New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the first half of January, 2012 edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and sci fi for kids and teens from the first half of January, 2012. My information comes from the handy release date calendar at Teens Read Too, and the blurbs (sorry, only had time for middle grade), from Amazon/Goodreads (a few I didn't find blurbs for).

I myself am tempted to rush out to buy the new Dragonbreath book...

Elementary/Middle Grade

ALIEN by Tony Bradman "Jake's squad have now joined forces with the Krell in the war against The Old Ones and The Krell Elders. Will they ever manage to beat the grown ups and end the war? This is a final instalment in a thrilling sci-fi trilogy. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

BEAST CHILD: VOYAGES OF THE FLYING DRAGON by Ben Chandler "Lenis and Missy Clemens have found their freedom aboard the airship Hiryu, but are they ready for the responsibilities that come with determining their own fates? Hard on the trail of the mercenary Karasu, the man who holds the keys to unlocking Suiteki's power, the twins face the realities of their own growing abilities. Their search for Karasu takes them to Heiligland, where Missy has to decide which is more important—the safety of an entire nation or her own sense of right and wrong. As she relies more and more on the powers of the Quillblade, her brother grows distant, shunning the bizarre connection that binds the Clemens twins together. When they meet Kanu, a young boy from the distant past who just might hold the key to who they are, the twins must decide whether to embrace their destiny or be torn forever apart."

BELLE THE BIRTHDAY FAIRY: RAINBOW MAGIC by Daisy Meadows "Birthdays are special days -- thanks to Belle the Birthday Fairy! She makes sure that birthdays are filled with happiness and magic. But icy Jack Frost can't even enjoy his own birthday! He's determined that no one else will enjoy it either, so he steals Belle's three magic charms. Now it's a very unhappy birthday to . . . everyone! Can Rachel and Kirsty help save birthday bashes everywhere? Or is Belle's magic lost forever? Find the magic items in all three stories inside this Rainbow Magic Special Edition and help save birthdays!"

THE CABINET OF EARTHS by Anne Nesbet "On their first day in Paris, Maya and her little brother, James, find themselves caught up in some very old magic. Houses with bronze salamanders for door handles, statues that look too much like Maya’s own worried face, a man wearing sunglasses to hide his radiant purple eyes . . . nothing is what it seems. And what does all that magic want from Maya?

With the help of a friendly boy named Valko, Maya discovers surprises hidden in her family tree—grandmothers who walked in magic, a cousin so unremarkable she’s actually hard to see, and a terrible family habit of betraying one’s brother. And now the shimmering glass Cabinet of Earths, at the heart of all these secrets, has chosen Maya to be its new Keeper. As she untangles the ties between the Salamander House, the purple-eyed man, and the Cabinet of Earths, Maya realizes that her own brother may be in terrible danger. To save him, Maya must take on the magical underworld of Paris . . . before it is too late."

CENTAURS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

COLE - NINJA OF EARTH: NINJAGO by Greg Farshtey "The next chapter book in the Ninjago series! Cole is the leader of the team. As the Earth Ninja, he is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the most grounded of the four. And the strongest. There is no physical challenge Cole cannot overcome. Now is his chance to use his skills to save the world!"

DESIRABLE by Frank Cottrell Boyce "George is a social reject - but the mysterious bottle of aftershave means women can't resist him! How will George cope with his new-found popularity? A laugh-out-loud comedy. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

DON'T SCREAM!: GOOSEBUMPS, HALL OF HORRORS by R.L. Stine "Welcome to the Hall of Horrors, HorrorLand's Hall of Fame for the truly terrifying. Jack Harmon finds a cell phone on the school bus. He raises the phone to his ear and hears a girl's voice: "Hi, Jack. Don't scream. I've been waiting for you. I'm your new friend." Jack thinks it's a joke. He tries to end the call, then turn the phone off, but the girl's voice won't go away: "Don't make me angry, Jack. I'm warning you." Jack is puzzled and a little frightened. He must obey her every wish. She appears in all sorts of electronic devices-he can't escape her. "Don't scream, Jack. I'm just a voice. But you're going to be my body." She begins to force him to do dangerous things like stealing a laptop from school. But Jack finally outwits the voice when she jumps into his wristwatch. The school bully has been after that watch all year, so Jack finally lets him have it."

FIREBIRDS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

THE GHOST BOX by Catherine Fisher "Sarah finds herself responsible for freeing the soul of a frustrated ghost, who will punish her severely if she fails. Everything depends on her unlocking the strange silver box that appeared in her room one night. But will freeing the ghost turn out to be a huge mistake? And why is Matt, her weird Goth stepbrother, so interested in the box? Supernatural tale that will make readers want to leave the light on - A cracking ghost story."

GENIE SCHOOL: TWEENIE GENIE by Meredith Badger "Having passed Stage One of her training with flying colors, Poppy is eager to return to Genie School and see all her friends, especially her trainer, Lexi. But Stage Two of genie training holds some serious surprises for Poppy. Only one of her friends is in her class, and her new mentor is jealous of her success. When a forbidden carpet race threatens to get her expelled from the genie world forever, Poppy has to wonder: Is she destined to be ordinary after all?"

GOBLINS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

IMMORTAL WAR: VAMPIRATES by Justin Somper "A bloody war is raging across the oceans, with the Pirate Federation and Nocturnals in alliance against the renegade Vampirates, led by Sidorio and Lola. Nothing will stop either one from making their presence dangerously known in battle.
Connor and Grace Tempest each have important roles to play in the war - he as a pirate warrior at the heart of the fight; she as a powerful healer working with the war-wounded. As the twins face their greatest challenges to date, old allies and foes return to play their part in the ultimate battle of Pirate versus Vampirate."

THE INVISIBLE TOWER: OTHERWORLD CHRONICLES by Nils Johnson-Shelton "Part of the spell has already been broken. The first stones have begun to crumble. In Artie Kingfisher’s world, wizards named Merlin, fire-breathing dragons, and swords called Excalibur exist only in legends and lore—until the day his video game Otherworld springs to life. You are special, Arthur, Says the mysterious message in his game. "

JAY - NINJA OF LIGHTNING: NINJAGO by Greg Farshtey "The next book in the Lego Ninjago Chapter Book series! Jay is much like the element he represents: fast and full of energy. Always good in a fight, always up for a laugh, and always, always inventing. Even if those inventions don't always turn out the way he wants!"

