Waiting on Wednesday--The Watcher in the Shadows, by Chris Moriarty

Way back in October of 2011, I reviewed The Inquititor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty (that's the more kid-friendly paperback cover shown at right).  It's a mystery set in a late 19th century New York in which there is magic, and tells of how two kids are recruited by the branch of the NYPD whose job is to solve magical crimes.
 
I adored Inspector Wolf, the inquisitor of the title.  As I said in my review,. he "reminded me a bit of Lord Peter Whimsey, crossed with Howl, with a dash of Eugenides, mainly because he is very, very good at not revealing all that is going on inside his brilliant mind."  I cannot wait to meet him again in the forthcoming sequel!

The Watcher in the Shadows comes out from Harcourt Children's Books on May 28, 2013.
 
"At the turn of the twentieth century, New York’s Bowery District becomes the scene of a terrible murder when the Klezmer King gets fried to a crisp by his Electric Tuxedo—on stage! The Inquisitor’s apprentice, thirteen-year-old Sacha Kessler, tries to help find the killer, but the closer he gets to solving the crime, the more it sounds as if the creature that haunted him in his first adventure is back. Worse still, his own Jewish family is in danger. Sacha has avoided learning magic until now, but as his world falls apart around him, he changes his mind."

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

Crow Country, by Kate Constable, for Timeslip Tuesday

In Crow Country (Allen & Unwin, 2012), Australian author Kate Constable has written a brave and heartfelt story that draws on the Aboriginal heritage of Place and Story, and that addresses racism (past and present) head on.  It is only partly successful.

White, city-girl Sadie had no desire to move to the country town where her mother grew up, and, once there, has no desire to make connections to the land and the people living there.  But beneath the mud of a dried-out reservoir, she finds carved stones--part of a story as old as the land, Crow Country, place of the Dja Dja Wurrung.  Crow comes to her, leading her back in time, making her part of a tragedy in which her own family was complicit.   In brief passages of time, Sadie takes the place of another girl, unwilling party to the cover up of the brutal murder of Jimmy Raven, an Aboriginal man.  The secret burial of Jimmy Raven involved a wrong done not just to him, but to his kin. 

Meanwhile, in the present, Sadie finds herself stuck being companionable with Walter, nephew of her mother's old flame David, himself Aboriginal.  And Walter's toughness (he's the one who advocates trespassing, who uses violence) gives Sadie both the impetus she needs to solve the mystery of Jimmy Raven in the present, and the connection to the Aboriginal elder who will set things right.

On the plus side, the time travel part of the book is extremely gripping.  Because Sadie already has a place that's she's filling back in the past, the difficult bits of being in another time aren't the point--she's there to observe three men who fought together in World War I, and how the bond they formed then is overwhelmed by the racism and economic disparities back in Australia.  I found this fascinating. And although it didn't break any new ground, I also was reasonably happy to read about Sadie's life ordinary life in the present--trying to fit in to a new a community, dealing her mother's rekindled relationship with David,  and her own attraction to privileged boy Lachie.

I'm always in favor of books that address racism head on, as Kate Constable does, and I appreciated that she is careful and respectful in her presentation of Aboriginal beliefs, acknowledged in the forward written by Elder Gary Murray of the Dja Dja Wurrung Yung Balug Clan.

But unfortunately, I was never able to be entirely comfortable with Sadie in her role of  Crow's chosen one.  She is a white girl setting right a past wrong done to Aboriginal people, assisted by an Aboriginal boy who brings danger and violence to the quest.   In fairness, Sadie's family had a large part in things going wrong, and so, at one level, I'm fine with her having to take steps to set things right.  But I'm not comfortable with the white girl having so much more positive a role than the Aboriginal boy.  All this came to a head for me when Sadie says to an Aboriginal Elder--"you can trust me" (page 179).

This is a flash point phrase for me, because I used it myself once, in a very well meaning but utterly naive way, when I was new to my job as an archaeologist working with the federally recognized tribe of my state.  I will never forget the well-deserved dressing down I got from the Tribal Preservation Officer to whom I said it.  The gist of it was that "trust" is an incredibly loaded word, fraught with colonialist oppression and power dynamics, and that the Tribe is able to make decisions about its own cultural patrimony without having to place any trust whatsoever in a naive white girl.

As long as I was able to keep my mind in sync with Sadie's self-centered adolescent persona, I was able to turn the pages briskly, finding the mystery and the mythology and (to a lesser extent) the personal dynamics gripping, as a thinker I was troubled...and it's one of those books where the more you start thinking, the harder it is stop.  It was particularly troubling that the wrong being set right wasn't about bringing justice to Jimmy Raven as an individual who was murdered and secretly buried.  If you want to know more about the troubling-ness of this story, I can't say it any better than Ana does over at The Book Smugglers

However, many have found merit in the book--Crow Country was the  2012 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Award – Younger Readers, and was shortlisted for the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Children’s literature award as well as the 2012 WA Premier’s Literary Award. 

