WHY DO YOU CRY? (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
WHY DO YOU CRY? by Kate and M. Sarah Klise (Henry Holt)

In order to attend Little Rabbit’s grown-up birthday party, you can’t cry. This leaves out the squirrel, who cries when he is left out of games. This leaves out the cat, who is afraid of the tall shadows on the alley wall. This leaves out the horse who cries (like many of us) when he has a bad day at the hairstylist. But when Little Rabbit’s criteria leaves out his sentimental mother, he decides maybe he’s been a little too stringent. This very dear story reminiscent of Charlotte Zolotow’s early work might have you shedding a tender tear, or just marveling at the matte illustrations brimming with clever detail. The creative team behind one of my favorite novels for teaching letter-writing, REGARDING THE FOUNTAIN (9 and up), these sisters are so talented I could cry, and eagerly await any and all of their offerings. (4 and up)

Also of interest:
WHAT ARE YOU SO GRUMPY ABOUT? by Tom Lichtenheld (Little,Brown) is an empathetic exploration of what gets kids' goats, from the dreaded gravy touching peas to the even worse case cenario of a sibling touching anything at all. Full of cartoon illustrations, snarky sidelines and endpapers with helpful "Sure Cures for Grumpiness," his book is funny, funny, funny, and I mean the rare kind of funny that comes from being true. The author polled over a hundred children in order to create this book, and that's why it hits its mark dead-on. Fans of Dav Pilkey will love this book. (5 and up)

If you are looking for a wonderful guest author for a school visit, please do consider Tom Lichtenheld; I had the pleasure of meeting him in person over the weekend and seeing him in action for the first time. Sharing the stage with bestselling (and equally swashbuckling) author Carolyn Crimi, he rocked the boat with Everything I Know About Pirates at a Pirate Party at the PlanetEsme Bookroom. Children were actually screaming with laughter and delight, and he did an amazing job creating a collaborative illustration with the help of every child in the room. Here is a picture of him giving a pirate's "aaaargh!" for the camera with an enthusiastic young buccaneer.


Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

SHOW AND TELL LION (PICTURE BOOK)

Today, let's celebrate the emerging artist!

PICTURE BOOK
THE SHOW AND TELL LION by Barbara Abercrombie, illustrated by Lynn Avril Cravath (McElderberry)
Matthew tells his class that he has a baby lion. Though he knows it's just make-believe, the more he talks about it, the more real his story becomes. It isn't long before the baby lion grows and grows, and so does Matthew's story. When the class wants to go on a field trip to Matthew's house to meet his special pet, Matthew knows it's time to tell the truth. Maybe his mother can help him find a way to do it so that he doesn't have to completely unravel the marvelous tale he has woven. "'You lied?' says Sarah in a loud voice. 'You don't really have a lion living at your house? Larry isn't real?' 'He's real in my head,' says Matthew. 'He's real in my book.'" The drama of a problem starting to mushroom will resonate with its intended audience, and the resolution is satisfying and believable. In a brilliant stroke by the illustrator, Matthew's artwork gradually combines with his real surroundings, as both environments meld. This book sensitively portrays the desire for the things we imagine to be manifested in the world, and the power of the artist, at any age, to make it so. (5 and up)

PICTURE BOOK
HOUNDSLEY AND CATINA by James Howe, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (Candlewick)
Catina is an aspiring author. Houndsley is a talented cook. Both have aspirations of fame and recognition, but they may ultimately have to settle for the audience of one good friend. Just the opening is worth the price of the book: "Catina wanted to be a writer. Every evening after dinner, she would make herself a cup of ginger tea and sit down to write another chapter in her book. So far she had written severty-three chapters." An early reader in chapter book form, the droll and heartfelt writing makes this little gem glow. (5 and up)

Also of interest:
THE DOT by Peter Reynolds (Candlewick) The teacher of a frustrated young artist suggests, "just make a mark and see where it takes you." This reassuring tale that will bring out the artist in every child. Check out the companion title, ISH, about a creative boy whose abstract interpretations may not look exactly like a vase or a tree, but definitely appears vase-ish and tree-ish.(4 and up)

DOODLES: A REALLY GIANT COLORING AND DOODLING BOOK
by Taro Gomi (Chronicle) Some folks of my generation will remember The Anti-Coloring Book; here is a mega-mondo-360-page coloring book in the same vein. Children are invited to collaborate with an artist on every page: add sauce to the noodles, color snakes to the tips of their tails, help the sun rise behind mountains, feed crocodiles, help magicians do their tricks. Sharpen those crayons, and save this one for a rainy day! Great warm-ups for grown-up illustrators, too. (4 and up)

Older kids and the young-at-heart who consider their own art skills to be sketchy will enjoy the can-do attitude in DRAWING FOR THE ARTISTICALLY UNDISCOVERED, a hands-on guide by Quentin Blake (illustrator of Roald Dahl's books) and John Cassidy (Klutz Books)(8 and up).

