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Cool New Books for May
May's roundup of Cool New Books includes SUMMER BALL, the sequel to Mike Lupica's #1 bestseller TRAVEL TEAM that reintroduces readers to Danny Walker, a boy who's passionate about basketball; THE TITAN'S CURSE by Rick Riordan, the third adventure featuring Percy Jackson and the other half-blooded Olympians who populate Camp Half-Blood; SUMMERHOUSE TIME, a story about change, values and the importance of family from acclaimed author Eileen Spinelli; and two titles that focus on a lovable and an irresistible Labrador retriever --- MARLEY: A DOG LIKE NO OTHER, a middle-grade version of John Grogan's bestselling memoir MARLEY & ME, and an original picture book inspired by this true story.
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Stand-Alone Chapter Books/Middle Grade Novels
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BIRD SPRINGS
Carolyn Marsden
Viking Children's Books
ISBN-10: 067006193X
ISBN-13: 9780670061938
Ages 8-up
128 pages
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Eleven-year-old Gregory and his family had to leave the Navajo reservation at Bird Springs --- the only home they've ever known --- and move to a motel in Tucson, Arizona. Gregory misses his absent father, but he likes school, particularly art class with the kind teacher. He also makes a new friend, Matt, who promptly informs him that art class is really art therapy and that Gregory is staying in a shelter, not a motel. Even though Matt can be outspoken, he is just what Gregory needs now.
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THE CHAOS KING
Laura Ruby
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060752580
ISBN-13: 9780060752583
Ages 10-up
336 pages
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Not only is Georgie the one person who can disappear at will, but since she found her parents, she's become The Richest Girl in the Universe. She may be special, but is she lucky? Her parents have forbidden her to vanish, her new school is full of snooty heiresses and her best friend in the world, a belligerent boy named Bug, seems to have abandoned her. But adventure is just around the corner, as a madman who calls himself The Chaos King has Georgie and Bug in his sights.
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DEMONKEEPER
Royce Buckingham
G. P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN-10: 0399246495
ISBN-13: 9780399246494
Ages 10-up
240 pages
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Demons are all around us --- most of them are relatively harmless, but some are dangerous. Since he was orphaned as a boy, Nat has been trained by his aged mentor Daliwahl to be a demonkeeper, controlling a group of demons in their old, rickety house in Seattle. But now Daliwahl is gone and Nat is on his own. When Nat goes on a date with Sandy, a junior librarian's assistant, it's a disaster in more ways than one. While Nat is out, a very scary demon called the Beast escapes. Can Nat get the Beast back to the house and make things right with Sandy --- and do it all by himself?
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ELLIE MCDOODLE: HAVE PEN, WILL TRAVEL
Ruth McNally Barshaw
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 158234745X
ISBN-13: 9781582347455
Ages 9-12
176 pages
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A very unhappy Ellie McDougal (better known to her friends as Ellie McDoodle because she loves to draw) is forced to go camping with her aunt, uncle, three annoying cousins and baby brother Ben-Ben while her parents are out of town. At least she has her sketch journal, in which she records all the excruciating details. She can handle mosquito bites and trips to the Fred Moose museum, but how will she keep her journal from falling into Er-ick the Enemy's hands? And what will happen when she actually starts having fun?
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MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE STUART LITTLE
Peggy Gifford
Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House
ISBN-10: 0375839151
ISBN-13: 9780375839153
Ages 7-11
104 pages
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It wasn't as if Moxy Maxwell hadn't tried to do her summer reading. If STUART LITTLE wasn't in her backpack, it was in her lap, holding up the coffee table, or getting splashed when Moxy went swimming. But now it's the day before fourth grade, and Moxy must read all of STUART LITTLE immediately. In Moxy's defense she's been quite busy with highly crucial things --- such as cleaning up her room (sort of), training her dog and taking a much-needed rest in the hammock. Given her hectic schedule, you can see why it's so difficult to make time for a book about a mouse.