The Lost Heir (Wings of Fire, Book 2), by Tui T. Sutherland

If I were a different sort of person, I might have created some sort of spread sheet for the books I was reading for the Cybils, giving them points for the two categories by which we evaluated them-- Kid Appeal and Literary Merit.   The Dragonet Prophecy (the first book of the Wings of Fire), by Tui Sutherland (Scholastic 2012), would have gotten extremely high marks for its kid appeal, and indeed, if I had to recommend one book on our list of 151 to a random fourth grade kid, it would have been this one.

Of all the books that didn't make it onto our final list, this is the one I regret most.

The second book, The Lost Heir, is now out in the world, and has been out in my son's fourth grade classroom since he took my review copy to share.   The list was long, and the readers still waiting in line are restless--the girl who presently has it has misplaced it....although at this point they can all just go to the book store and buy it, so its not quite as tense as it was back in December.  So in a nutshell--yes, the kidlit appeal of this series is still going strong.

Each book in the series is told from the point of view of one of five young dragons, taken as eggs to a secret hiding place and raised with the assumption that they will be the Dragonets of Prophecy, who will bring peace to the warring dragon factions.  In this book, sea-dragon Tsunami is reunited with her mother, Queen Coral...but though Tsunami does her best to see things through rose-colored spectacles (and indeed, her mother is very glad to have her back), all is not, in fact, rose petals and happiness.   For starters, Tsunami's dragonet companions are imprisoned, and her loyalties are torn, and this is just one small part of the whole business of warring dragon factions that Tsunami can't pretend doesn't exist.

And then Tsunami finds herself facing a dark mystery--someone, or something, has been killing Queen Coral's daughters.   Tsunami herself was saved by being kidnapped while still in her egg...and unless she can figure out what's happening, her unhatched baby sister will be the next victim of the mysterious killer.

So yes, there are dragon deaths, and political intrigues, and injustices and machinations that must be faced.  Tsunami has a hard time with the facing part of it--she wants her life to have a story book happy ending, and she wants as well to be a clear, decisive leader for whom everything works out just the way she wants it too, but that's not what happens.  She must learn hard lessons.

There's not as much violence as there was in the first book, but dragons do die, and Queen Coral, though a loving mother with many fine qualities, is not above torturing and executing dragons who fail her.   Tsunami is busy trying not to think to critically of her mother, so readers are left to form their own opinions--which, in my case, boiled down to "girl, get your friends together and get the heck out of there."

Which, happily, is what ends up happening.  Because it's the friendships of the dragonets that give the series its heart, and with the tight focus on Tsunami in this book, that got a tad overshadowed.   Next up is Glory's story--the secrets of the Rainwings revealed! (The Hidden Kingdom, coming June 3)

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

This Week's Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction Round-up (!/6/2013)

 Welcome to the first mg sff round up of 2013!  In case anyone is new to these posts, what I do is read skim as many blogs as I can, looking for reviews of mg sff, so that I can gather them all together in one easily found place so that fellow fans of the genre can enjoy them.   Please let me know, this week, or any week, if you have a post for me, or if I missed a post by you or your loved ones.

The Big News:

The Cybils Shortlists have been announced, and here are the lovely books us first round mg sff panelists came up with!  (click here to see the blurbs we wrote for them)

Beswitched by Kate Saunders
Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung
The Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

The Reviews:

The Aviary, by Kathleen O’Dell, at Beyond Books

The Cup and the Crown, by Diane Stanley, at Kid Lit Geek

Elliot and the Goblin War, by Jennifer Nielsen, at My Precious

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Bookends and Literate Lives

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Ex Libris

Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling--Michael Morpurgo at The Guardian

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill, at Karissa's Reading Review

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at Challenging the Bookworm

Palace of Stone, by Shannon Hale, at Stacked

The Path of Beasts, by Lian Tanner, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Peculiar, by Stefan Bachmann, at books4yourkids 

Pip and the Wood Witch Curse, by Chris Mould, at Charlotte's Library

Posiden and the Sea of Fury, by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, at The Write Path

Shadow Breakers, by Daniel Blythe, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Spirit Fighter, by Jay Law, at Challenging the Bookworm

Tilly's Moonlight Garden, by Julia Green, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snickett, at Biblio File 

Two fantasy moth books--Margaret and the Moth Tree, by Brit Trogan and Kari Trogan, and The Grey Ghost, by Julie Hahnke, at Charlotte's Library

Other Good Stuff:

At From the Mixed Up Files, Sayantani DasGupta asks--Is there a shortage of girls in mg sff?  I think not, myself, and the comments are full of recommendations.  Watching the books I'm offering to my own young fantasy reader, I'm rather thrilled to see how many books with central characters who are girls he's loving, and I think that if you want your boy to "read girls," mgsff is your best bet.  Followed by graphic novels.

Which is illustrated by my own look at the mg sff sequels and series continuators coming out this spring--6 star girls (one being a girl dragon) and 3 star boys.