An oldie but goodie, Caldecott honor-winner FREDERICK is a bit of a twist on "the grasshopper and the ant" fable, in which a little mouse gathers the bits and pieces that make up the poetry he will share with his community when they need words to warm the long winter months. It sure is nice to see an artist get some appreciation! (4 and up)

And why should kids have all the fun? If you are a grown-up who would like to be a children's book author or illustrator, be sure to join The Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and hook up with a supportive and informative network in your area.

On a personal note:
The Vive la Paris Reading Round Robin is now closed. If you e-mailed a request to participate, copies of the book have been sent out and should be arriving to you within coming weeks. Thank you for your kind interest. Enjoy!

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

DID DINOSAURS EAT PIZZA? (PICTURE BOOK NONFICTION)

NONFICTION
DID DINOSAURS EAT PIZZA? MYSTERIES SCIENCE HASN'T SOLVED
by Lenny Hort, illustrated by John O'Brien (Henry Holt)
We may know T-Rex was the biggest meat eater. But do we know whether he stalked live prey or did he scavenge to find food that was already dead? How did the tall dinosaurs lay eggs without having them crack and splatter? How did plant eaters maintain a weight that might have been as much as a hundred tons? Which dino-parents took care of the babies, or did they have sitters? Are dinosaurs really extinct, or are their closest cousins all around us? The genuine curiosity and fascination is contagious in this brightly illustrated noggin-scratcher that’s a must-have for all fans Mesozoic. (5 and up)

Also of interest:
ENCYCLOPEDIA PREHISTORICA DINOSAURS: THE DEFINITIVE POP-UP by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart (Candlewick) (Inside this unassuming little brown book are DINOSAURS, people, dinosaurs who bang their tales, battle, take flight, can-can from the sidelines, reach into the treetops, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Tyrannosaurus Rex actually chomps. Biggest thing to happen for the genre since Jurassic Park. Also, check out the new companion title by the same dynamic duo: Encyclopedia Prehistorica Sharks and Other Sea Monsters. ) (5 and up)
THE DINOSAURS OF WATERHOUSE HAWKINS by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic) (Breathtaking and mysterious picture book biography of the Victorian artist who conjured up the first models of what dinosaurs might look like, only to have them buried by a corrupt politician somewhere in Central Park.) (7 and up)
MEGATOOTH by Patrick O'Brien (Henry Holt) (The biggest dinosaur didn't roam the earth...he swam the sea! Wow, this title has special read-aloud bite and is a must-have for a dramatic dino-storytime.) (4 and up)
PREHISTORIC ACTUAL SIZE by Steve Jenkins (Houghton Mifflin) (collage art by an award-winning non-fiction author, with stunning fold-out pages.) (4 and up)
THE RANDOM HOUSE DINOSAUR TRAVEL GUIDE by Kelly Milner Halls (Random House) (Plan a junior paleontologist's dream vacation with this state-by-state guide to over three hundred dino-destintations around the country. Includes "Bone-digger bonus" factoids and great links for armchair traveling on the internet, too!) (8 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

BESSIE SMITH AND THE NIGHT RIDERS

HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL PICTURE BOOK
BESSIE SMITH AND THE NIGHT RIDERS by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by John Holyfield (Putnam)

When legendary songstress Bessie Smith’s train car pulls into Emmarene’s small town, her world is filled with glamour. She peeks under the tent to see Bessie perform, but from her vantage point, she is also able to see the white-hooded Klansman sneaking up to perform a nefarious deed. When Emmarene runs in to warn Bessie, the performer’s courageous response is not what anyone expects, especially the Ku Klux Klan. Bold paintings capture both the dark night and bright spirits; there was something especially chilling in the illustration of Klansman painted on their horses. Taking a cue from Bessie, this story depicts its underlying racial theme with unusual bravery and candor for a children’s book. Being based on real events and ending relatively happily, this powerful read-aloud is all the more thrilling. (7 and up)

