nonfiction

“Pale on characterization, dependent on
plot and urban myths, this ‘gust’ is more of a light breeze.”
from a gust of ghosts
only of established professionals such as Wendelin Van Draanen
and Todd Strasser, but of young writers who may not be as familiar.
Additionally, the authors sample some of these young wordsmiths’
work, which, although it stops the narrative flow, gives readers
both a taste of their material and the feeling that this is something
that’s achievable. The tone of the book is positive and self-help-y,
but the advice is straightforward and practical. It includes quizzes,
writing exercises to loosen up the brain and a handy section on further
resources as well as a (too) short glossary of terms that all professional
writers should know. Because it’s aimed at word slingers
of all types of material and genres, some which the authors define
and explain, the information is by necessity somewhat general and
superficial, and writers seeking to work in specific genres will have
to do further research.
Part instructional, part inspirational, this writing
primer is a good first stop for budding young scribes. (Nonfiction.
8-12)
A GUST OF GHOSTS
Harper, Suzanne
Greenwillow/HarperCollins (320 pp.)
$16.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0-06-199610-8
Series: The Unseen World of Poppy
Malone, 2
Life is hard when you think like a scientist
and your parents are ghost hunters.
Graveyard visits are nothing new to
Poppy Malone and her siblings—twin
brother, older sister and 5-year-old brother. They’re accustomed
to moving from one place to another as their parents attempt to
document ghostly apparitions and other paranormal incidents.
When Poppy unknowingly “invites” a troupe of ghosts into
their house, she seizes the opportunity to capture them on film
and save her parents’ grant funding from being cut off. But, how
to get rid of them The ghosts are stock characters: an older
Shakespearean actor, a lone, heartbroken cowboy, two bossy
women, a mischievous boy and even a dog. While the opening
is chaotic and fairly predictable, hijinks ensue, and Poppy’s scientific
explanations add a touch of reality. Pale on characterization,
dependent on plot and urban myths, this “gust” is more of
a light breeze.
Second in a preteen series of spooky stories, the lure
of ghosts will attract readers, particularly those who have
read the first one (A Gaggle of Goblins, 2010). (Fantasy. 8-12)
DOGS OF THE WORLD
Kit and Willy’s Ultimate
Guidebooks to Everything
Helm, Zebedee
Illus. by Helm, Zebedee
Pucci/Trafalgar (32 pp.)
$14.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0956028433
A little boy named Kit and his dachshund
Willy are the narrators of this
seriously flawed British import written in the style of a child’s
illustrated school report about dogs.
Kit wears a 10-gallon hat and declares that he is “a cowboy
from Montana in the good ol’ USA.” A short text is combined
with clever spot illustrations of Kit and Willy introducing 13 different
dog breeds with hand-lettered labels and speech balloons
(complete with corrected spelling errors). Problematic text
and negative racial stereotyping are present in the narration
and illustrations for two breeds. In the description of Afghan
hounds, the text states that because of the war, “everyone is
too busy fighting to take their Afghans for walks, so they feel
quite sorry for themselves.” The illustration shows a character
resembling a cartoon-style Native American shooting at Kit
(in a tank) with a bow and arrow. The pages on Pekingese dogs
include a stereotypical cartoon of an emperor with a conical
hat and long pigtail as well as a cook chasing a dog with a meat
cleaver. The text asserts that “some people in China eat dogs”
so “if you are a Chinese dog then maybe you should think about
moving anywhere else.”
Think about buying something else. (Picture book. 4-8)
FLIRTING IN ITALIAN
Henderson, Lauren
Delacorte (336 pp.)
$17.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $20.99
Jun. 12, 2012
978-0-385-74135-4
978-0-375-98452-5 e-book
978-0-375-98999-5 PLB
Child of Nordic/Scottish parents,
Violet—short, dark, curvy—feels like
one of a kind until she discovers her uncanny resemblance to
the Italian girl depicted in a 1790 portrait.
Tracing the painting’s provenance to Castello di Vesperi
in Tuscany, Violet wheedles her mother into sending her to
Villa Barbiano, whose formidable owner, Catia, offers summer
instruction in the Italian language, art and art history. Joining
Violet are working-class Kelly, another Brit, and two rich
American girls: blonde Paige and African-American Kendra.
Cultures clash, but strife recedes as the girls unite against the
unspeakable Elisa, Catia’s daughter, in pursuit of hot Italian
boys, beginning with Elisa’s brother, Leonardo. Violet sets her
sights on handsome Luca, whose family owns Castello di Vesperi.