KILLER GENES: AN ARCTIC6 ADVENTURE by C T Furlong "The US President is fighting for his life! Mysterious lights, an inexplicable illness and a deadly plague plunge the ARCTIC6 into another exciting adventure. When the friends stumble across a research facility hidden deep in the Suffolk countryside, they discover an insane plot in which the lives of millions are at stake. As they work to unravel the secrets of the facility, a deadly countdown is ticking. Can they prevent a global disaster? Do they have time to save the lives that hang in the balance? Will they even have time to save themselves??"

KILLER STAR: AN ARCTIC6 ADVENTURE by C T Furlong "With oil and gas reserves running out, and nuclear fission contaminating the planet, Nuclear Fusion seems like a good option for our future energy needs. Scientists at a nuclear fusion facility are about to create a star on earthA". The only problem is - the scientists have made a flaw in their calculations, which means the star could supernova. The ARCTIC 6 are contracted by an undercover government agency to infiltrate the facility and sabotage the experiment. Captured during their mission, they are told that their information is false. If they continue with their sabotage plans, they will set the clock back thirty years. And the world doesn't have thirty years of oil reserves. Who do they believe? Who would you believe? Would you be able to make that choice?"

LUNA THE MOON WOLF: BEAST QUEST, AMULET OF AVANTIA by Adam Blade "Tom must battle the most dangerous Ghost Beasts yet! At night, the Dead Wood comes alive with wild animals made ferocious by the spell of Luna the Moon Wolf. To save his father, Tom must collect the pieces of the Amulet of Avantia-which means battling Luna's murderous magic..."

THE MAD MASK: ARCHVILLAIN by Barry Lyga "Things haven't been going well for Kyle since Mighty Mike became the new town hero. He's pretty sure he could fix this disaster if he could expose Mike's secret (he's an alien), but to do that Kyle would have to admit he is the Azure Avenger -- the unintentional town archvillain. One night a new masked hero, aptly named the Mad Mask, arrives, boasting to the Azure Avenger of an off-the-charts IQ and superior superpowers. Yet the Mad Mask has come seeking intellectual assistance in building Ultitron (the robot of all robots). In exchange he offers to allow the Azure Avenger to use the awesome Ultitron to rid the world, or at least Bouring, of Mighty Mike. Forging alliances isn't usually Kyle's style, but it seems he has no choice. While Kyle agrees to help, he also has another plan: finding out who the Mad Mask is and how he got his powers. Because the last thing the Azure Avenger needs is another mindless archvillain hanging around town!"

MERMAIDS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

MUTANT by Theresa Breslin "There's something strange going on at the Genetic Clone Unit - but can Shaun find out what? A timely and chilling story about cloning. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

REVENGE OF THE HORNED BUNNIES: DRAGONBREATH by Ursula Vernon "Ride 'em, cowboy! Danny's off to summer camp! Danny Dragonbreath is counting down the days to his awesome western summer camp . . . until he gets the terrible news that his annoying younger cousin Spencer is going too. Good-bye, Danny the Cowboy; Hello, Danny the Babysitter. But when Spencer befriends a mythical jackalope (or horned bunny) and then uncovers a diabolical jackalope-napping ring, things start looking up again. After all, if you need a math problem solved, you call a nerd. But if you need a villainous ring of horned-bunnynappers broken up, you call Danny Dragonbreath. The sixth book in this laugh-until-smoke-comes-out-of- your-nose series is perfect for Wimpy Kid fans everywhere."

ROTTEN RULES: DIARY OF A ZOMBIE KID by Fred Perry & David Hutchison "As a reward for being S-Mart''s most efficient (and scariest) security guard ever, Bill Stokes'' zombified mother wins "Employee of the Month" and a free trip to the Diamond Lake Summer Camp for her zombified son! But when the older kids decide to scare the beetles out of the junior campers by bringing to life the tale of "Rotten Rod" and his "rotten rules", the worm turns, and their fun becomes a series of zombie night frights!"

SCIENCE FICTION: FACT TO FICTION by David Orme What is science fiction? Who invented it? What kinds of science fiction stories are there? Are aliens science fiction, or are they real? Then find out about some amazing science fiction inventions, such as robots and matter transmitters. Is time travel possible, or is that just science fiction? Then read The City: a science fiction story set in the future. It's a world of half-people, half robots, where the Control Zone is in charge of everything. This is one of a series on books on popular non-fiction topics. As with other books in the series, a full colour non-fiction section is followed by a fiction story based upon the topic. The story appears in two formats: one with simple texts for poor or reluctant readers; the facing pages contain an illustrated "speech bubble" version for those who are just starting to read.

SECRET OF THE PRINCE'S TOMB: THE IMAGINATION STATION by Marianne Hering & Marshal Younger "Cousins Patrick and Beth accidentally push the Imagination Station’s red button. They land in Egypt, where they befriend two children who are second cousins: a boy named Gilead and a girl named Sherah. The family is in turmoil because Gilead and Sherah’s great-grandfather has just died. Their grandfathers are arguing over who gets control of the family palace. Patrick and Beth witness the grand Egyptian burial, help Gilead and Sherah learn to get along better, and explore the city of Aramis with its ancient wonders and Egyptian customs. All the while Patrick and Beth are trying to figure out how to get back to Whit’s End. As they are leaving Egypt, they realize that the funeral they attended was for the biblical Joseph."

SHOWOFF by Gordon Korman "The fourth SWINDLE book, centering around a dog show that goes horribly awry! The heroes of SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, and FRAMED are back - and this time, things have gone to the dogs! When Luthor goes berserk at a mall dog show, he's accused of ruining the career of the three-time best-in-show beagle. Griffin always knew that Luthor's viciousness was simmering just below the surface - so why does he feel bad enough to spring him from the pound? Griffin and his team have a new plan. This one involves New York City, a sinister saboteur, a reclusive dog-trainer who's quit the business, an international dog show, and a whole lot of red dye. But if they pull it off, no one will even notice their sting operation...right?"

SLUDGMENT DAY: THE ZOMBIE CHASERS by John Kloepfer "The maul of America! It’s been two days since a zombie virus turned Zack Clarke’s parents, neighbors, and most of the country into brain-munching fiends. Zack and his crew of Zombie Chasers—Rice, Madison, Ozzie, and Zoe—are ready to end this nightmare once and for all! With the antidote in hand, the gang sets off on a wild cross-country road trip to defeat the evil genius behind the zombie apocalypse. After battling undead Elvis in Memphis, ghoulish tourists at a rest stop, and a crew of zweenyboppers at the Mall of America, the Zombie Chasers are still only halfway there! Will Sludgment Day be the dawn of the dead?"

