a human femur.  Their father and stepmother (with nasty secrets of their own) have a good reason for wanting the kids gone...but will Connie's cussedness and Sol's scientific smarts be sufficient to keep them out of the pot?

Clearly, if you are disturbed by truly mordant humor of the sort in which children are eaten you will not enjoy this book.  However, I didn't actually find this to be the stuff of nightmares.   Nightmares are lurking threats, looming ever closer, insidiously building in terror....and those sorts of books make me sad and sorry for the kids involved, and anxious to hug my own.  But here, since we see the witch from the beginning, reminiscing about different recipes she's used, the threat is right there up front, in an almost over-the-top, verging on absurd, way.    It's handy that readers are given this perspective immediately, so that they can decide whether to continue or not with little investment! 

I myself was happy to keep going, and found it, as it were, very tasty--a fun, fast read that did not inspire any anxiety viz children being eaten.  There are many little bits that amused me lots, like a nice modern twist on the breadcrumbs that Hansel used to mark the path home.  The sibling conflicts between Sol and Connie added depth, and Sol's character--he's a science geek type, unblessed with sympathetic friends, craving support and understanding-- was appealing (and this is what made me anxious to hug my own older one).  And I found the "let's tell it like it is" perspective of the witch amusing. 

Many kids do have a dark sense of humor (I myself, sweet and nice though I was, enjoyed Edward Gory very much at a young age), and I can imagine mine enjoying this one.  That being said, I can also imagine my younger one (10) asking me how I could give him a book that's so mean.  Hard to know.  

The ending is an ending--as in the original story, the witch gets what she deserves--but obviously Sol and Connie can go home again.  I'm half-way through the sequel right now--The Witch's Curse--and am actually more anxious reading this one.  Even though the danger of being eaten is past, the kids aren't out of the woods yet...

I don't often notice illustrations, because of being so busy reading, but couldn't help but notice that the black and white drawings here added beautiful to the balance between humor and fear--here's an example from the author's website:

Recommended enthusiastically, but cautiously--it won't be for everyone, but those who enjoy it will enjoy it lots!   Here's another blog review from Liz at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Waiting on Wednesday--Death Sworn, by Leah Cypess

I do so like Waiting on Wednesday posts--it's nice to pretend that in the future I will be all caught up on my reading, with posts scheduled in advance (I failed to have a time travel book for yesterday's Timeslip Tuesday, which pained me) and all caught up on home renovation projects, and in possession of children who require no help with anything....and I will order a book I want to read, it will come, and I will curl up (perhaps with cookies) and all will be well....

And perhaps the book will be Death Sworn, by Leah Cypess, which comes out March 4, 2013 (which gives me time to do all of the above, assuming the children cooperate):

From Goodreads:  "When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world."

I like school stories, and this sounds like it might count, kinda sorta.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

The Strangers (Books of Elsewhere 4), by Jacqueline West

The Strangers, by Jacqueline West (Dial, 2013) is the fourth book about a girl named Olive who moved into a big old house that was home to an evil magic user.  Among other unpleasant things, he trapped people he didn't like alive in the paintings still hanging on the walls of the house.  The first three books saw Olive exploring the magic of the paintings, almost getting trapped in them herself, and trying to foil the scheme of the old man's grand-daughter Annabelle (herself a painted person) to return and reclaim the house and its magic.  The line between foiling and failing, though, has proven to a very thin one indeed, and even with the help of the three cat guardians of the house on her side, Olive has made serious, scary mistakes.

And she is about to make more.  Only this time, the stakes have been upped even higher--Olive's parents have been taken by the enemy.   And the house has secrets (dark and scary ones) that Olive must face to bring them back....while trying to avoid bring Annabelle, or worse, the evil grandfather, back as well.