For those interested in diversity in mg sff--here's my round up of all the 2012 books I found whose central protagonists aren't white kids.

It would actually take 2.5 million seagulls to lift the Giant Peach (via The Guardian).   Logistically challenging.

The sequels that my young companion in fantasy reading and I are most looking forward to this spring

I am so very happy that my nine-year old is a Reader, and more than that, that he shares (more or less) my own tastes!  This means that when his birthday comes along in early May, I can get him books that I want too! 

Spring is going to be a happy time for us--here's are the books we are looking forward to most (because even though trying a  new author is fun, revisiting a series is even better):

The Runaway King, by Jennifer Nielsen (March 2013).  My son just read the last page of The False Prince an hour ago, and loved it.  So gratifying, since it was one of my favorites of 2012, and one I was very happy to have had a hand in putting on our Cybils shortlist.
 
Fyre, by Angie Sage (April 2013)  He's just starting this series, but should be caught up by spring...

How to Train Your Dragon: How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel, by Cressida Cowell (April 2013).  I've only read the first book of the series, so this one will really be for him (and the friends he shares it with!)

Wednesdays in the Tower, by Jessica Day George (May 2013).  My picky 12 year old shares our excitement...if you want to give a boy a fantasy book with a girl main character, Tuesdays at the Castle is the one that I'd recommend first.

The Hidden Kingdom (Wings of Fire, book 3) by Tui T. Sutherland (June 2013).  This comes out after his birthday, but perhaps if we're lucky we will get a review copy because we are So Excited to see what happens to the dragonets of prophecy next....One of my son's friends has misplaced the copy of book 2 (The Lost Heir--I'll be reviewing it on Monday) that he took to school to lend to everyone, and apparently there is much grief among those who were still in line to read it, although now that's it out in the world, they can at least go find it at the bookstore.

And then there are some series continuors that I want for myself, to wit:

Mirage, by Jenn Reese, the sequel to Above World.  I'm looking forward to re-entering this fascinating world.

Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis (April).  Kat, Incorrigible I thought was just fine, but not that special, Renegade Magic I liked lots indeed, and my hopes are high for book three!

 Summerkin, by Sarah Prineas (April)  Sequel to Winterling, which I should offer my son soon....

A Box of Gargoyles, by Anne Nesbet (May)  The sequel to the truly excellent Cabinet of Earths, another Cybils shortlisted title.

Two fantasy moth books--Margaret and the Moth Tree, and The Grey Ghost

Many Saturdays ago I promised a look at two middle grade fantasy books featuring moths, and (mostly for my own sake, because books that have been reviewed can be shelved or passed on to the library), I am determined to follow through, though the hour is late.

The first moth fantasy, Margaret and the Moth Tree, by Brit Trogan and Kari Trogan, (Kids Can Press, 2009), is a rather fetching tale.  Poor Margaret has ended up at a horrible orphanage, run by an egotistical maniac who has the art of deception down to a science.  When visitors come, the orphanage seems a paradise, but it is really a nightmare for the poor inmates, all of whom must serve the twisted doyen who rules their lives.  Fortunately for Margret, she learned during her solitary childhood to listen with a focused intensity to sounds most people can't hear, and this gift enables her to make friends with a moth.

Although that last statement may sound odd, out in the uncontextualized cold, within the world of the story it makes sense.   With the help of the moth and his kin, Margaret brings about the downfall of the dastardly mistress of the orphanage, and all is well.

If only this book had a different cover it would doubtless charm many a young  reader, for it is a charming story!  A cover with a flowering tree under the moonlight, studded with star-like moths, and an appealing, perhaps even fairy-like, girl beneath it....which is how I imagine Margaret.  But the actual cover is so drab that this book might be a very hard sell.

If you get past the cover, you get a very nice indeed orphan story, one I myself enjoyed quite a bit.

My second moth fantasy was also a Cybils review copy....back in 2009.  But I never gave up on the possibility of reviewing it.  It has bravely sat on the shelf next the  computer, waiting, and at last its time has come (though I had to re-read it).

The Grey Ghost, by Julie Hahnke (PublishingWorks, 2009), is a historical fantasy, set in 16th-century Scotland.  It's the story of eleven-year-old Angus, who finds himself the sole survivor of his clan--all his kin have been massacred by Black Duncan Campbell. 

It falls to Angus to unravel the secrets of his clan, and claim its ancient treasure...while bringing down Black Duncan.  It's a lot for one boy on his own to accomplish, but fortunately Angus has help, of an unlikely kind.  A luna moth, a spirit of the earth, appears to him, setting him along his way, and sends to friends to help him--a pine martin and a goshawk.

Yes, it sounds unlikely, and those who flinch from talking animals may well find it hard to suspend their disbelief, but it actually does work (although I have to confess it took a lot for me to accept a spiritual advisor in the form of a luna moth, especially in Scotland!).  And the whole ensemble is a fast-paced, exciting story.    Angus' situation is a sad and desperate one--the stakes are rather high, and there is some grim fighting, but the animal friends lighten things up, leavening the grimness with their fantasy. 