THYME RUNNING OUT: THE TARTAN OF THYME by Panama Oxridge "As the threat of the Thyme Curse closes in on Justin's family, his life is once again thrown into complete turmoil. Will he finally unmask Agent X and his spy? Has Evelyn Garnet stolen his wristwatch? What's making Eliza the gorilla act so aggressively? Why is Sir Willoughby planning a secret trip in the time machine? And where has Justin's sister, Robyn, mysteriously vanished to? Only Nanny Verity knows the truth - but can she be found before it's too late?"

TOP 10 MYTHICAL CREATURES by Lori Polydoros

UNICORNS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

VAMPIRES: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

WHO CUT THE CHEESE?: DOCTOR PROCTOR'S FART POWDER by Jo Nesbo "This time the adventure includes aliens, disappearing socks, an American Idol style talent show, and a plot to takeover the world . . . nothing that some well-timed farts can't help fix."

WINTERLING by Sarah Prineas “We live here, my girl, because it is close to the Way, and echoes of its magic are felt in our world. The Way is a path leading to another place, where the people are governed by different rules. Magic runs through them and their land.”

With her boundless curiosity and wild spirit, Fer has always felt that she doesn’t belong. Not when the forest is calling to her, when the rush of wind through branches feels more real than school or the quiet farms near her house. Then she saves an injured creature—he looks like a boy, but he’s really something else. He knows who Fer truly is, and invites her through the Way, a passage to a strange, dangerous land.

Fer feels an instant attachment to this realm, where magic is real and oaths forge bonds stronger than iron. But a powerful huntress named the MÓr rules here, and Fer can sense that the land is perilously out of balance. Fer must unlock the secrets about the parents she never knew and claim her true place before the worlds on both sides of the Way descend into endless winter.

WOLF by Tommy Donbavand "Adam thinks today is going to be like any other. When his fingers start to ache, he thinks he's been playing the computer too long. He's wrong. When he grows claws, fur and a tail he realises he's turning into a werewolf! And he soon realises his parents aren't animal lovers! Particularly suitable for dyslexic, reluctant and struggling readers."

THE WRATH OF DARTH MAUL: STAR WARS by Ryder Windham "The most anticipated Star Wars biography yet! One of the most feared villains of all time. One of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars saga. One incredible story. Features new, never-before-told secrets about Darth Maul!"

ZERO TO HERO: GHOST BUDDY by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver "Billy Broccoli is new to the neighborhood, and wants cool friends and a spot on the baseball team more than anything. But the one thing he never wanted is his own personal ghost. So imagine his surprise when he ends up sharing a room with Hoover Porterhouse, a funny ghost with a whole lot of attitude.

When an obnoxious school bully sets out to demolish Billy, the Hoove comes up with a plan for revenge. It’s all in the Hoove’s Rule Number Forty-Two: Stay cool. And like it or not, Billy and the Hoove have to stick together if Billy ever wants to get in style, get even, and conquer the school."


YOUNG ADULT

THE ALCHEMY OF FOREVER: INCARNATION by Avery Williams
ALIENATION: A C.H.A.O.S. NOVEL by Jon S. Lewis
BLOODROSE: A NIGHTSHADE NOVEL by Andrea Cremer
CHARMFALL: A NOVEL OF THE DARK ELITE by Chloe Neill
CINDER: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer
DARKNESS FALLS: IMMORTAL BELOVED by Cate Tiernan
DRAGONSWOOD by Janet Lee Carey
DREAMING AWAKE: FALLING UNDER by Gwen Hayes
FANGTASTIC by Lucienne Diver
FATED by Sarah Alderson
THE FIRES OF NEW SUN: A BLENDING TIME NOVEL by Michael Kinch
THE GATHERING STORM: THE KATERINA TRILOGY by Robin Bridges
HUSH, HUSH: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Becca Fitzpatrick
JESSICA RULES THE DARK SIDE by Beth Fantaskey
MEMORY BOY by Will Weaver
A MILLION SUNS: AN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE NOVEL by Beth Revis
THE NEXT FULL MOON by Carolyn Turgeon
PANDEMONIUM by Chris Wooding
REVEALING EDEN: SAVE THE PEARLS by Victoria Foyt
RUN: A SUBJECT SEVEN NOVEL by James A. Moore
SHADOW'S EDGE by Maureen Lipinski
SWITCHED: THE TRYLLE TRILOGY by Amanda Hocking
UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

My New Year, so far

Number of books read in 2011: 1 (Winterling, by Sarah Prineas. Very good)

Number of books that I was really enjoying reading until it got lost somewhere in the house and the only way to find it (since obvious wandering around looking behind radiators didn't work) is to read all the loose books in the house: 1 (Blue Skies and Gunfire, by K.M. Peyton; WW II. The girl had just been evacuated to the countryside and was learning about Rural Life, and then I went and lost it. Snarl).

Home renovation tasks completed: 0

Home renovation tasks worked on in a dilettantish sort of way: 5 (including two bags of trash from the barn. Every New Year's Day we try to throw things from the barn away. It was packed to the gills with horrible mounds of junk, and although we sprang for a dumpster back in Year 1, it only scratched the surface. And none of it was valuable treasure; even the tin trunk of books was disappointing (the only book of any interest was Brenda Starr: Girl Reporter).

New Year's Resolutions:

To comment more on other blogs without suffering great angst over whether I sound sane or not.

To put away one book a day, whether on a shelf or in the sadder sense, ala aged animals (we did find several boxes of bullets (!!!!) in our barn cleaning today. We showed them to the boys (They've watched Mythbusters, so they've heard of them). I didn't see my first bullet until I was 18 and learned how to shoot on an archaeological dig in Alaska (shooting skills required because of bears). But in any event we have no gun, and I do not think I could ever shoot any book I've let into my house).

To keep track of the books that I read (I am looking into goodreads for this) so that for once in my life I will finally know how many books I read a year, and then the next year I can get all competitive with myself and try to read more.

Wish me luck, and good luck to all the rest of you with your own 2012s! Now I have to go find a book to put away...

The Happy New Year edition of my weekly round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy

Happy New Year!