Here's my review of The Shadows, the first in the series, which won the Cybils Award for Middle Grade Sci fi/fantasy in 2010.  I've been reading each new book eagerly--it is lovely to return to a series one knows one enjoys, especially when the books aren't 400 pages or so long (like having a cup of coffee with a friend vs having a friend over for the weekend; both are good, but sometimes one is better).   I was confident that The Strangers would take about an hour and a half to read (check), that it would be good to see Olive and the cats again (check) and that there would be mysterious tense-ness, with the added enjoyment of exploring a few more of the magical paintings (check).    So that was good.

Something that sets this series apart from most Middle Grade fantasies is that the magic is right there, filling the main character's house.  In most domestic fantasies, there's maybe a magical item that grants wishes, or takes the kids on journeys, but here Olive is surrounded by enchantments in her own home, making it both sanctuary and locus of danger, which adds considerably to the tension.

I didn't expect the tense-ness to be so great that I wanted to start skimming, which I do when I get nervous because of bad things happening to characters I am empathizing with.    Likewise when antiques get broken and books get burned by bad spirits (I hate reading about such things, and for those who share that mindset--it all gets restored to better than it was).   In short, gripping, and the introduction of new characters and new twists that challenged Olive afresh made it interesting.

Jacqueline West has allowed Olive some forward momentum in her battle against evil magic, both externally (one adversary down) and internally (some growing up accomplished), but there is clearly still more to come.  I am committed to finding out what happens next, so when Book 5 comes out, I'll take it out for a cup of coffee...

This week's Middle Grade Fantasy and Sci Fi round-up (Oct. 6, 2013)

Welcome to the 198th round up of Middle Grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs.   I had the idea for it at Kidlitcon four years and a month ago...and it has become a cornerstone of my blog.  The point of this is that Kidlitcon is a great place to go and get ideas and come back all enthusiastic, it really is, and I am going, and I would like lots to see you all there too!

As ever, please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

The Abominables, by Eva Ibbotson, at Sharon the Librarian

Cave of Wonders (Infinity Ring), by Matthew J. Kirby, at Charlotte's Library

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, by Jane Yolen, at Don't Forget the Avocados

Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, at Children's Books and Reviews

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, at Middle Grade Mafioso and Tales of the Marvelous

Eight Days of Luke, by Diana Wynne Jones, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Evertaster: The Buttersmith's Gold, by Adam Glendon Sidwell, at S.A. Larsen

Exile, by Shannon Messenger, at In Bed With Books 
and YA Book Queen

Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, at Waking Brain Cells

Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman, at Manga Maniac Cafe 

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Fyrefly's Book Blog 

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Sturdy for Common Things

The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, at The Reader's Patch

How to Catch a Bogle, by Catherine Jinks, at Charlotte's Library

The Misadventures of the Magician's Dog, by Frances Sackett, at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer

North of Nowhere, by Liz Kessler, at Becky's Book Reviews

Odessa, Again, by Dana Reinhardt, at Time Travel Times Two 

Other Worlds (Guys Read), edited by Jon Scieszka, at Views from the Tesseract
and The Write Path

The Planet Thieves, by Dan Krokos, at Nerdophiles 

A Question of Magic, by E.D. Baker, at On Starships and Dragonwings and Books of Wonder and Wisdom

The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, at Maria's Melange, The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow, Lynne's Book Notes, and There's a Book

Rose, by Holly Webb, at Wands and Worlds

The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, at Sonderbooks

The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy, by Nikki Loftin, at Akossiwa Ketoglo

Skyjumpers, by Peggy Eddleman, at In Bed With Books

Starbounders, Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobsen, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Time Fetch, by Amy Herrick, at Puss Reboots

What Came From the Stars, by Gary Schmidt, at CSL Children's Department Blog

Wild Born (Spirit Animals), by Brandon Mull, at Getting Kids Reading

Zombie Baseball Beatdown, by Paolo Bacigalupi, at Teen Librarian's Toolbox

An abundance of books, Part 2, including The Borrowers and Tuck Everlasting, at Things Mean a Lot 

Authors and Interviews 

(if you're a publicist or author with a relevant book tour, feel free to send me the link to a page with the list of all the stops!)