By way of warning, though, the animal friends don't show up until a considerable ways into the book, by which point the more sensitive young reader looking for fantasy escapism might have decided the book isn't for them (which is why I've not offered this to my own 9 year old yet).  The generous number of appealing black and white illustrations, however, might counter-balance this, keeping said reader's interest....

(disclaimer:  both of these were received from their publishers for Cybils review purposes)

Pip and the Wood Witch Curse, written and illustrated by Chris Mould

Determined to briskly review books received for Cybils consideration, and move them right along to permanent homes, today I offer Pip and the Wood Witch Curse, written and illustrated by Chris Mould (Albert Whitman, 2012).  It's the start of a new series, one that should find many fans among 8 and 9 year old devotees (or nascent devotees) of fantasy.

Young orphan Pip is about to be sold of into a miserable, and most unwanted, life at sea.  But chance smiles (perhaps) on him, and he escapes into the brutal winter night, hiding himself away in the wagon of a company of travelling players.

(At which point I though this would be another circus fantasy, with Pip mastering arcane jugging skills or some such.  Boy was I wrong).

The wagon takes him to the town of Hangman's Hollow, a place as dark as its name.  It is a town surrounded by a witch-filled wood--and the witches are hungry for children.  But in Hangman's Hollow there are no children, save for a few tucked hidden into secret corners by their desperate parents.   And Pip finds himself taken in by one such father,  whose own son has been kept enclosed all his life.

Outside, sinister forces hunt for fresh victims...and Pip has caught their attention.  Will the Wood Witch Curse claim him, or can he outwit it?

So, in other words, a dark and spooky tale.   It is not, however, an unfriendly story for the young reader (say, third or fourth grade) who likes things dark and spooky--in fact, it is perfect for such a kid.  It is profusely illustrated, with many detailed black and white drawings, that include full page, multi-paneled depictions of the action, offering the more uncertain reader a nice break from words. 

And it's a friendly looking book, too, for the kid leaving easier chapter books and moving toward full blown middle grade fantasy.   It's short (165 pages), of smaller dimensions than, say, Harry Potter, and nicely solid.  Leafing through it, the pictures catch the eye nicely--no page after page of intimidating text. 

It's a good story, too, with mystery and creepiness, leavened here and there with humor (though not one I'd go out of my way to recommend to adult readers of fantasy, who aren't, after all, the intended audience).  Though Pip's adventures are truly scary, he does have friends on his side, and one is never in any real doubt that he will prevail.

This one is a UK import, published over there in January, 2012.  Here's that cover.  I'm not entirly sold on either one--the US Pip looks a bit unfriendly (even Golem-esque), and the UK cover looks like a movie poster....

My favorite books of 2012, and the Cybils shortlists

I waited until today to share my favorite books of 2012, partly because I was reading right up to the wire, and partly so as not to inadvertently give away anything about the Cybils shortlist for mg sff.  Now the shortlists are up!

Here's what we shortlisted (and boy, was it a stuggle to limit it to seven out of the grand total of 151 books nominated!)

Beswitched by Kate Saunders
Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung
The Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

I have no idea which is going to win, and I don't envy the second round panelists their job!  For the full blurbs of our shortlist, and all the other fine shortlists, head over to the Cybils site!

On to my own favorite books.

For the first time in my life, I tried to keep track of the number of books I read in a whole year, using Goodreads.  I finished at least 312 books (not including picture books or graphic novels), which is about what I expected, given all the other distractions in my life.  In the process of recording, I did, however, surprise myself by realizing for the first time how many books I start but don't finish (I didn't keep exact track, but it was easily 100).   Of all the books I read, only nine were re-reads (thanks to the influx of books to review, and to the Cybils, and to so many recommendations from other bloggers!)  Although it's fun reading new books, this makes me a bit sad, because being a re-reader is part of my self-image.  Rather than consuming books and moving on, like a brush fire, I want to surround myself with books I love, and keep them for future warmth.

So these are my favorites of the books that I read in 2012 that I have kept to read again (not counting the already re-read).  Which is a very personal thing, so this list isn't at all the same as a list of books that I'd argue were the "best," or the books I'd recommend most heartily. 

 

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde.  Utterly satisfying magical fun.

Tilly's Moonlight Garden, by Julia Green. Best doll house furniture of the decade. Good fox too. Other things as well.

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater.   I will want to read this again just before reading the next one!

Summer of the Mariposas, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.  Sisters!  Plus new to me mythology and and a setting and context that was utterly fascinating.

House of Shadows, by Rachel Neumeier.   I think I will enjoy it even more on re-reading, because of soothingly knowing what's going to happen!

Caterpillar Hall, by Anne Barrett.   A beautiful comfort read that I should have read in my childhood so that I could already have had the pleasure of re-reading it many times.

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen.   I love Sage, and can't wait for the sequel.