The most exciting news of the week (mg sff book wise) is the announcement of the Cybils shortlists! I hope you all are pleased with the books us mg sff panelists chose--we could have made the list ever so much longer, what with all the great books published this year, but we managed to bringing it down to the following seven:

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George
Icefall, by Matthew Kirby
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness
The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy
Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac
The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty

As usual, I am glad I am not a final round judge. I do not know which one I would pick. The full list of all short-listed books can be found here.

On a much sadder note--before getting into the real round-up, I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to three friends of mg sff who left us in 2011--Diana Wynne Jones, Anne McCaffrey, and Ben Boos. Ben Boos, for those who might not know, was the author and illustrator of two beautiful books--Swords (my review) and Fantasy: An Artist's Realm (my review). His loss is especially sad, because he was so young.

The Reviews (a longish list, because I didn't do a round-up on Christmas day; please let me know if I missed yours!)

Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood, at Book Aunt

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Book-A-Day Almanac, One Librarian's Book Reviews, and Fantasy Literature

Dog Whisperer: Storm Warning, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Jean Little Library

The Flint Heart, by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson, at books4yourkids

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman, at books4yourkids

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at Good Books and Good Wine

The Inquitior's Apprentice, by at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Magic Cake Shop, by Meika Hashimoto, at Book Aunt

Nicholas North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, at Wicked Awesome Books

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Seige of Macindaw, by John Flanagan, at Karissa's Reading Review

Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King, at Charlotte's Library

Sidekicks, by Dan Santat, at Literate Lives

A Tale of Two Castles, by Gail Carson Levine, at Jean Little Library

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at Page in Training and The Musings of a Book Addict

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Good Books and Good Wine and Ms. Martin Teaches Media

The Wizard of Dark Street, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, at books4yourkids

A two for one post at Postcards from La-La Land: Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Soothsayer’s Shoes, by Richard Thake, and Canadian Flyer Adventures: Beware, Pirates! by Frieda Wishinsky.

Authors and Interviews:

Sarvenaz Tash (The Mapmaker and the Ghost) at Stacked

Other good stuff:

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at NPR's Backstreet Book Club

Starting tomorrow, Deb at Just Deb is hosting a week long Marvelous Middle Grade Readathon. I'm giving away two ARCs to one participant--The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards,
and Fairy Lies, by E.D. Baker.

And finally, may we all find happiness, wonder, wisdom, and refugee in the books we read in 2012! (art by Guy Laramee, found at Paranthetical).

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the second half of December, 2011 edition

The poor new releases of middle grade and YA sci fi/fantasy from the second half of December slipped my mind until now... but since nothing was published from the 15th to the 20th (why? what did the publishers have against that week?) it makes slightly less difference than it might have done.... It's a pretty sparse list too. But January 1 has enough books to (almost) warrant a post of its own. My information comes as always from Teens Read Too, with blurbs from Amazon/the publishers.

(by way of explanation: I only find the mg blurbs; lots of blogs seem to cover the YA, and it just takes too much time to do both)

The Middle Grade Books:

ALIENS V. MAD SCIENTISTS UNDER THE OCEAN: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "These books take great subjects for boys and combine them into short, bonkers, and funny stories that are incredibly easy to read. The illustrations are bold and crazy, and there's plenty of space left on each page -- together with suggestions for how to fill it -- so kids can add their own drawings. The books read as hilarious, zippy stories that look a lot like novels but are terrific doodle books as well.

The earth is in peril! Aliens are trying to stop it from spinning so that everyone will fall off and they can take over. Mwa-ha-ha-ha! But fear not! The Mad Scientists are building a genius underwater machine to save the day. If only the Aliens would stop zapping them with their Frazzelizers. . . . "

PIECE OF MIND: EMILY THE STRANGE by Jessica Gruner & Rob Reger "Emily’s Strange To-Do List: 1. Lose (and regain) mind 2. Reprogram golem 3. Locate secret book vault 4. Commune with Dead Dark Aunts 5. Rescue Cousin Jake 6. Redecorate souvenir kiosk 7. Thwart Thought Thief 8. Endure hero worship 9. Grant ancestral enemy’s deepest wish 10. Save cat-napped kitty 11. Summon black rock 12. Defeat Shady Uncles 13. Guard family legacy & claim inheritance!"

ROBOTS V. GORILLAS IN THE DESERT: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "Deep in the desert, Gorillas trade oil for bananas grown by hi-tech Robots. But then they have a big falling-out and decide to have a race to settle their differences. Which side will get slimed by the garlic burp-breath sand slugs? Which will fall for the banana sundae mirages? And when will they realize that the race has no finish line?"

ROMANS V. DINOSAURS ON MARS: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "The Romans and Dinosaurs live together in a huge glass dome called Romasauria. They race their rocket chariots and feast on moon-cow and chips until life on Mars is threatened by a giant asteroid spotted by Augustus Astronomus through his giant telescope. Will a wooden catapult and some Dinosaur poop save the day? The Romans and the Dinosaurs are going to have to work together or it's KAPOW for life on Mars."

SUMI'S BOOK: THE FAIRY GODMOTHER ACADEMY by Jan Bozarth "Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.

Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. But right away they get off on the wrong foot; Sumi can't understand why this boy doesn't seem to like her. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are, or she could lose Kano and her chance to become a fairy godmother."

THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE: YOU'RE INVITED TO A CREEPOVER by P.J. Night "Jenna Walker has always been fascinated by the legend of the Marked Monster, the scarred half-bird, half-beast creature that is said to roam the forests around her hometown. Is the Marked Monster real or is it just the stuff of myth? Jenna decides to find out once and for all with a campout at her house where she and her friends can search for the legendary beast. But as Jenna starts to learn more about the Marked Monster, she realizes that this legend might be more than just myth, and more sinister than she ever could have imagined. Will Jenna meet the Marked Monster face to face and will she be marked for life?"

THE US CAPITOL COMMOTION: FLAT STANLEY'S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES by Jeff Brown "Stanley’s been chosen to receive a medal of honor in the nation’s capital! But once in Washington, DC, Stanley gets swept away by a crowd and separated from his family. Now he’s on the run in a city filled with monuments—and with shadowy figures on his trail. What’s a flat boy to do now?"