Artwork reveal and giveaway for The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, at  Bunbury in the Stacks and an interview/review at Word Spelunking

L.J. Clarkson (The Silver Strand) at SA Larsen

Frances Sackett (The Misadventures of the Magician's Dog) at Kid Lit Frenzy

Other Good Stuff

The Enchanted Inkpot offers one of its wonderful galleries of cover art featuring fall middle grade books here and here.

At Views from the Tesseract. a Tuesday Ten of Unicorns

The True Meaning of Smekday, one of the first crop of Cybils finalists, is coming to the big screen

Keilin Huang, Marketing & Publicity Assistant, and Hannah Ehrlich, Marketing & Publicity Manager at Lee and Low are over at  DiversifYA  in a two part interview (here's part 1)

And speaking of which, A More Diverse Universe blog celebration returns November 15-17--head to this post at Book Lust for more information, and to sign up.

Here are the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction books nominated for the Cybils so far.  If you haven't nominated yet, you could visit my lists of EMG SF books reviewed in Kirkus and SLJ during the eligibility period (Oct 16, 2013 through Oct 15, 2013), where you will fine many fine, at yet un-nominated, books.

And finally, here's what my son wants to be for Halloween--a Venetian plague doctor.  If anyone has any beak advice I'd welcome it--I'm thinking chicken wire and paper mache, but want to make sure I end up with a beak that has Wearability, because there's a costume contest at school...

The elementary/middle grade speculative fiction books reviewed by School Library Journal that aren't in the Kirkus list I made

After publishing my updated Kirkus list of Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction books (with an eye to Cybils nominations), I was filled with doubt regarding all the books that Kirkus didn't review.  So I went to the  School Library Journal's monthly lists of books they reviewed and pulled out the ones that looked eligible (no guarantees, though--I was trying to move along quickly).

So if you haven't yet nominated a book in EMG SF, maybe one of these is the book for you!  The ones already nominated are in green.

December

KELLY, Jacqueline. Return to the Willows.

January

BAUER, Hans & Catherine Masciola. Fishtale

February

BURGESS, V. L. The Mapmaker’s Sons

NEIMARK, Gillian. The Golden Rectangle. 

ODYSSEY, Shawn Thomas. The Magician’s Tower. 

RESNICK, Jacqueline. The Daring Escape of the Misfit Menagerie. 

THOMSON, Jamie. Dark Lord: The Early Years.

March

KARCHUT , Darby. Finn Finnegan. 

LERANGIS , Peter. The Colossus Rises. 

MAGNIN , Joyce. Cake: Love, Chickens and a Taste of Peculiar.

April

HOLUB , Joan & Suzanne Williams. Poseidon and the Sea of Fury.

NYLUND , Eric. Titan Base. Bk. 3. 276p. (The Resisters Series)

 

THOMPSON , Paul B. The Fortune-Teller. 

May

GRIFFITHS, Andy. The 13-Story Treehouse. 

HOLT, Christopher. The Vanishing. Bk. 1.  (The Last Dogs Series). 

WINDHAM, Ryder with Jason Fry. Battle Mountain. Bk. 2. 260p. (Transformers Classified Series)

June

BRADLEY, Timothy J. Infestation.

 

KROSOCZKA, Jarrett J. The Frog Who Croaked. 

 

MATTHEWS, Patrick. Dragon Run. 

 

OLIVER, Lin & Theo Baker. The Shadow Mask.

 

July

DANESHVARI, Gitty. Ghoulfriends Just Want to Have Fun. Bk. 2.

 

HAIG, Matt. To Be a Cat.

HOLT, Christopher. Dark Waters. Bk. 2.. (The Last Dogs Series).

 

YOLEN, Jane &  Adam Stemple. The Hostage Prince. 

August

FAGAN, Cary. Danny, Who Fell in a Hole.

KAPLAN, Bruce Eric. Cousin Irv from Mars.

LUBAR, David. Numbed! 

SALANE, Jeffrey. Lawless. Bk. 1. 277p. (Lawless Series).