The Sherwood Ring, by Elizabeth Marie Pope.   I put this one off for years, because of not really liking the 18th century.  Silly me!

(just for my own record keeping, I reviewed 144ish books, not including picture books or easy graphic novels).

Looking for kids of color in the middle grade sci fi/fantasy books of 2012

For a number of reasons, I want there to be lots of sci fi/fantasy books for middle grade kids (ages 9-12) that star kids who aren't white, and I want these kids to be shown on the book covers.   I do not think I will at any point in the near future be thinking that there are enough of these books.

Here are 2012's middle grade sci fi/fantasy books published in the US starring kids of color (and please please please let me know of any I missed!).   Do not worry if you are pressed for time.  It is not a long list; it consistes of 13 traditionally published, and 4 small press/ independently published, books.

First up are the books where the kids are shown on the covers.  I am being very generous with my definition of "shown."  In many, the ethnicity of the non-white characters is obscured or outright occluded.  Then come the books where the text or interior illustrations are descriptive, including one where you have to read the book before it in the series to know that the kids have an indigenous Brazilian mother.  The title links go to my reviews if applicable, or to some other informative page if I haven't reviewed the book.

I've also included the breakdown by publisher at the end.

The Cover Books:

The Book of Wonders, Jasmine Richards   (The girl on the right is from a fantasy Persian Gulf-esqe area, ala Shaherezade.  You can tell by her clothes.)  HarperCollins.

Bridge of Time, by Lewis Buzbee  (Jean, on the right, is from a Chinese-American family, something important to the plot.  The back of her head looks plausibly Chinese American.  So does the back of the boy's head.  He isn't.)  Macmillan.

Claws, by Mike and Rachel Grinti (the hardcover shows the cat, but the cover shown is the paperack sold through Scholastic school book fairs, which shows the Vietnamese American heroine front and center). Chicken House/Scholastic.
 

The Diary of B. B. Bright, Possible Princess, by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams (Speaks for itself.  A beautiful girl shown with no obfuscation). Turner.

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung (that kid in the middle there, on top of the title--that's Vincent Wu, the hero, small but with all his face showing! The two white kids are sidekicks.  The awesome girl isn't shown.) Scholastic.

Dragon of Seas, by Pierdomenico Baccalario (four main characters, one of whom is Chinese.  I don't think the cover makes his ethnicity obvious, but neither does it make it dis-obvious, and the dragon is awful cool and multicultural looking)  Random House.

The River of No Return, by J & P Voelkel (I do not think that anyone could guess that Lola, the one on the left with the ponytail, is Mayan). Egmont.

  Look Ahead, Look Back (2012)  by Annette Laing  (One of the dark shapes is an African American boy).  Confusion Press.

The Savage Fortress, by Sarwat Chadda.  (The brother and sister shown on the cover are Anglo Indians.  Less clear is the fact that the dinosaur is actually an Indian demon).  Scholastic.

 Shade and Sorceress, by Catherine Egan (as Sherry pointed out in her comment, the heroine as shown on the cover looks to be of African descent.  I must go back to this one and look more closely to see how she is described!) Coteau Books.

Ship of Souls, Zetta Elliott  (I think it's reasonably clear that this kid's hands aren't white, but it felt like a stretch to call this a book showing a kid of color.  Are hands enough????). Amazon Encore.

The Stones of Ravenglass, by Jenny Nimmo (a very rare thing in mg sff--the hero is African.  Nothing about the way he's shown contradicts this (he has both hand and hair of non-whiteness)...but it would be very possible not to register it either). Scholastic.

The Serpent's Shadow  by Rick Riordan.  (The silhouettes siblings are half black, half white). Hyperion.

Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin (I don't think I need to say anything about this one--Chinese boy clearly shown as Chinese boy).  Little, Brown.


The Interior Description Books:

Above World, by Jenn Reese (It had been a long time since I'd read this one, and I was glad to be reminded by the author that "Aluna, the main character of two PoV characters, has dark skin. Dash, another of the main characters, is also not white.") Candlewick.
 
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, by Frank Cotrell Boyce (The illustrations clearly show that one parent is dark-skinned, and one parent is light-skinned.  Thank you, all involved). Candlewick.

The Drowned Vault: Ashtown Burials #2, N. D. Wilson  (You would not know from either the cover, or from the text, that the mother of the two main characters in this book is an indigenous Brazilian, so that by extension that they, with their dark hair and skin, aren't purely European.   You would know this from page 234 of book 1, which I quote in my review of it).  Random House.

 The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3), Rick Riordan (a smorgasbord of non-white characters.  I'm a bit doubtful about including this, as the mainest of the main characters are white.   And, unrelatedly, why are they all American?). Hyperion.

So.  There you are.   If you want to give a kid a just-published fantasy or sci fi book, whose hero or heroine isn't white, you can chose from 13 books from big publishers, 4 from independent/self-published.  If you want the cover to clearly and unequivocally show that kid with no silhouetting or other ambiguity, you can pick from maybe 6, depending on how you call it.   If you want one that clearly shows a Hispanic boy or girl, or an Asian girl, you are out of luck.