A VALENTINE'S SURPRISE: CANDY FAIRIES by Helen Perelman "Raina wants to make a very special birthday treat for Berry. She's even asked Lyra, the unicorn who looks after the Fruit Chew Meadow, to grow a special flower for the surprise. But when Raina and Dash go to visit Lyra, they are in for a sour shock! All the flowers in the meadow arewilting and Lyra's sick! Her horn is dull and she can't stand up. Something--or someone--is hurting the gentle unicorn and the meadow, but who? And what about Berry's birthday?

All the Candy Fairies will have to work together if they are to solve this mystery, cure the meadow and Lyra, and make sure that Berry has the sweetest birthday ever!"

ZOMBIE TAG by Hannah Moskowitz "Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don’t exactly make the best siblings.

Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother’s death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers’ spatulas. What Wil doesn’t tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he’s surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant."

The YA Books:

BLEEDING HEARTS: THE DRAKE CHRONICLES by Alyxandra Harvey
BLOOD WOLF: A WERELING NOVEL by Steve Feasey
FLYAWAY by Helen Landalf
LEGACY by Molly Cochran
STILL WATERS by Emma Carlson Berne
TORN by Cat Clarke
VAMPIRE ACADEMY: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE by Michelle Rowen & Richelle Mead
BLOOD SUN: DANGER ZONE by David Gilman
EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
LIVING VIOLET: THECAMBION CHRONICLES by Jaime Reed
MAGIC OF THE MOONLIGHT: A FULL MOON NOVEL by Ellen Schreiber
REPLICATION THEJASON EXPERIMENT by Jill Williamson

DAME Penelope Lively!

Penelope Lively has just become a Dame of the British Empire (the female equivalent of being knighted). Although she's perhaps best known for her adult fiction, such as Booker Prize winning Moon Tiger, for me she will always be a chidren's author. Her books for children include The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Astercote, A Stitch in Time, The Driftway (my review) and The House at Norham Gardens (my review).

How nice to see her recognized! And now I am feeling a great urge to read (and write about) more of her books....

The Hawk of May, by Ann Lawrence

I'm busily reading my Christmas present books--this year I am determined not to have a sad little pile of them looking reproachfully at me come June! So when I got home today, I successfully ignored the distressing clutter that takes up far too much of my home, and curled up with The Hawk of May, by Ann Lawrence (Macmillan, 1980). Ann Lawrence is the author of one of my favorite books as a child (Tom Ass), and it's only in the last year or so that it occured to me that maybe she'd written more books, and maybe I'd like them! Fortunatly for me, she did, and I do (here are two others I've reviewd--Between the Forest and the Hills, and The Good Little Devil).

The Hawk of May is a retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, mixed with the story of the Loathly Lady, and for an hour I was lost to the world, as I journeyed with Gawain through an imaginary medieval England as he sought to find the answer to the question "What do women really want?" Making the quest rather tense for Gawain is the small detail of loosing his head if he gets the answer wrong.

It's surreal, and beautiful, and thought-provoking, combining lovely world-building detail with touches of humor. There's magic, and intrigue, and the threat that all Arthur has build could come tumbling down...and there's Gawain himself, who means so well, and yet has much to learn (he's not the brightest hero going, but so likeable)*. It's somewhat meditative in its pacing, with many longish bits in which little Happens (don't expect battles and deeds of daring), but the slow and steady unfolding is shot through with beautiful flashes of the fantastic.

If you are at all a fan of Arthur retellings, seek this one out! It's not exactly a "kid's book," what with its focus on the relationships between men and women; rather, it seemed to me more like that rare thing, a fairy tale for grown ups that is written with the precision and sense of wonder that characterizes the best children's books.

*although why, I wonder, was his having fathered a child that he didn't know about thrown into the story, and then abandoned almost instantly? I was left wondering if it were true or not, and was somewhat vexed.

Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King

Yay! I'm back to writing reviews, and (surprise!) I have a lovely middle grade fantasy to write about tonight--Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King (first published in the UK in 2009, published here in the US by Simon and Schuster in 2011).

I was very pleased when Seven Sorcerers was nominated for the Cybils--I'd been wanting to read it for ages, and it wasn't in my library system or local bookstores (I am trying not to buy books on line for myself). Happily Simon and Schuster sent review copies...and after a small false start in which I received a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom instead by accident (why, I wondered bemusedly, before I thought to check the packing slip, did anyone think that was a good fit for my blog???), they kindly tried again (thanks, S. and S.!), and I dove into a beautifully enchanted world (so engrossing that it competed successfully with Christmas-time for my attention, which is saying a lot!).

All that is left of Nin's little brother Toby is his sock monkey, and Nin's memories. Nothing else--her parents no longer even know they once had another child. But one person believes Nin's version of reality--a mysterious boy named Jonas, who suffered a similar fate--he, like little Toby, was kidnapped by a bogeyman, and taken to a magical land known as the Drift, to be offered up to the sinister master of the Terrible House. But unlike Toby, Jonas escaped...only to find his family had forgotten him.

Nin is determined to find Toby, and bring him home, and Jonas agrees to help. So they set off, into a land of magical creatures and dangerous pitfalls, a land where Seven Sorcerers worked strange enchantments in a desperate effort (that hasn't worked all that well) from slowly loosing all its magic. As if the dangers of the Drift aren't enough, they are pursued by Bogeyman Skerridge, the one that took Toby, who has set his sights on Nin. And though, time after time Nin's good luck saves her from disaster, luck alone is no match for what Nin finds when she finally reaches the Terrible House....

I was very pleasantly surprised by just how interesting I found Nin and Jonah's adventures. On the face of it, the bare bones of the plot don't sound wildly original, but I found the particulars of their encounters with various strange things to be very tasty, fresh, reading. Not only was the world-building enticing, but there was nuance to the bad guys and assorted minions that made the story delightfully tricksy. Oftentimes I lose interest when the "good" characters are running away from/fighting with the "bad" characters--and I was very happy that to find I didn't have to face that problem here.

I especially liked the fact that this isn't "a quest by the chosen child of Light." Nin's motivations are personal, and there's nothing (at this point) that makes me think she's been Chosen (although she is awfully lucky....). She is arguable perernaturally self-controlled (as opposed to being, more realistically, an emotional mess about her situation), but she is also self-aware, not just doing things, but questioning, and reflecting, wondering who to trust; wondering, at times, if her pride is going to be enough to keep her from screaming. And I also enjoyed the fact that the action also doesn't stick entirely to the magical realm--trips are made back to our world, which has the somewhat counterintuitive effect of making the Drift more real, by contrast.