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SUMMERHOUSE TIME
Eileen Spinelli
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN-10: 0375840613
ISBN-13: 9780375840616
Ages 8-12
224 pages
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Every year a rented pink cottage full of family, swapping stories and riding waves mean Summerhouse Time for Sophie. The best part is sharing a room with her favorite cousin so they can laugh and trade secrets. But when an excited Sophie asks Colleen (who's now a teenager) if she's looking forward to their time together, Colleen merely responds by saying "I guess so." That doesn't sound too promising. Will this year be just as wonderful as always?
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Nonfiction
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MARLEY: A DOG LIKE NO OTHER
John Grogan
Collins
ISBN-10: 0061240338
ISBN-13: 9780061240331
Ages 9-11
208 pages
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Marley, a lovable Labrador retriever, is always getting himself into trouble. Some may say he's the world's worst dog. But those who know and love Marley understand that nothing can stop his loyalty, exuberance and passion --- not even the Grogans' screen door! How this big, rambunctious dog becomes the heart of the Grogan family is the story of MARLEY: A DOG LIKE NO OTHER, a middle-grade nonfiction book adapted from John Grogan's bestselling memoir MARLEY & ME.
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Series Books/Sequels
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Percy Jackson & the Olympians
THE TITAN'S CURSE: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book Three
Rick Riordan
Miramax/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN-10: 1423101456
ISBN-13: 9781423101451
Ages 10-up
320 pages
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Percy's best friend, Grover, has made an important discovery: two new half-bloods, Bianca and Nico, whose parentage is unknown. But before Percy and his companions can escort Bianca and Nico safely back to Camp Half-Blood, they are intercepted by the manticore, and an impulsive move by Percy causes Annabeth to go missing. And she's not the only one: the goddess Artemis is believed to have been kidnapped. But who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess? It's up to Percy and his friends to find out. But first, Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared --- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever. |
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Sequel to TRAVEL TEAM
SUMMER BALL
Mike Lupica
Philomel Books
ISBN-10: 0399244875
ISBN-13: 9780399244872
Ages 10-up
256 pages
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Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny Walker, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off. Now Danny is leaving Middletown for the summer and heading to Right Way basketball camp, where he's out of his element and maybe out of his league. The country's best players are in attendance, and Danny will need to raise his game if he wants to match up. But it won't be easy. Old rivals and new battles leave Danny wondering if he really has what it takes to stand tall. |
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Picture Books
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BAD DOG, MARLEY!
written by John Grogan
illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 006117114X
ISBN-13: 9780061171147
Ages 4-8
40 pages
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In John Grogan's memoir, MARLEY & ME, the world learned how one bad dog became the heart of the family that loved him. Now, in this original picture book, Mommy, Daddy, Cassie and Baby Louie welcome the puppy Marley to the Grogan family. Marley grows and grows…and grows. His eagerness and energy grow with him, getting him into trouble in a great big way. And, in the end, Marley's over-the-top energy is just what's needed to save the day.
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BECAUSE…
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Vladimir Radunsky
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 0689875827
ISBN-13: 9780689875823
Ages 4-8
32 pages
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Meet a young boy who spends all his time with his grandmother, which proves to be a bit of a problem. It's not that he doesn't love her, but she always embarrasses him by doing crazy things. Why did she decide to leapfrog over Mrs. Q? Why did she spend all day rolling on the ground with her dog? And why did she stand in front of the fan for an hour, flapping her arms like a butterfly. He thinks Grandma has a secret…but what could it be?
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THE PURPLE BALLOON
Chris Raschka
Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House
ISBN-10: 0375841466
ISBN-13: 9780375841460
Ages 4-8
32 pages
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
When a child becomes aware of his pending death (children tend to know long before the rest of us even want to consider it) and is given the opportunity to draw his feelings, he will often draw a blue or purple balloon that is on its way upward. Health-care professionals have discovered that this is true, regardless of a child's cultural or religious background, and researchers believe that this is symbolic of the child's innate knowledge that a part of them will live forever.
Thanks to Random House and Children's Hospice International, sales of this important book will help critically ill children.
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--- Compiled and written by Tom Donadio
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