New Picture Books

Alexander, Claire        Lucy and the Bully
How will Lucy handle a bully at preschool?  (XE Ale) [12/08]

Cooper, Floyd         Willie and the All-Stars
Willie, a boy growing up on the north side of Chicago in 1942, is disheartened when a neighbor tells him his skin color prohibits him from ever realizing his dream of playing professional baseball, but his hopes are revived when he sees an exhibition game at Wrigley Field between an astonishing Negro League team and players from the Major Leagues.  (XE Coo) [12/08]

Crow, Kristyn          Cool Daddy Rat 
Catch the rhythm of jazz with a musician rat.  (XE Cro) [12/08]

Demi               The girl who drew a phoenix
A young girl acquires the qualities of the miraculous phoenix, including wisdom, clear sight, generosity, and right judgment, by practicing drawing the mythical bird. Companion to The boy who painted dragons. (XE Dem) [12/08]

Elliot, Zetta            Bird
Bird, an artistic young African American boy, expresses himself through drawing as he struggles to understand his older brother's drug addiction and death, while a family friend, Uncle Son, provides guidance and understanding. Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. (XE Ell) [12/08]

Gorbachev, Valerie        Turtle’s penguin day
After hearing a bedtime story about penguins, Turtle dresses as one for school and soon the entire class is having a penguin day, sliding on their bellies and eating goldfish crackers. (XE Gor) [12/08]

Kolar, Bob              Big Kicks
Biggie Bear who plays jazz, collects stamps, and enjoys being by himself, reluctantly joins the soccer team.  Despite being big, the game goes poorly until Biggie spies a postage stamp, bends down to pick it up, and ends up making a key play to win the game.  There’s lots to see on each page in this story about being yourself and still finding ways to fit in.  (XE Kol) [12/08]

Thomas, Patricia           Red Sled
A boy and his father lift one another's spirits by going sledding on a winter night. (XE Tho) [12/08]

New Chapter Books

Booraem, Ellen        Unnameables    
A boy and a goatman defy the establishment in a whimsical fantasy about belonging, the dangers of forgetting history, the Usefulness of art, and the importance of wind control. (X Booraem, E.) [12/08]

Bouwman, H. M.     The Remarkable and Very True Story of Lucy and Snowcap 
Adventure.  Historical fiction (1787).  Magical.  An island northeast of America.  Girls from two different backgrounds (native islander and English).  (X Bouwman, H.) [11/08] 

Dunkle, Clare        The Sky Inside
Martin, a genetically-engineered boy living in the perfectly ordered world of Hm1, finds himself questioning the citizens' acceptance of the world around them when children begin to disappear, including Martin's little sister, and no one is willing to search for them, forcing Martin to set out on a dangerous mission to escape the suburb and explore the world outside, looking for answers. (X Dunkle, C.)  [11/08]

Erdrich, Louise         The Porcupine Year
Twelve-year-old Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl, draws strength from the land and spirits as she and her family endure numerous hardships in their search for a new home in northern Minnesota in 1852. Sequel to The birchbark house and The game of silence. (X Erdrich, L.)  [11/08]

Van Draanen, Wendelin       Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash
Grades 6-9  “a wonderfully cheeky first-person narrative”  (X Van Draanen, W.) [11/08]

Wedekind, Annie         A Horse Of Her Own
At summer camp Jane feels like an outsider among the cliquish rich girls who board their horses at Sunny Acres farm, and when the horse she has been riding is sold to another camper, she feels even worse until her teacher asks her to help train a beautiful but skittish new horse, and the experience brings out the best in her.  (X Wedekind, A.) [12/08]

White, Ruth         Little Audrey
In 1948, eleven-year-old Audrey lives with her father, mother, and three younger sisters in Jewell Valley, a coal mining camp in Southwest Virginia, where her mother still mourns the death of a baby, her father goes on drinking binges on paydays, and Audrey tries to recover from the scarlet fever that has left her skinny and needing to wear glasses.   (X White, R.) [12/08]

New Non-Fiction

Denenberg, Barry       Lincoln Shot!  A President’s Life Remembered 
Conceived as a one-year anniversary newspaper edition of Lincoln's assassination, this brilliant, beautiful, and bold biographical portrait of Abraham Lincoln mimics 19th-century newsprint, combining pen and ink drawings with archival photography, and period typography with articles surveying Lincoln's life.  (XB Lincoln, A.)  [12/08]

DK.          Earth Matters
With a biodome-by-biodome structure that mirrors Mother Nature's own design, "Earth Matters" is a celebration of the planet, a warning to protect it, and an inspiring sourcebook full of ideas for making a positive change. Full color. (X 577 Ear) [12/08]

Goldstone, Bruce        Greater Estimations  
Filled with fun, creative examples, this unique companion to "Great Estimations" shows youngsters how to train their eyes and their minds to make estimations about length, volume, area, and more. Full color.  (X 519.54 Gol) [12/08]

Haas, Robert B.         African Critters  
With a dramatic first-person narrative and close-up photography that brings kids into the thick of the action, "National Geographic" photographer Haas offers a rare glimpse into the struggles for survival in the African wilderness. (X 591.96 Haa) [12/08]

Kelly, Erica & Richard Kissel        Evolving Planet. 
This illustrated non-fiction book shows a variety of creatures through the history of Earth.  (X 551 Kel) [12/08]

Kudlinski, Kathleen       Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System 
An informative look at how scientific theories have changed over time concerning the solar system.  (X 523.2 Kud) [12/08]

Stone, Tanya Lee      Sandy’s circus: a story about Alexander Calde
An illustrated account of American mobile artist Alexander Calder's creation of a miniature circus from wire, string, rubber, cloth, and other found objects, which grew to fill multiple suitcases. Illustrated by Boris Kulikov.  (X 730.92 Sto) [12/08]

Wood, Don       Into the volcano: a graphic novel
While their parents are away doing research, brothers Duffy and Sumo Pugg go with their cousin, Mister Come-and-Go, to Kokalaha Island, where they meet Aunt Lulu and become trapped in an erupting volcano. (X 740 Woo) [12/08]

What to read next?

• Bettendorf Young Adult Books in a Series & Sequels
• Mid-Continent Public Library Juvenile Series & Sequels  
  The 'Juvenile Series and Sequels' database currently contains over 18,000 books in series titles that are classified into three audiences: Young Adult - high school readers, Juvenile - grade school through junior high readers, and Juvenile Easy - young readers beginning to read.
• Kent District Library What's Next
  "What's Next" helps you search youth fiction in series. A "series" is two or more books linked by character (s), settings, or other common traits.  Searches can be made by title, author (last name, first name), or series.