And of course, if you want choice (!), if you want to browse a selection of fantasy books to give a black girl, say, that all star brave and beautiful girls like herself, so that you can find one that you really love and which is just right for her, you are out of luck.  I am glad my local Barnes and Nobel sells Diary of B.B. Bright, but it wasn't the book I wanted to buy for my own niece.

The number of multicultural sci fi/fantasy books for kids is increasing, but not, you know, enough so as to be a dramatic sea change.  By way of comparison, in 2011 I reviewed 13 mg sff books starring kids of color.  And in looking through the 2010 Cybils nominees, I was able to find 8.

Breakdown by publisher:  

Scholastic:  4 (you'll have to trust me on Claws until I get hold of a picture)

Hyperion: 2
Random House: 2

Candlewick: 2

Egmont: 1

Little Brown: 1

HarperCollins: 1

AmazonEncore: 1

Confusion Press: 1
 Coteau Books: 1

And do please let me know if I missed any books!!!!  I want to have missed lots of books!

ps There was only one book that I remember in all 151 mg sff Cybils books that featured non-white supporting characters-- 13 Hangmen, byArt Corriveau.  Surly there must be more?)

pps  The game version of Infinity Ring: Mutiny in Time, by James Dashner (Scholastic) shows images of the characters--Dak as white, Sera as Asian (she's describe in the book as having long dark hair, but that's it), and Rak, a supporting character, as clearly black (he is described in the book as dark of hair and skin.  I am about to read the second book in the series, and will pay close attention to descriptions!

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi/fantasy from around the blogs (12/30/12)

The last round-up of 2012!  And the last before the Cybils are announced on Jan.1, and I can finally talk openly about which mg sff books are my favorites of the year!  Which leads me to a call for help--I stopped reading new mg sff books as of October (since I was busy as a first round panelist reading the 151 books nominated), so I'm wondering what I missed in November and December.  I've already put in a library request for Here Where the Sunbeams are Green--what else should I read from those two lost months?

And now, the round-up--please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

The Cup and the Crown, by Diane Stanley, at Charlotte's Library

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, at Fuse #8

In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill, at Book Nut and Ex Libris

Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger, at Book Nut

Killer App, by Michael Dahl, at Secrets and Sharing Soda

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, at Book Nut

The Paladin Prophecy, by Mark Frost, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull, at Karissa's Reading Review

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith, at Book Nut

Super, by Matthew Cody, at In Bed With Books

Return to the Willows, by Jacqueline Kelly, at Educting Alice

and Stephanie Burgis recommends Above World, by Jenn Reese, and Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, as her contribution to Smugglivus.

More Good Stuff:

For those of us who love Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, and can't wait for the sequel (Wednesdays in the Tower, coming in May), here is a treat--a free short story, Holidays at the Castle!   Just click here-- http://bit.ly/V6NBV8

Did you like the Hobbit movie?  Or did you, like Monica,  find it "Another Children's Book Turned into Young Adult" ?

The Cup and the Crown, by Diane Stanley

Though my co-panelists for the middle grade sci fi/fantasy Cybils have finished our work, and turned in rather a nice shortlist yesterday, I am not quite done with the Cybils yet--there are a number that I want to review.  So today I offer a quick look at a book that made me gently squee with pleasure when it got nominated, one I wanted to read rather badly.

The Cup and the Crown, by Diane Stanley (HarperCollins, October 2012) is the sequel to The Silver Bowl, in which a young castle kitchen maid named Molly discovered gifts of magic that enabled her to save the royal family.   In this second book, Molly, now a lady of the realm, is asked by the young king Alaric to seek out a magical goblet that will ensure he wins the heart of the beautiful princess of the neighboring country (a necessary alliance).   These loving cups were made by Molly's own grandfather long ago, and Molly has been seeing one in her dreams...

So off go Molly, her ex-stable boy/now lordly friend Tobias, and three other companions.   And soon it seems as though a raven wishes to accompany them...which indeed it does (with great import later in the story).

The journey takes them past the town where Molly's grandfather had had his workshop, and into the hidden mountain kingdom where he had been born.  There the companions find a place where magical abilities, such as the grandfather's skill at mixing magic and metal, are common, a place ruled by those with the greatest powers. And there Molly finds that her own gifts are much more powerful than she had realized, and because of that, she is welcomed.  

Catch number one--none off them are ever going to be allowed to leave.  Catch number two-- the current most powerful of the rulers is a nasty piece of work.

It's the sort of slow but steady fantasy that makes for a good, engrossing comfort read.  No slashings and crashings, but rather journeying and discovering,  and lots details and magics, and enough character development to content me.   It's possible that some might feel that not enough Happens, but there was plenty for my taste, especially once it becomes clear that the hidden kingdom is a dangerous trap and Escape (with magical ravenly help, and practical help from a man who may well be my favorite fictional rat-catcher) must be masterminded.  For what it's worth, I read it in a single sitting.