The plot finally thickens halfway through, when Violet’s
resemblance to Luca’s family is discovered and their burgeoning
romance interrupted by attempts on her life. Slapdash execution,
an undisciplined, rambling style and often-senseless plot
(why doesn’t plucky Violet simply ask her doting mother if she’s
adopted) mark this series opener from the author of the Scarlet
Wakefield mysteries. Fortunately, Violet’s character eventually
develops: Abandoning her generically breathless persona, Violet
morphs into a funny, caustic observer, comparing and contrasting
teen cultures and mores—American, British, Italian.
For readers willing to abandon plot logic and go with
the flow, there are compensations. (Mystery romance. 12 & up)
THE SCARY PLACES
MAP BOOK
Seven Terrifying Tours
Hennessy, B.G.
Illus. by Madrid, Erwin
Candlewick (32 pp.)
$15.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0-7636-4541-0
In the same vein as the author’s Once Upon a Time Map Book
(1999 with foldouts; flat edition 2004), more map-reading practice
in the guise of an ocean voyage and six tours of spooky landscapes
or locales.
Hennessy starts by inviting armchair travelers to step aboard
the Ghostly Galleon in a Mediterranean “Haunted Harbor” and
later to join such tour guides as Gruesome Gus for a trip around
the “Western Terror-tories,” and Hercules as he revisits the
sites of selected labors in the “Land of Mythical Monsters.”
For each expedition, the author lays out an itinerary with map
coordinates in stages measured by “mermaid leagues,” “zombie
miles” or like appropriate units. Readers can trace each route on
uncluttered painted aerial or cutaway views that fill about two
thirds of their spreads. These come with number/letter grids
(in a lightweight typeface that makes it hard to distinguish a “1”
from an “I”), compass roses, keys and large (superfluous) labels
on major features—as well as various mermaids and monsters,
plus tiny black cats or other not-exactly-concealed items to
spot. Madrid’s digitally produced illustrations include full-page
“close ups” that, for some reason, differ in detail from their corresponding
iterations on the maps.
Not particularly challenging—nor, since the settings
are conventional enough that even younger children will
probably find them familiar, particularly scary either. (Picture
book. 7-9)
NOTHING SPECIAL
Herbach, Geoff
Sourcebooks Fire (304 pp.)
$9.99 paperback | May 1, 2012
978-1-4022-6507-5
Over the course of a cataclysmically
awful trip, Felton Reinstein journals for
his girlfriend about breakthroughs in his
familial relationships.
Last year, at 15, nerdy Felton hit a
growth spurt and became Stupid Fast
(2011), a track star and a football star. This year, with his girlfriend
Aleah in Germany, Felton must deal with his fame and
the possibility that his younger brother Andrew could be falling
apart. Andrew has convinced their mother to let him go to band
camp, but Felton discovers that Andrew, usually the sane member
of the family, has in fact run away to Florida. An impromptu
road trip with erstwhile best friend Gus turns up surprising
reasons for Andrew’s escape. Herbach’s sophomore effort is
impenetrable to those who have not read his first, due to a complete
lack of character introductions. The conceit of telling the
tale of the road trip while on a different trip is a convoluted
one that buries the heart of this potentially touching tale in a
flabby, confusing construct few readers will enjoy. Felton’s voice
is frenetic, often annoyingly self-deprecating and repetitious;
his fans are the only ones who need apply.
If Herbach had avoided playing narrative games and
just run with his story, this might have been something special.
(Fiction. 12 & up)
SLITHER SLIDE,
WHAT’S OUTSIDE
Hilb, Nora; Shapiro, Simon &
Shapiro, Sheryl
Illus. by Hilb, Nora
Annick Press (32 pp.)
$8.95 paperback | PLB $19.95
May 1, 2012
978-1-55451-386-4
978-1-55451-387-1 PLB
Similar to Hilb’s Wiggle Giggle Tickle Train (with co-author
Sharon Jennings and photographer Marcela Cabezas Hilb,
2009), this imaginative romp shows kids using nature to fuel
their creative play through all the seasons of the year.
Left-hand pages feature beautiful stock photos of (mostly)
nature that encompass the four seasons—a blossoming tree,
rainfall, a growing pumpkin and a snowplow at work are among
the 13. Right-hand pages showcase Hilb’s watercolors of children
patterning their play after nature. A photo of a frog appears
opposite two children jumping over a log, a rainbow prompts a
coloring session and some geese flying overhead lead the children
to use toy horns to copy their calls. But it is the addition of
the Shapiros’ rollicking verses that truly make this an all-around
enjoyable collaboration. The waterfall spread is a standout, the
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