In short, the only thing I didn't like about the book was that it stopped too abruptly....I wanted to stay with Nin, and Jonah, and Toby, and even Bogeyman Skerridge, just a little while longer. Truly it was one of the most jarringly sudden ends I've read in ages. Happily, there's a sequel, Shadow Spell, already out in the UK, and coming here in May 2012. Oh would that my birthday weren't next week, and my presents already asked for and bought....

Some of the violence is very violent indeed, and I think I would have been troubled somewhat by it, and by the whole disturbing premise of Vanishing from one's family, at the tender age of nine or so, so I'd give this one to the tougher ten year old, or better still, the eleven year old.

Here's another longer review, at books4yourkids, that goes into more detail about what makes this a fine mg fantasy.

(disclaimer: as stated above, I received a review copy from the publisher for Cybils purposes, and I wouldn't have said anything about the packing mistake if I hadn't been amused by the book I got instead...)

Edited to add: the sequel, Shadow Spell (my review) was also excellent.

Greetings from exit 8 of the NJ turnpike

I am writing from the Hampton Inn, off exit 8 of the NJ turnpike. We like this hotel because guests are greated with origami towels--this time it was a peacock. We moved it to the top of the tv, where it became a dead peacock (the neck sagging forward off the edge), but still a nice touch. I'm headed home, and looking forward, after the wild festive gaiety of Christmas at grandma's, to peaceful unpacking of presents and catching up on blog reading and the looming backlog of reviews I need to write (strangely, large intervals of peaceful time in which to write reviews was lacking at grandma's, although I did get lots of books read).

My Cybils work is done, just about--us mg sff panelists have had our chat, and come up with a gem of a list (I hope you all approve of our choices!). The announcement of the shortlisted books will be made on the first of January.

And now I go off to get more hotel coffee...and rouse my family for the last desperate charge northward....

The dangers of biscuits, with a few etcs

Everyone, please Play it Safe this Christmas. Cookies, aka biscuits, can turn ugly on you, as reported today in the Telegraph:

More than half of all Britons have been injured by biscuits

I particularly like the story of a man who waded into wet concrete to retrieve a stray biscuit, and got stuck. I am not being entirely tongue in check when I say that I find this a rather moving testimonial to the power of the human spirit, defiant and persevering in the face of terrible odds, committed beyond rational belief to all that is worth saving, etc. Although it's a pretty dumb thing to do.

So far today I have eaten two date dreams, a florentine, and a gingerbread man (the soft kind, not the dangerous rock hard kind). I am uninjured--for the moment. And mercifully, our holiday assortment includes none of the most deadly cookie of them all--the custard cream.

I'm off now to Barnes and Noble, where I am going to buy:

The Cat's Table, All of My Friends are Dead, Press Here, and the new Oliver Sacks book.

Then I am going to the National Geographic Museum, to see an Anglo Saxon hoard (happily, I've just re-read Coming of the Dragon, by Rebecca Barnhouse).

Then I am going to just be at home, making sure the children don't poke themselves in the eye with sugar cookies, and hoping I don't fall asleep before they do....

I hope that none of you has been injured by cookies this holiday season, and that everything else is conspiring to make things pleasant and happy for you!

Thank you, Blogger Secret Santa!

I arrived at my mother's house yesterday, and found a surprise--my package from my Book Blogger Holiday Swap Secret Santa! It was a surprise because I had forgotten I had used her address...and I had left home feeling sad that I hadn't gotten it. But there it was! Yay!

My Santa, Gaskella, picked out two books that made me very happy--The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (time travel parallel New York, by the author of Icefall), and The Nightwood, by Robin Muller (a beautiful picture book retelling of Tamlynne [sic]).



Thank you very much indeed, Gaskella!!! And thank you to all who worked behind the scenes, organizing the book blogger holiday swap ! It was such fun sending off my own present, and receiving books I wanted in turn!

Witchlanders, by Lena Coakley

Witchlanders, by Lena Coakley, (Atheneum, 2011, YA, 416 pages) is a lovely high fantasy for a cold winter's day, especially for those who like intrigue, fascinating magic, and dogs (there's a great one), and one I'd particularly recommend, despite what the cover might suggest, to boys (more on this later).

It's the story of two young men, whose countries have a history of bloody war. Ryder is from the Witchlands, where all his life his mother taught him to scorn the magic of the witches praying to the goddess and casting bones to tell the future, and his father taught him the hard work of farming. Now his father is dead, and his mother has turned back to witchcraft, and the prophecies she claims to see in her frenetic bone castings are terrible. If it is magic, and not madness, all that Ryder loves is in danger.

Falpian is a Baen, son of a noble family, who failed his father by not having magic, and who has been sent to the boarder of the Witchlands...to wait out the long snowy months alone (except for his dog) until his father's mysterious plan for him becomes clear.

But magic is about to enter their lives--the singing magic of Baen and the prophesies of the witches both. If Ryder and Falpian can overcome the hatred between their two peoples, and work together, despite their different religions and languages and prejudices, they can defeat the rot of old hatred that threatens to spark another war.

It's a fascinating world that Lena Coakley has created here, with its strange magics and harsh landscape lyrically described, and atmospheric as all get out. The tension builds very nicely indeed, in the alternating stories of Ryder and Falpian, as they begin to unravel the lies and treachery in which they have become entangled, and I found it hard to put down.

I found it especially fascinating that neither boy is especially likable for a good way into the book, and yet I, who generally prefer to like, if not love, at least one character per book, was captivated enough by the story not to mind (too terribly much). Happily for me, I did warm somewhat to Falpian, who is the warmer and more open of the two (although, and this is just my problem, I know--"Falpian" sadly didn't work for me as a name). I do feel, though, that the characterization of the two main characters was the weak point of the book--Ryder, for instance, tells his sister something on page 313 that, if the reader can believe him, sheds a completely new and unforeshadowed (or else I missed something, which is quite possible) light on him.

I was a tad let down by the (gorgeous) cover, which I took as a promise that there would be a main girl character. The girl shown (if she is who I think she is) is important, but not central...it's definitely the story of the two boys! Which is fine, but not what I was expecting.