Incidentally, Sue Stauffacher is my new favorite writer. Maneuvering between picture books and chapter books (like her touching and humorous Donuthead) with the illusion of ease, it was her novel HARRY SUE (Knopf, 10 and up) that really blew me away. It is the story of a tough little girl who plans to get herself incarcernated in order to escape living with her negligent grandmother who runs a day care center, and in order to be in the company of her mother. Harry Sue is no felon, however; under that steely, tough-talking armour beats the heart of a booklover, and a tireless protector of small children. Though the topics touched on are tragic and raw, Harry Sue's voice soars above her circumstances with startling humor and esprit. This is a book for our time, but has elements of classics such as Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden and Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins, but most of all, and interwoven throughout, are direct allusions to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the fantasy that helps Harry Sue weather--and triumph over--her harsh reality.

Fans of Gennifer Choldenko's Newbery honor-winning Al Capone Does My Shirts will appreciate the research that went into Harry Sue's authentic "Conglish," or freewheeling prison lingo. There is precious little available for the large population of children who have incarcerated parents, and in that alone, this book makes a significant contribution; but that is not this book's only contribution. I think history will be a little red in the face for failing to fully recognize this particular literary tour de force, but luckily, there's nothing this talented author can't do...so history will likely get a second chance.

Keep an eye on this one, gang. She's a groundbreaker.

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

Stop the summer reading slide!

An article in Instructor magazine by Megan Lundstrom suggests that children who don't read regularly over their summer break fall behind about three months in their reading achievement. Ouch! That kind of slide doesn't belong on any playground, friends! Here are a few handy-dandy hints for a slide-free summer. Please feel free to post your own ideas in the comments section below!

Find a special place.
We give a lot of thought to what children read, but less concern about where they read. This is a very important consideration when the Siren's song of the summer sidewalk/park/beach beckons. Who wants to sit still when the sun is shining? To keep reading in the running for a summer recreation choice, help children pick and design a special spot, a clubhouse of sorts where they can retreat. How about redecorating an old refrigerator or piano box? Clear out a corner of a closet? Build a backyard tipi? You can also purchase lovely temporary reading tents at Hearthsong. Make sure the fairies leave special reading gifts in these spaces all summer long.

These photos were sent in by teacher Lori Napoli. More about her below!

Literary field trips.
Summer is a time for adventure! Tie reading into your vacation plans, or build them around favorite books. Visiting New York City? How about A Cricket in Times Square? Shipping off to rural relatives? Pack Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles. And who would venture into the wild west without Laura Ingalls Wilder? Even if your summer plans keep you closer to home, you can preface a visit to the zoo with (what else?) Aliki's My Visit to the Zoo by Aliki; dinner out calls for a side dish of Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out by Ted Lewin; all you need for the beach is All You Need for a Beach, by Alice Schertle...honestly, there isn't a thing you can set out to do or a place that you can go that doesn't have a book tie-in waiting in the wings. For the perfect match between destination and reading inspiration, use the "Location, Location, Location" section of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, or visit the "Trip Around the World" link for more reading tour guides.

Hit a Home Run with Punch Cards.
If your young readers have a sporty streak, motivate them by drawing a baseball diamond on an index card, and hole-punching a base with every book that they read. How long does it take them to make it to home plate? Does a novel in a week count as a grand slam? What's their summer reading average?
Featured covers:
PLAY BALL! by Jorge Posada and Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Raul Colon (Simon and Schuster)and
JUST LIKE JOSH GIBSON by Angela Johnson, illustrated by Beth Peck (Simon and Schuster).

Bookworms Blossom into Social Butterflies.
Let's end the bookworm stigma by making the most of social summertime fun: have a beach-blanket read-aloud , reading sleepovers, a reading by campfire, a reading-based cooking club where you choose recipes based on books (Ohhh, yum yum, did I mention Jane Yolen's A Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters is just out?). I don't mean to be pushy, but again, supporting titles and activities for literary par-tays may be found in excess in the "Beaucoup de Book Coups" section of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading.The more that children can make the positive association bewteen reading and time spent with friends, the more likely they are going to want to do it.

A Poem a Day Keeps the Summer Slide Away.
Start with a reading of Randall Jarrell's The Bat Poet, just to get everybody looking at poems as the presents they really are. Then, tuck a poem a day into a child's lunch, or tuck it under a pillow to be discovered. A nice thing to do if you are a grandparent or relative who lives across the miles from a special young person is to mail a poem a day. There are so many rich anthologies and collections available from which to choose! Plan a candlelight end-of-summer recitation with friends and family.