SODERBERG, Erin. The Quirks: Welcome to Normal.

SUTCLIFFE, William. The Wall. 

September

GEORGE, Jessica Day. Wednesdays in the Tower. 

JARVIS, Robin. Dark Waters of Hagwood.

KELLEY, Jane. The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya.

SACKETT, Frances. The Misadventures of the Magician’s Dog. 

 October

AMATEAU, Gigi. Macadoo of the Maury River

BATES, Ron. How to Make Friends and Monsters.

CURTIS, Vanessa. The Haunting of Tabitha Grey.

ELSE, Barbara. The Queen and the Nobody Boy: A Tale of Fontania. 

FITZGERALD, Sarah Moore. Back to Blackbrick.

HOBBS, Valerie. Wolf

RIMES, Raleigh. Dinosaurology: The Search for a Lost World. illus. by G. Blythe et al. 30p. (Ologies Series).

Ripley's Believe It of Not--Dare to Look, starring Camilla the Space Chicken

My mind has been distracted and confused (more so than usual) by the busy-ness of organizing the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Cybils nominations, and (the Shame!) by the fact that, thanks to a tweet a while back from Liz, I have discovered Candy Crush on Facebook.  Sigh. 

Happily today I have a book received from review that is fairly straightforward to write about--it's more a "this book is in the world" post.

Dare to Look is the latest offering from Ripley's (September 10, 2013), and if you have seen one of their books, you'll have a good idea of the mind candy/image and fact explosion/startling, disturbing, fascinating content that these books offer.  This one is no exception.   Some things are grotesque, like the guy who holds the record for most clothes pegs attached to the face--161, some are scary, like a Swedish evil clown who gets hired to terrify children at birthday parties, and some are very side-show-esque, like a real "wolf boy"--a man suffering from "werewolf" syndrome, and a man who ended up with a big toe where his thumb should be, and vice versa....

I myself enjoy the more historical trivia sort of facts than the "freakish" ones; I can't help but feel a bit voyeuristic looking into the eyes of the Wolf Boy, for instance.   On the other hand, he's making a living from his difference, and it was his choice to be in the book...so it might well be the sort of thing that could lead to a Profitable Discussion with a handy child about how strange and quirky things happen in some people's bodies and, those these things might be odd, they are superficial differences and there it is, and one says "huh" (or other interested but not judgemental noise) and moves on.

Although I get a bit dizzy reading the Ripley's books cover to cover, I do enjoy dipping into them.  Here is something that I had somehow missed at the time--in March of 2012 Camilla the rubber chicken was launched by NASA to the edge of space to test levels of radiation during an intense solar storm.   I think it is great that NASA has a sense of humor, and I truly appreciate that someone make her a knitted sweater.  (She parachuted safely back to Earth).

(image from NASA's image of the day website, which, for some strange reason (sarcasm) isn't loading today).

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Wondering what to nominate for the Cybils in Elementary/Middle Grade speculative fiction? A list of Kirkus reviewed books

Just over eighty  books have been nominated for the Cybils so far in Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction (for which I'm category organizer and panelist).  And although it would be perfectly possible to make a great short list from just those books, there are many more out there! 

I've been trolling through Kirkus' reviews from October 16 2012 to today, and have compiled a list of what looked eligible at a quick glance (you might well have seen the earlier version of this, and I'll be updating this through the 15th, the last day of eligibility for this year).   There are lots of fine books that Kirkus didn't review, of course, but I can't see how I'd find them all to list them....so no offense intended to those books.  And I can't promise I didn't make mistakes.

I don't actually want all these books nominated (and a Cybils nomination should mean that someone really truly loved the book); instead, I think of this as a useful tool in reminding people (such as me) of books that might otherwise be forgotten. 

I've marked the ones that are already nominated in green, and I'll mark new nominations thus as they come in.  If the title's in blue, that means I put the link in to the Kikus review, and the green-ness of the author has to indicate that it's been nominated!