I think that the YA designation of the book also lead me to expect more development of the complexity of relationships between the characters. Witchlanders, and this isn't in a way a criticism, seems to me like a rather young YA (as opposed to an old YA, like, say, Finniken of the Rock, which I would Not recommend to the younger reader), one that would be a most excellent book to give to the boy who loved, perhaps, the Ranger's Apprentice series, and who wants magical adventure without getting into any messy romantic entanglements. One could imagine the two teenaged boys a few years younger, and voila! An excellent middle grade book about brave boys using their new found gifts of magic to change their world.

(Getting somewhat sidetracked, and going back to the cover--obviously this book isn't being marketed to 12 or 13 year old boys who enjoy high fantasy adventure (which I'm using to mean books set in a self-contained magical other world). It seems to me that this is a rather under served demographic. Looking quickly over the lists of books nominated for the Cybils in both middle grade and YA, there isn't much high fantasy with boys). Nothing in the 130 middle grade books quite fits my definition--the closest I get is The Dark City series, by Catherine Fisher, Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, and A World Without Heros, by Brandon Mull. In YA, there's Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card, the Seven Realms series, by Cinda Williams Chima, and arguably The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier, although I think of that as the somewhat more cozy "school fantasy"rather than the epic "high fantasy.")

Back to Witchlanders--it's also one I'd recommend to any reader looking for a change from paranormal romance! Witchlanders received starred reviews from Pubishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. It's a cold, clear read of a book, that made lovely pictures in my mind. I liked the moral too, being all in favor of age-old hatreds being overcome....and I hope there is more about the Witchlands to come!

To give you an idea of the writing, here's an excerpt from Chapter Four, in which Falpian finds his magic:

"The world was swollen with color now, blinding and bright. This must be magic, he thought with a shiver, or something like it. Below him, the birds in the trees grew restless, agitated by his song. They rose up in front of him in a great spiral, dazzling him. He could see everything so clearly now, as if a veil that had been in front of his eyes all his life had finally been lifted. He shifted his song slightly, and one of the birds stopped in mid air. He was amazed that he could do it, amazed by how effortless it was. The bird hovered right before his eyes, flapping uselessly, making no headway, as if flying against a strong wind. Falpian marveled at its green iridescence, and he laughed, making his laughter part of his song. No wonder he had frustrated his tutors; this was so easy. For the first time he understood what he had always been taught: the world was made of music. All the things that seemed solid—the trees, the birds, his own body—were really just vibrations in the great God Kar’s endless song." (pp 60-61)

Disclaimer: review copy received (very gratefully) from the author

Waiting on Wednesday--House of Shadows, by Rachel Neumeier

One of my favorite books of 2011 was The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier (my review). Its combination of wonderful world building, and not one, but two (!) nifty, magical schools won my heart. I liked the characters too. And I also loved her first YA book, the very Patricia McKillip-esque The City in the Lake (my reivew).

So I am as anticipatory as all get out over her upcoming release of House of Shadows (July 10, 2012):

"Orphaned, two sisters (me: Yay! orphaned sisters!) are left to find their own fortunes.

Sweet and proper, Karah's future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life... if she agrees to play their game (sounds like a sinister boarding school, which is a yay, if so....)

Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage's offer of an apprenticeship (yay! character learning magic!). Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage?

With the arrival of a foreign bard (yay! bards imply music, and I like music in my fantasy!) into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom."

And by July I will be all caught up with my reading, and there won't be any books left in the downstairs bathtub, and so I'll be able to leap out and buy it with a clear conscience (in an ideal world, a new downstairs bathroom will be build, but I think I'll stick with the more realistic goal of reading three hundred or so books in six months la la la.

Waiting on Wednesday (or, as I think of it, "Waiting, on Wednesday") is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah, by Lee Edward Fodi, for Timeslip Tuesday

Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah, by Lee Edward Fodi (2011, Brown Books, lower middle grade, 294 pages)

Back in 2009, when I was serving as a sci fi/fantasy panelist for the Cybils, a book called Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard from Greeve was nominated. Of all the many books that came into my house that Cybils reading period, this one was just about the only one that called to my nine year old son. I was pleased (since he was at that time a very picky reader), and more than a little surprised (it looked to me very like a "girl" book, which goes to show how pointless such distinctions often are). It was, however, the third of the series, and so, both to please him and so as not to read the books out of order myself, I bought the first two (K.K. and the Box of Whispers, and K.K. and the Door to Unger), and my boy had a lovely reading orgy.

This year the fourth book in the series was nominated. My son is now eleven, but still he was very happy when it arrived. He got to read it first, and then my turn came....and I was happy to find it was a time travel book (because of always being anxious that I won't have one ready come Tuesday).

So on to Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah.

Kendra is a young Een girl (the Eens are an ancient race of fairy-like beings), who, in her previous adventures, found herself faced with one magical and dangerous quest after another. Together with an assortment of odd companions (a warrior grasshopper, a raccoon who aspires to be a wizard, her Uncle Griffinskitch, who is in fact a powerful one, and her best friend, a mouse named Oki), Kendra is now off on a quest to find her brother, transformed into a fearsome Unger.

But Kendra's quest is violently interrupted by the arrival of an old enemy...and when he is captured, Kendra finds herself in possession of his ring. It's cracked, and cold, and grey, and Kendra has no inkling of its power. It is made of magical kazah stone...and it is about to take her on a journey through time. Finally she will meet her mother--when her mother was still a girl--and she'll learn about the secret past of her family. But time travel also brings dangers, and Kendra's present Een world is threatened by its changing past....

The choices that Kendra makes, not just in the past, but in a future that might not happen, will determine not just her fate, but the fate of (sorry for the melodrama, but sometimes I can't resist) all she holds dear!

It's a rather fascinating time travel experience. Not only does Kendra have the rare chance to see her mother as a person her own age, but she gets to see a future version of herself grown old, something that rarely turns up in time travel stories. The paradoxes and perils of time travel all hang together to make a cohesive whole, that keeps the reader (me and my son, at least) briskly turning the pages.

And in large part this is because I was genuinely interested in what happened to Kendra. She's a plucky, believable 12 year old, confronted with thought-provoking problems that are almost too much for her to solve, but managing, with the help of her friends, to make it through.

This series is one that makes a nice next step for the young reader ready to move on beyond easy readers; a seven to nine year old, say, who's just about to become a confident reader. The numerous, and appealing, black and white illustrations by the author, the engaging characters, and fast paced adventures, make the books a friendly read. Which isn't to say these aren't substantial books--the font and margins are the same size as your basic middle grade book, and the page counts up in the 200s. But in feel, they seem to me more likely to please the elementary school set, and also good ones to read out loud to an even younger child. (At the left is the first page of Crack in Kazah).