And it's possible that some might feel frustrated with the romantic side of things--in a young adult novel, Molly would be actively caught in a love triangle (King Alaric, who possibly feels something for her, vs old friend Tobias, who is most certainly falling in love with her), and she would be fretting about her own feelings.  Here in middle grade, the reader is left to wonder...and must, perforce, let Molly continue to be young and not yet ready for love.  (I can't decide who I think she should end up with, and hope that Diane Stanley will write a third book and tell me!).

In short--a really nice fantasy for the nine to ten year old girl.

Though it's a sequel, The Cup and the Crown can be quite easily read as a stand-alone.  The author manages to avoided awkwardly dumping in the story of The Silver Bowl, instead referencing those events enough so as to provide solid ground for a new reader.

Interesting aside:  Of course ravens seem to be popping up everywhere, but I couldn't help but notice that this was one of two recent mg sff books (the other being The Brixen Witch) in which a rat catcher plays an important role.  Is Rat Catching the new big thing???? (probably not). 

Merry Christmas books

Although of course it was a pleasure to Give yesterday, it was also a pleasure to Receive, which I did--in the form of 12 books, 1 dining-room lamp, and my younger son agreeing to let me cut his hair.  Here are my books:

Magicalamity, by Kate Saunders
Snowfall, by K.M. Peyton
Wonders of the Invisible World, by Patricia McKillip
Crocuses Were Over, Hitler Was Dead, by Geraldine Symons
The Conjuror's Box, by Ann Lawrence
Oggy at Home, by Ann Lawrence
The Double Shadow, by Sally Gardner
 Reflections on the Magic of Writing, by Diana Wynne Jones
Magic and the Magician: E. Nesbit and Her Children's Books, by Noel Streatfeild
Hallucinations, by Oliver Sacks
The Unreal and the Real, vols. 1 and 2, by Ursula Le Guin

And, mostly for my own personal record, here is my husband's stack:

London's Overthrow, by China Mieville
Mortality, by Christopher Hitchens
Two Pints, by Rody Doyle
It All Turns on Affection, by Wendell Barry
The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
Boneland, by Alan Garner
Bento's Sketchbook, by John Berger
The Ingenious Edgar Jones, by Elizabeth Garner
A Place in Time, by Wendell Berry
The Annotated Hunting of the Snark
The Holistic Orchard, by Michael Phillips






Merry Christmas!

This week's middle grade sci fi/fantasy roundup (12/23/12)

The fierce struggle that happens when eight computer users must share one computer is one reason why I didn't get this done yesterday....the other, more interesting, reason is that us MG sff Cybils panelists talked on online for several hours as we struggled to formulate our shortlist.   Only one book was agreed on yesterday...though several still have seats at the table, and many more were allowed to stay in the room, and given cookies.   Some even got cookies with sprinkles.

There not much from me in this week's round-up--I've been mostly re-reading for the Cybils some books I read over a year ago, so as to see if what I think about them is really what I think about them....which has been a treat, because I really do like rereading, and don't do enough of it!  But here's what other people posted about!  Do let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

Above World, by Jenn Reese, at The Book Smugglers

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, by Claire Legrand, at Slatebreakers

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic, by Maila Ann Haberman, at Read 'n'Write

Darkbeast, by Morgan Keyes, at Book Nut 

Deadweather and Sunrise, by Geoff Rodkey, at Semicolon 

Fire Prophet, by Jarel Law, at The Write Path

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung, at Charlotte's Library

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at alibrarymama 

In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz, at Semicolon

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill, at Semicolon

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde, at Semicolon

The Memory Bank, by Carolyn Coman, at Confessions of a Bibliovore

The Peculiar,by Stefan Bachmann, at Emily's Reading Room (audio book review)

The Prairie Thief, by Melissa Wiley, at Book Nut

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, by John Claude Bemis, at Book Nut

The Seven Tales of Trinket, by Shelley Moore Thomas, at Book Nut

Tilly's Moonlight Garden, by Julia Green, at Charlotte's Library

What Came From the Stars, by Gary Schmidt, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Authors and Interviews

Mrs. Bunny (as in, Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire)  at Random Acts of Reading

Katherine Catmull (Summer and Bird) at The Enchanted Inkpot

 Ilana Waters (The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt), at Geo Librarian

Other Good Stuff....I don't really have anything this week, just a gingerbread library:

And the hope that lots of kids will get books they love tomorrow!  I'm going to do on last bit of Christmas shopping, by making a donation to Reading is Fundamental.  Through Dec. 31, donations will be matched dollar for dollar. 

A book I'm looking forward to--The Emerald Ring

So I'm down at my mother's house, and the tree is decorated (five broken ornaments later--mostly broken by us grown ups), and already the nicely wrapped books are piled beneath it (so space saving, to give each other books instead of bulky things)....and so I have lots of reading to look forward to.