Freedom of Choice.
All school year long, people have likely been telling these poor kids what to read. Buzz kill! Let them loose in the library and bookstore, and reserve judgement. I know, I know, those awful television-show knock-offs and drecky things with drooly mutants or books with girls' navels on the cover that you want to hold from the corner by two fingers, oh sweet mother...but do the best that you can. Kids have to experience it all in order to develop criteria (which they usually do very quickly once they have to spend their own money). You can also send kids to the PlanetEsme archives and let them create wishlists of more quality stuff to try to find and read over these summer months. Kids generally have great taste when great choices are offered to them.

Please note, there are two recent reissues that are easy choices for reluctant readers: for one, The Sundance company has reintroduced and updated the CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE series that sold over 150 million copies when it was first introduced, one of the most popular to pre-date Harry Potter. Though Sundance is marketing them with a classroom spin, regular consumers can choose to go a) buy the educator's set or b)special order them from your local bookseller. But I almost had a coronary when I discovered the CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED JUNIOR comic books from back in the day were being faithfully reissued out of a company in Canada. Yes, Classics! Illustrated! Junior! You know, those ones you had (or your mother had) that are part of the reason you are literate today? Though the production quality is not primo, the nostalgia factor pulls rank. These comics remain a fun and painless way for kids to get to know some of the stories that are alluded to all throughout literature...talk about collect 'em all!
For Pete's Sake, Don't Overschedule.
That's really marvelous that little Jennie-Jamie-Joey is so good at karate-soccer-ballet-trumpet and has more playdates than Paris Hilton, but knowing how to make choices with free time is also a skill. A little down-time allows children the chance to read and relax! If you want to schedule something regularly, make it a trip to the library or your local bookseller.

Movie on Down to the Library.
Tie in titles to match the summer's on-screen blockbusters. Obvious case in point: the upcoming Pirates of the Carribean sequel screams for reading supplements. Try the handsome volume PIRATES by John Matthews (Atheneum), our book of the day. This richly detailed delight catches a young reader's eye right away with the bejeweled blood-red winking of the skull on the cover, and inside is tucked away with just as many treasures: types of pirate flags, a guide to pirate slang, recruitement advertisements, a gallery of the most notorious, and, of course, a treasure map. Plenty to pore over, this is a good pick for anyone left on a deserted island awaiting rescue, or just perfect to while away the summer days in a world of imagination. (8 & up)

On the same theme we have Piratology by Captain Lubber (nom de plume, I presume), Carolyn Crimi's hilarious Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies (can you find the children's lit insider joke on one of the pirate's tattoos?), Kathryn Lasky's Pirate Bob, Mem Fox's
Tough Boris, Tom Lichtenheld's Everything I Know About Pirates, Melinda Long and David Shannon's How I Became a Pirate, and the list goes on and on. But movie-to-book connections are not limited to swashbuckling fare! See "Cinema Club" in How to Get Your Child to Love Reading or on-line to plan an entire summer reading film festival...and you'll be using that library card as often as that Blockbuster card or Netflix membership!

Also of interest:
The photos of homemade reading tipis above were sent in by Lori Napoli, an amazing third grade teacher in Orland Park, IL who has keep me updated via the internet with the inspired literature-based and confidence-building learning that goes on in her classroom. She sent the following e-mail:

When my kids are the "student/star of the week" they get a chance to be "bombed" with compliments. Their classmates write something nice about them on a post-it note and then tape on them.....hence our "Third Grade's the Bomb" bulletin board in the classroom. They get to visit other teachers and the principal....of course and once they're finished they come back to the room and I take their picture. I tape it on some construction paper and glue the compliments all around it and hang it up on our board until the end of the year when they get to take it home...they love it and that's what matters. Anyway, last year they wanted to bomb me (see picture).

Have a fabulous summer...This is my fourth day off and I'm still thinking about school...what's wrong with me? :o)

What's wrong with you should only be wrong with every teacher, Miss Napoli! I happened to notice she has a literary wish list going...it's pretty clear she'd make good use of it all. If anyone feels like doing a good deed and helping out the kind of teacher that we wish our children would have, check it out!