The Vengekeep Prophecies, by Brian Farrey

The Maelstrom, by Henry H. Neff

The Twinning Project, by Robert Lipsyte

"Who Could that Be At This Hour?" by Lemony Snicket

Hollow Earth, by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman

The Secret Prophecy, by Herbie Brennan

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, by Jane Yolen

Divide and Conquer, by Carrie Ryan

Super, by Matthew Cody

Here Where the Sunbeams are Green, by Helen Phillips

Darwen Arkwright and the Insidious Bleck, by A.J.Hartley

The Lost King, by Ursula Jones

Heroes of Mercy Hall, by Garth Edwards

Secrets of Mercy Hall, by Garth Edwards

The Steam Mole, by Dave Freer (YA?)

The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon, by S.S. Taylor

Fire Prophet, by Jerel Law

Magicalamity, by Kate Saunders

Zombie Kid, by Scott J. Savage

Shadow Breakers, by Daniel Blythe

If the Shoe Fits, by Sarah Mlynowski

The Lost Heir, by Tui T. Sutherland

The Shadow Mask, by Lin Oliver and Theo Baker

How to Scare the Pants off your Pets, by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

Quest for the Spark, Book Three, by Tom Sniegoski

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, by Chris Kurtz 

The Seven Swords, by Nils Johnson-Shelton

Jinx, by Sage Blackwood

The Water Castle, by Megan Frazer Blakemore 

Beholding Bea, by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Hokey Pokey, by Jerry Spinelli

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket, by John Boyne

Hyde and Shriek, by David Lubar

The Slither Sisters, by Charles Gilman

Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels, by Hélène Boudreau

Girl Meets Ghost, by Lauren Barnholdt

The Trap Door, by Lisa McMann

Unlucky Charms, by Adam Rex

Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp, by Nathan Bransford

City of Death, by Laurence Yep

The Curse of the Pharaoh, by Steve Stevenson

Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff, by Robert Paul Weston

A Dash of Magic, by Kathryn Littlewood

Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun, by Liz Kessler

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff

Cloneward Bound, by M.E. Castle

The Fellowship for Alien Detection, by Kevin Emerson

Pip and the Twilight Seekers, by Chris Mould

The Runaway King, by Jennifer A. Nielsen

In Search of Goliathus Hercules, by Jennifer Angus

My Epic Fairy Tale Fail, by Anna Staniszewski

Freaks, by Kieran Larwood

The Legend Thief, by E.J. Patten

Undertown, by Melvin Jules Bukiet

Goulish Song, by William Alexander

Mirage, by Jenn Reese

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, by Charles de Lint

The Menagerie, by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland

Garden Princess, by Kristin Kladstrup

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, by Kate Saunders

Code, by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time, by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Through the Skylight, by Ian Baucom

The Witch's Curse, by Keith McGowan

Bot Wars, by J.V. Kade

The Ultra Violets, by Sophie Bell

When the Butterflies Came, by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Canary in the Coal Mine, by Madelyn Rosenberg

Home Sweet Rome, by Marissa Moss

How I Met My Monster, by R.L. Stine

Hammer of Witches, by Shana Mlawski (YA?)

Frogged, by Vivian Vande Velde

The Key and the Flame, by Claire M. Caterer

The Sasquatch Escape, by Suzanne Selfors

 Lenny Cyrus, School Virus, by Joe Schreiber

Story's End, by Marissa Burt

Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis

We Give a Squid a Wedgie, by C. Alexander London

The Flame in the Mist, by Kit Grindstaff

The Incredible Charlotte Sycamore, by Kate Maddison

Rump, by Liesl Shurtliff

Thrice Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris

Bad Unicorn, by Platte F. Clark

Gustav Gloom and the Nightmare Vault, by Adam-Troy Castro

Fyre, by Angie Sage

Summerkin, by Sarah Prineas

The Silver Dream, by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves (YA?)

House of Secrets, by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini

The Ability, by M.M. Vaughan

Unnatural Creatures, edited by Neil Gaiman and Maria Dahvana Headley (YA?)