But always there are more books coming down the pipeline, and although I generally save this sort of post for the  "Waiting on Wednesday" meme  (or, as I like to think of it, Waiting, on a Wednesday, because I wait for things, not on things), I was asked by a blogger I know, Dorine White of The Write Path, to take part on her cover revel.  Congratulations, Dorine!  It's a lovely cover!

The Emerald Ring, by Dorine White (Cedar Fort, Inc., May 2013) "Sara Bogus's life turns upside down when she discovers an emerald ring that once belonged to Cleopatra. The fun of discovering the ring's unique abilities turns to fear when she finds out a dangerous cult bent on restoring Rome to power is after the ring. Forced to choose between keeping the ring and saving her friends, Sara learns the price of bravery in this electrifying read!"

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung (Arthur A. Levine Books, October 2012) is a worthy addition to the superhero sub-genre of middle grade science fiction.  It's a fun, fast read,with an interesting twist--a girl gets to be the one who ends up with superhero powers.


When  Stupendous Alert sounds in Copperplate City, urging its residents to protect themselves as Captain Stupendous battles yet another bad guy, the streets fill with his eager fans.  Young Vincent Wu is part of a small and exclusive fan club (himself and his best friends), and so he's thrilled to get the chance to see the brave Captain battling Professor Mayhem's giant monster robot.  But something seems off about the great superhero....

And indeed, there is.  Polly Winnicott-Lee, the very girl Vincent has a crush on, has unwillingly assumed the superhero mantle.  She isn't interested in fighting bad guys, doesn't know how to use her new abilities to their best advantages, and finds the idea of slipping into the role of muscular, male superhero rather distasteful.

But when Vincent discovers her secret, he and his friends decide they can help Polly be the Captain Stupendous she was meant to be, and the hero their city needs.  Because the giant robot is still out there, threatening ultimate destruction!

This is one I can enthusiastically recommend to any younger middle-school kid, boy or girl.  It's told from Vincent's point of view, and he's an engaging, sympathetic narrator--he and the other boys in his circle have a fun dynamic going on.  But though I liked him just fine, and enjoyed the superhero shenanigans, my greatest pleasure was watching Polly adjusting to her superhero status, claiming the role for her own (yay girl power!). 

Plus it has a genuine sci fi twist, which should please the geeks drawn in by the title.

Further plus--Asian American kid Vincent (shown as such on the cover) makes this a nice one for my list of multicultural sci-fi/fantasy!

Tilly's Moonlight Garden, by Julia Green, for Timeslip Tuesday

Tilly's Moonlight Garden (originally Tilly's Moonlight Fox in the UK), by Julia Green (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2012, middle grade), is a lovely little gentle, old-fashioned timeslipish story.  

Tilly is somewhat daunted by her new home--it's old, and big and strange.  And even stranger, and more scary, is the fact that her mother isn't well.  A new baby is on its way, and Tilly's mom must spend almost all of her time in bed...with little energy to spare for Tilly.    But in the night garden Tilly finds the perfect distraction.

There is the fox, waiting to have her own cubs in a safe, moonlight den.  And there in the moonlight, Tilly meets Helen, a mysterious girl who joins her in making a den of their own, a secret hiding place.  Tilly only sees Helen at night...and though once she watches Helen go home to her own house, in the daylight she can't find it again.

In the meantime, worry about her mother grows, and though her father tries his best, it's not the same, and there's the horrid shyness of a new school.   But Tilly's grandma comes, which is a comfort, and Tilly makes a new daylight friend, who shares her appreciation of the old dollhouse found up in the attic, a relic of the girl who lived in Tilly's house long ago.  And at last it is Christmas, and the new baby comes, and the fox has her kits...and Tilly has no need for the moonlight garden anymore.

It is a book full of lovely little bits of detail and description, and the moonlight garden in particular was a joy to read about (although the dollhouse was a close second).  Tilly's inner turmoil and anxiety are rendered beautifully too--it's clear just how anxious she is, but the reader isn't beaten over the head with it!

I would have liked a bit more of the timeslip part of things--the magic is definitely there, but it is more a background to Tilly's reality than it is the center of the story.  I wanted more about Helen!  Till never has a Moment of Realization about her night-time friend, and it's never explicitly Explained just who she is, and though this is just fine, as sometimes a bit of mystery is a nice thing, and there are plenty of clues, I did want a bit more.  I wondered whether she was actually a ghost, but since Tilly does actually see her house, it felt more timeslipish too me--a rather particularly British type of timeslip-ness, I think, in which the connection between people in the past and present is more important than any adventures that might result.  

In any event, this is a perfect one to give to a sensitive young reader, appreciative of books in which mood and description trump plot! I would have loved it when I was eight or so, and managed to enjoy it very much indeed even as a cynical grown up.

Here's the UK cover (Tilly's Moonlight Fox):

And here are some other blog reviews:

Books Beside My Bed

Sharon the Librarian

Jean Little Library

(review copy received from the publisher for Cybils Award consideration)