I enjoyed this fourth book in particular (because of the time travel), but as an older reader, I could have done without the authorial intrusions that start the chapters. It's not one I'd urge all you grown-up readers of my blog to leap up and find, but I do think that many children, especially those that enjoy the whimsical fantastic, will appreciate it.

I couldn't find any other blog reviews of this one, but here's the podcast that the folks at Just One More did about book 1. For more information about the books, here's their website.

Disclaimer: review copy provided to me by the publisher for Cybils consideration

Kids of color in the middle grade fantasy and science fiction books of October 2010 to October 2011

I have read around 130 middle grade fantasy and science fiction books published between October 16, 201o and October 15, 2011. 130 books were nominated for the Cybils, for which I am a first round panelist in mg sci fi/fantasy, and I've read all but 15 of them. When I add to that the books I've read that weren't nominated, I have a nice and fairly comprehensive database.

And one of the things that interests me is the extent to which kids who aren't white get shown and included in this particular genre.

These are the eight books I know of whose main characters are not of white, northern European descent, and who are shown as such on the cover. Darwen Arkwright is stretching it a bit, because he's a silhouette, but his buddy Alexandra is shown as the African American girl she is, so I let Darwen be part of this cluster.

I read two books which included non-white characters in supporting roles, and showed them on the cover.







And I read five books with non-white characters (all clearly of African ancestry, or described as having dark, or brown, skin), that showed them on the cover, but in a somewhat ambiguous way.



Edited to add: I had meant to include The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout, in this category, but that picture got lost in my struggle with Blogger. Here's the author talking about the portrayal of the main character on the cover. Thanks for the reminder, Doret!

Additionally, there was one book, Zinnia's Zaniness, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, whose protagonist looked to me as though she could be Hispanic, although I didn't see any mention of ethnicity in the text.

I can think of only two other books (sadly not nominated for the Cybils...I hate it when the good ones don't make it!) that didn't have a Northern European protagonist-- Laurence Yep's City of Ice, and Jenny Nimo's The Secret Kingdom. And I cannot think of a single other important supporting character of color in a book not already mentioned, but I could easily have missed many....especially in books I was really enjoying.

It was, sadly, easy to pull this list together (apart from Blogger being difficult viz formatting). I was not tempted to say "oh goodness there are too many" and throw up my hands.

19 out of circa 130 books nominated.

Please tell me I missed lots????

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week, rounded up for your middle grade sci fi/fantasy reading pleasure! Let me know if I missed your post.

The Reviews:

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at Book-a-day Almanac

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Plot, by A.J. Hartley, at Charlotte's Library

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Classroom Talk

The Flint Heart, by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson, at Flunking Sainthood

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins, at Library_Mama

The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty, at Guys Lit Wire

Monster Hunters, by Dean Lorey, at Project Mayhem

The Moon Coin, by Richard Due, at whnbstihwsoft

Nicholas St. North, by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, at Great Books for Kids and Teens

Noah Zarc--Mammoth Trouble, by D. Robert Pease, at Book Addict

Poor Tom's Ghost, by Jane Louise Curry, at Charlotte's Library

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at Charlotte's Library

The Son of Nepture, by Rick Riordan, at Jason's Bookstack

Thresholds, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, at Books & Other Thoughts

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at Writings, Workouts, and Were-Jaguars

Vampirates: Empire of Night, by Justin Somper, at Reading Tween

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at My Brain on Books

Zinnia's Zaniness, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, at Charlotte's Library

A collection of dinosaur fantasies for the young at Words and Pictures

And finally, Ms. Yingling takes a look at two time slip books--A Year Without Autumn, by Liz Kessler, and Through Her Eyes, by Jennifer Archer.

Authors and Interviews:

D. Robert Pease (Noah Zarc) at Susan Kaye Quinn

Rick Daley (The Man in the Cinder Clouds) at Writer's Ally

Victoria Simcox (The Magic Warble) at Manga Maniac Cafe

Other Good Stuff:

Why We Invented Monsters, by Paul A. Trout, at Slate

And here, to inspire those of us who have not yet begun our Festive Bakeing, a gingerbread Star Wars assult vehicle (which I found here, where you can also find this assortment of modern gingerbread houses, for those to whom the cottage has become passe):

The books my boys are getting for Christmas

Twice in one day I have hit publish post by mischance!!! Argh! So for all those who follow me on google reader (thanks) I am quickly covering up the most recent one, a sneak peak at tomorrow's mg sff round-up, with a post I meant to do later today on the books my boys are getting for Christmas. By way of background: my boys are 11 and 8. The 8 year old is currently reading Battle of the Labyrinth, the 11 year old is reading The Chamber of Secrets (he came late to Harry Potter; I'm not sure why). In a nutshell, they both like reading pretty well (not as well as their mama did when she was their ages); although they like fantasy, they read across genres. Their lists of book presents include very little regular fiction (1 out of 11). Our house is so full of middle grade sci fi/fantasy that they have enough of it to read (lucky children!), and I also find it very difficult to predict what they will actually pick up and read, let alone truly enjoy. So their book presents tend to be random grab bag of non-fiction and graphic novels. For the eleven year old: The Last Dragon, by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay (so beautiful!) The Dragon of Hong Kong (Yoko Tsuno book 5) by Roger Leloup (this will make him very happy) The Acme Catalog (Quality is Our #1 Dream) The Way We Work, by David McCauley The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins All of My Friends are Dead (he saw it in a store, and wants it really badly...I think the title is the funniest thing, and it goes downhill from there, but whatever.) For my eight year old: The Mythbusters science fair book A Greyhound of a Girl, by Roddy Doyle (I hope he likes it; I haven't read it myself yet, but he loves The Meanwhile Adventures et seq. so he should be pleased. Unless he's disappointed because it doesn't have Rover in it) Eric, by Shaun Tan (An expended story from Tales from Outer Suburbia. Eric is pictured at right) Gon, Vol. 4 My boy sees a lot of himself in Gon, the dinosaur that time forgot--both are loyal, determined, and very fierce. The Fog Mound book 1-- Travels of Thelonius (a post apocalyptic fantasy with mice that's part graphic novel. I picked this one up used, and haven't read it myself, but I tested it on his brother, and it was approved) If you were to be given one of these books, which would you like?