The Hidden Deep, by Chrita Kine

 The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, by Christopher Healy

The Path of Names, by Ari Goelman

The Spies of Gerander, by Frances Watts

New Lands, by Geoff Rodkey

Doll Bones, by Holly Black

Olympus at War, by Kate O'Hearn

Loki's Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr

Teacher's Pest, by Charles Gilman

The Lightning Catcher, by Anne Cameron

An Army of Frogs, by Trevor Pryce and Joel Naftali

A Hidden Enemy, by Erin Hunter

Odessa Again, by Dana Reinhardt

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani

The Glitter Trap, by Barbara Brauner and James Iver Mattson

A Box of Gargoyles, by Anne Nesbet

The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke

Giving to the Poor, by Peter Abrahams

The Watcher in the Shadows, by Chris Moriarty

The Planet Thieves, by Dan Krokos

The Pirate's Coin, by Marianne Malone

Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell

A Mischief of Mermaids, by Suzanne Harper

The Secret of the Twelfth Continent, by Antonia Michaelis

Haunters, by Thomas Taylor

Curse of the Ancients, by Matt de la Pena

Starbounders, by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

The Apprentices, by Maile Meloy

Escape from the Pipe Men! by Mary G. Thompson

Pi in the Sky, by Wendy Mass

The Wells Bequest, by Polly Shulman

Evil Eye, by Jeff Szpirglas

The Ravens of Solemano, by Eden Unger Bowditch

How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle

Sidekicked, by John David Anderson

Playing With Fire, by Bruce Hale

The Feros, by Wesley King

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, by Richard Peck

What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World, by Henry Clark

Rules for Ghosting, by A.J. Paquette

Saving Thanehaven, by Catherine Jinks

Bone Quill, by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman

The Glass Puzzle, by Christine Brodien-Jones

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt

The Alchemist War, by John Seven

The Rise of a Legend, by Kathryn Lasky

The Hypnotists, by Gordon Korman

The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, by Dan Poblocki

My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush, by Laura Toffler-Corrie

North of Nowhere, by Liz Kessler

Listening for Lucca, by Suzanne LaFleur

Momo, by Michael Ende

The Time Fetch, by Amy Herrick

Fear the Barfitron, by M.D. Payne

Texting the Underworld, by Ellen Booraem

Sleeping Beauty's Daughters, by Diane Zahler

The Year of Shadows, by Claire Legrand

Earthfall, by Mark Waldon

The Lost Kingdom, by Matthew Kirby

Time Travel Trouble, by Scott Seegert

The Beasts of Upton Puddle, by Simon West-Bulford

Hit the Road, Helen, by Kate McMullan

Super Schnoz and the Gates of Smell, by Gary Urey

Mickey Price Journey to Oblivian, by John P. Stanley

Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird, by Eleanor Hawkin

How to Catch a Boggle, by Catherine Jinx

Risked, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Island of Fire, by Lisa McMann

The Harder the Fall, by Lauren Barnholdt

The Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School, by Fowler DeWitt

Rose, by Holly Webb

Magic Marks the Spot, by Caroline Carlson

Wake Up Missing, by Kate Messner

Zombie Baseball Beatdown, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Wild Born, by Brandon Mull