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

ONCE AROUND THE SUN (POETRY)

POETRY
ONCE AROUND THE SUN by Bobbi Katz, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Harcourt)

I recently had a group of university students come to the Bookroom, they were using the space to do readings of poetry for young people. I was taken aback by how many read from Shel Silverstein's WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS , a book that certainly represents an earth-shaking shift in children's poetry and is always good for a bellylaugh, but I couldn't help but think that somehow these students had missed the point, had taken the easy route. Perfunctory poetry is not a pretty thing. Going to the poetry shelves should be like entering a roomful of the most romantic, articulate, enigmatic people possible. You don't just go home with the first person you meet. You go to those shelves to fall in love! And when you read a poem, people should see how in love you really are. Have you really fallen in love lately? Have you been so in love you have to share it with the whole wide eye-rolling world? Though the genre of poetry is often relegated to April, its month, I wanted to remind everyone that you can always meet someone new.

In the interest of year-round poetry, we start with ONCE AROUND THE SUN. It makes sense that a poet as seasoned as Bobbi Katz could so masterfully carry her readers through the calendar. Free verse perfectly captures the secret ingredient of every month (June: “When your math book/is completely lopsided:/the pile of unfinished pages on the right/is/skinny/but you need to use your left hand to hold down/all the stuff you’ve already learned…” August: “…the praying mantis/shuttles its rakes/along the whiskerrough stem/of a sunflower,” or “September is/when a piece of chalk/skates across the board/swirling and looping/until it spells your new teacher’s name.”) As for the artwork, I did an actual doubletake: Pham's compositions featuring an African-American boy and girl seem like an homage to Ezra Jack Keats, but glow and sparkle with their own contemporary light. This book features some of the most amazing and beautiful work from both author and illustrator, and given their past offerings, that’s saying a lot.

Also of interest:

Check out my favorite poetry website by author Kristine O'Connell George. Pictured here is one of her hits: FOLD ME A POEM (Harcourt).

If you do not yet own A KICK IN THE HEAD: AN EVERYDAY GUIDE TO POETIC FORMS by Paul Janeczko, ilustrated by Chris Raschka (Candlewick), you need to get a copy! Using straightforward explanations of twenty-nine poetic forms and succulent examples of each, readers are introduced to the variety and diversity of the genre. Yes, forms like sonnets and haikus, but have you ever heard of a senryu? An aubade? This is an eye-opening, mind-altering guide that belongs on the bookshelf of absolutely every educator and every lover of words.

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

ROUND ROBIN for VIVE LA PARIS: SPECIAL OFFER

SUMMER READING by SNAIL MAIL, ANYONE?
Okay, librarians, teachers, book bloggers and book club leaders, here's the scoop. My new novel Vive la Paris (for ages 10 and up) is coming out from Hyperion in about six months. It's the companion novel to Sahara Special, and it jusssst sooooo haaaappppppens that I have several advance reader's copies. If anyone is interested, I'll set up a "reading round robin" by mail. I tried this with my local SCBWI network and it was a lot of fun, so I thought we'd give it a whirl here! Here's how it will work: send me your address by the end of this week using the e-mail on my website (esmeatripcodotcom) with the subject heading "PARIS BLOG ROUND ROBIN" and a little hello so that I know you're the real bookloving McCoy and not a robot. (Note: please do not post your contact info in the comments area below, that's not cybersafe!) Then I'll add you to a list of folks to recieve a copy, and one day, there it will be, sitting in your mailbox! When you're done reading the book, you mail it off to the next person on the list that will be included. If you are running a book club with four or more members, just specify and send me the mailing info for your membership and I'll set up a round robin just for your peeps. Quantities limited! Tell your friends and listservs...I will be honoring requests through Saturday or while supplies last.(Sorry, this offer's just for booksharing grown-ups, but if you're a kid and you want mail, you should definitely check out my Diary of a Fairy Godmother art contest where everybody wins something, or ask a parent to get in on the round robin.)

Now, the first twenty people or so to respond will get a bonus book to read, Amy Timberlake's latest, also due this fall!
From the back flaps of our books:

That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake
"Lucy Moon is the kind of girl who loudly supports animal rights during hunting season. She wears a woven hat made of hemp in support of third-world workers. Lucy Moon is the kind of girl who spots injustice and isn't afraid to fight it. So when classmates land a trip to the police station for sledding on Wiggins Hill and the local paper refuses to report it--or the role Miss Ilene Viola Wiggins, the richest woman in town, plays in the arrest--Lucy launches a campaign to fight against corruption in her hometown...Can one person really make a difference?"