The Mysterious Woods of Whistle Root, by Christopher Pennell

Death of a King, by Andrew H. Vanderwal

Fallout, by Todd Strasser

Superkid in Training, by Jennifer Allison

Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka

Fortunatly, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman

The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud

The Monster in the Mudball, by S.P. Gates

The Lonely Lake Monster, by Suzanne Selfors

The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu

Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo

Making the Team, by Scott J. Savage

Wild Boy, by Rob Lloyd Jones

Sky Jumpers, by Peggy Eddleman

Joshua Dread: The Nameless Hero, by Lee Bacon

Pinocula, by Obert Skye

The Dragon at the North Pole, by Kate Klimo

The Third Door, by Emily Rodda

The Field of Wacky Inventions, by Patrick Carman

The Last Present, by Wendy Mass

The Whatnot, by Stefan Bachman

Chupacabra, by Roland Smith

Empire of Bones, by N.D. Wilson

Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice, by Daniel Pinkwater

Time Trapped, by Richard Ungar

Atlantis Rising, by T.A. Barron

Ghost Prison, by Joseph Delaney

Hive Mind, by Timothy J. Bradley

Constable and Toop, by Gareth P. Jones

Villains Rising, by Jeramey Kraatz

Mousemobile, by Prudence Breirose

Exile, by Shannon Messenger

Blue Moon, by James Ponti

A Question of Magic, by E.D. Baker

The Princess of Cortova, by Diane Stanley

Lucy at Sea, by Barbara Mariconda

The Abominables, by Eva Ibbotson

The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, by John Bemelmans Marciano

The Wolf Princess, by Cathryn Constable

The Winter of the Robots, by Kurtis Scaletta

Archon, by Lana Krumwiede

Anton and Cecil, Cats at Sea, by Lisa Martin and Valerie Martin

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Catherynne M. Valente

The Storybook of Legends, by Shannon Hale

The House of Hades, by Rick Riordan

When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket

Code Name 711, by F.T. Bradley

Cave of Wonders: Infinity Ring Book 5, by Matthew J. Kirby, for Timeslip Tuesday

Cave of Wonders, by Matthew Kirby (Scholastic 2013), is the fifth book of a series, with each book written by a different author, in which three kids jump around time to fix the breaks in history that will cause a violent cataclysm if left broken.   For the kid who enjoyed the Magic Treehouse books three or so years ago, and who enjoys a bit of (occasionally) violent mayhem, these are a good pick.  (There are lots of on-line extras, including time-travel games, to add interest).

Each of the (shortish) books is a new adventure in a new time and place...and each time the bad guys of SQ try to thwart the kids (I cannot, at this point in my reading, remember why), and good guys (a secret order of Hystorians [sic]) help them.  And in each book the kids face dangers, escape from dangers through luck and (sometimes) intelligence, and emerge ready to start again in a new time (I am thinking they really need a vacation before they go to pieces--they have been through weeks of horrible tension at this point, and I would have cracked long ago).

But in any event, here in book five they are in Babylon just as it is about to be attacked and destroyed by a Mongol army, and their mission is to save the writings of Aristotle from its main library (which I'm assuming is the titular cave of wonders, because I don't remember any other caves...).  There's not much in the way of American middle-grade fiction set in the medieval Islamic world, so I was intrigued, and although the world-building doesn't go to far beyond courtyards and gardens, and carpets and donkeys, there are also the great libraries, and at the very least it is a Good Thing to introduce young American readers to the idea that the Near East has a history of its own...

I would also like to express my gratitude to the author for moving the relationship between the three young protagonists along in a healthier direction.  There's a lot less sniping and unpleasantness in this installment, and they are finally starting to talk to each other about what's worrying them.  On the other hand, the focus is so much on the adventure that there's not a whole lot of page time given to character growth...oh well.

The next one up takes them to WW II, which appeals to me...so I shall continue onward even though I am increasingly bothered by the fact that I have no clue what's motivating the bad guys.  What I would really like is for everyone to spend quite time in the original present, falling back, regrouping, repairing the time travel equipment, reminding forgetful readers about the larger story arc, etc.; the groundwork for this has been laid, so maybe it will happen...

(thanks to its multiracial protagonists, this is another for my list of diverse sci fi/fantasy for young readers...)

disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher

Cybils nominations!

I had a nightmare last night that someone nominated a really creepy book about a family of humanoid potatoes for the Cybils.  Such a relief to wake up and see that all the lovely books nominated so far include no root vegetables as main characters!

Fourteen of them so far in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction...will we pass last year's total of 150 before nominations close on midnight of October 15?

The central nominations page is here--go forth and spread the love for your favorite books of the past year!  (Oct. 16, 2012, to Oct. 15, 2013).