Vive la Paris by Esme Raji Codell
"Paris has just come for piano lessons, not chopped-liver sandwiches or French lessons or free advice. But when old Mrs. Rosen gives her a little bit more than she can handle, it might be just what Paris needs to understand the bully in her brother's life, and the bullies of the world. This companion novel to Sahara Special offers a look at what it means to be your brother's keeper, and how we hold on to hope when the world is too much. Rose-colored glasses optional."

Also, editorial comment from me: Amy's book happens to rock. Great mystery, with a social justice underpinning that's just right for middleschoolers today; I thought it depicted kids in that age group in a realistic and positive way. People who liked Katherine Hannigan's Ida B. are going to love Lucy Moon's spunk. I know I wouldn't want to have to wait six months to read this one!

Speaking of getting fun things in the mail, check out the book of the day, now available at bookstores and libraries:
STINK AND THE INCREDIBLE SUPER-GALACTIC JAWBREAKER (FICTION) by Megan McDonald (Candlewick). The brother of series star Judy Moody is back again, and he's mad and not gonna take it anymore, writing a firey letter of complaint to the candy factory that sold him a jawbreaker that failed to break his jaw. When the corporation calms their junior consumer with a ten-pound box of jawbreakers, so begins the great letter-writing campaign. This title inspired my own ten-year-old son to write a letter to the Smarties candy company suggesting that they make bigger candy, and the kind Consumer Relations Manager actually did send him an entire box of oversized Smarties. (Our family and our dentist thank you, sir!) I share this vignette of Wonka-like valor not to inspire solicitation, but to point out this book's power to inspire the letter-writing abilities of intermediate readers. McDonald continues to prove her prowess at capturing the sincere and humorous tone of her characters (and her readership), and tucks in a friendship subplot that is sweet as any candy. (7 and up)

Here is a picture of my best boy Russell at the International Reading Association conference, sharing his hard-earned candy with Stink's illustrator, Peter H. Reynolds (who, incidentally, runs an awesome website as well as his own independent bookstore in Dedham, Massachusetts! Check them out!).

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.

THE WALL AND THE WING (FICTION)

PICTURE BOOK
THE WALL AND THE WING by Laura Ruby (HarperCollins)
Would you rather have the power of invisibility, or the power to fly? This was the question that nagged at the author, and you'll be able to guess her own preference when you read this book! Gurl, an orphaned pariah ensnared in the clutches of the avaricious (and slightly stylish) matron of Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless, has been coerced into a seemingly endless loop of larceny by the empty promise that a mysterious kitten she found will be returned to her. Just when there seems to be no light at the end of the subway tunnel, Gurl's own remarkable abilities appear; not only to vanish, but to be there for an unlikely friend named Bug. These gifts might be enough to give them both their happily ever after, if they play their cards just right.

In all honesty, my visceral response to this book was: finally, a fantasy I can finish! I've boarded so many flights of fancy in which the author drops the reader off of the magic carpet somewhere over Bora-Bora, so it was great to be hanging on for the whole ride. In a dreamlike vision of a place akin to New York City, we find subways stocked with vampires and albino alligators, gangsters who can unzip their faces, professors with green grass toupees, and mechanical monkeys who keep secrets that cymbal-ize the backstories that are the key to moving forward. It was refreshing to have an invented setting so fully realized and a plot that was genuinely pageturning, and there was something brave about the author's willingness to really let her imagination go no-holds-barred. Who can help being a little breathless after such a ride?

Throughly modern, slightly snarky and with a wholly original flavor, there is no need to compare with Harry Potter; with The Wall and the Wing, American fantasy takes full flight. (11 and up)

Not to be confused with this book, also of interest:
THE WAND IN THE WORD: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy edited by Leonard S. Marcus (Candlewick) (Who's here? Let's take attendance: Madeline L'Engle? Tamora Pierce? Brian Jacques? Ursula LeGuin? Philip Pullman? Susan Cooper? Garth Nix? Thirteen of the most magical minds in the business are all present and answering questions that will make students of fanatsy of us all.) (10 and up)

And for fledgling fantasy fans:
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng (HarperCollins)(An ambitious little British orphan uses the skills of hypnotism learned from a magical book found in the library, and takes her act all the way to Broadway. Meanwhile, a nefarious villain is looking to borrow the book whether she's done with it or not.) (9 and up)

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (Random House) (One of the most timely and provocative fantasies about a city running out of resources, and two children who set out to solve the problem. If you haven't read this, move it to the top of your list! I cried when it didn't win a Newbery. First in a trilogy; fans, be alerted that the newest, The Prophet of Yonwood, has just been recently released!) (9 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.