E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
**Spoilers at the end.**
The elderly Silvester spent years performing with his wife Belinda, and traveling with Silvester's Magic Puppet show. Now, in the autumn of his years, he is donating all of his puppets and sets to a museum. He retains his workshop in the attic, and creates a puppet one night who seems to come alive. Puppet learns to walk, talk, and eat jam sandwiches. When Silvester takes him out to the park, he starts to call him "Kenneth". The two meet young Fleur, who invites them to visit her at Crow Hall, the cottage she shares with her mother. Soon, Silvester and Kenneth are meeting other people in the town, from the owner of the local cake shop, to men who remember seeing the puppet show as children. Everyone treat the puppet, who only has three fingers on each hand, like a real child, but one who might have some challenges. When Silvester visits Fleur and meets her mother, Antonia, he finds that she was the one who sent a small puppet, Claude, to him years ago. It's good that Silvester has this new friend after he sleeps for three days straight; at least someone checks on him. Fleur shows an interest in making puppets, and a new puppet show is planned. Everyone shows up to this big event, and exclaims how beautiful and wonderful it is, but afterwards, Silvester goes home and passes away. Puppet goes to live with Fleur, but his life force slowly drains, and he eventually flies away into the sky.
This had a very British feel to it, with the small town and the public puppet shows, and was similar to other Almond titles. It also reminded me a bit of DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, or her more recent The Puppets of Spellhorst series. This seemed a bit young to me, so I won't be buying it, but if doll or puppet stories work well with your students, definitely take a look.
September 3, 2024 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Roxie Darling's grandmother, Ruthie Diamond Darling, was a folk singer when she was younger, and Roxie wants to follow in her footsteps. Since Ruthie wants to hit the road again, Roxie is excited, especially after an unfortunate incident at a school pool party has left her feeling "less than" and caused her to be estranged from her best friend, Loretta. Grayson Patch also has a complicated life; she's in foster care and uses a walker because of her brittle bone disease, but she is hopeful that her older sister Beanie will connect with her on the sister's 18th birthday, and the two will get an apartment in New York City together. For now, Grayson is being cared for by the Cottons, who have a three year old daughter, Freya. In the girls' Tennessee town, there is a Witching Wind that causes a lot of distress, and this season has seen more and stronger winds pummel the town. When Granny Ruth goes missing, Roxie's cousin Collette (along with her pet groundhog) helps Roxie look for her, and also tells Roxie some of the history of the wind, which is tied to the True sisters who lived on Monarch Mountain. Grayson struggles with the fact that her sister won't text her back, and reaches out to a social worker, Donna for help. At school, the girls realize that they are both dealing with someone who is missing, as well as unfriendly people at school, and end up together with a supportive group called the Yeehaws. After Granny Ruth, is found in the woods, she doesn't remember Roxie. The medical professionals claim that she had a stroke, but Roxie is determined that the wind has stolen her memories. The Yeehaws plans a camping trip on the mountain to find out the secret of the Whispering Wind. The Cottons agree to let Grayson go. Roxie is also struggling with her self esteem, and is given negative messages about her weight again and again, especially by school personnel. She gets better messages from Grayson, who informs her that "every body is a swimsuit body". Once on the mountain, Roxie meets Addison True, who says that Ruth had visited her recently in order to obtain something for Roxie. Will Roxie be able to find out the truth about the wind, and will Grayson be able to make peace with her family situation?
Like Lloyd's other titles (The Key to Extraordinary and A Snicker of Magic), this has a quirky, Southern setting and strong themes of female empowerment, family ties, and everyday magic that resonate with a lot of people. Expect to see a lot of love for this new story. At 368 pages, it is a bit longer than other middle grade magical realism titles.
September 17, 2024 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Jo is enjoying playing on the Barbados Youth Cricket team, and hanging out with her friend Ahkai. She's a bit worried that he is hanging out a lot with Lynne, who is from "overseas" and isn't one of Jo's favorite people. She's accepted that her father and Ms. Alleyne are dating, and is hoping that her entrance exam results are good enough so that she and Ahkai can both go to Lamming Secondary. When she finds out that she is actually supposed to go to Queen Mary College, she begs her father to put in for a transfer so that she can remain with her friend, especially since Lynne also got into Lamming. There are bigger problems, however. Her cricket coach has gone missing, and when a boy from the cricket team does as well, rumors start to swirl that the Heartman is on the prowl. This dark and shadowy figure stalks people and eats their hearts out, and Jo thinks she might have brought him into the area. She starts to think that maybe Lynne is the Heartman, or at the very least has Ahkai bewitched. When Ahkai also goes missing, Jo knows she needs to figure out what is going on. Where has her friend gone, and what is Lynne's relationship to the villain of the first book, Mariss?
Bourne, who also wrote the excellent Nightmare Island, has created another eerie tale about evil creatures preying on unsuspecting tweens, and has infused this horror with interesting facets of life in Barbados. This is perfect for readers who want creepy tales with some different cultural aspects, like Ireland's The Boo Hag Flex or Howard's Bumps in the Night.
Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters
October 1, 2020 by Walker Books Limited
Copy provided by the Publisher
My students love creepy, Halloween based books, but they also want any monsters in the book to rip people's heads off in particularly bloody ways. Here, the monsters take care of baby Theodora even though it can get them into trouble, which is not as violent and gory a tale as my students would like. This also fell on the elementary side of the Pilkey line with the mentions of snot and earwax. The illustrations are a good touch. This would be great for readers who liked books like Vernon's Castle Hangnail, Kloepfer's Monsters Unleashed, or Lubar's Accidental Monsters series. Think of it as a cute, elementary version of Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. The title reminded me a bit of LaFevers' fantastic 2007 Theodosia Throckmorton and the Serpents of Chaos series!
From the Publisher:
From the Publisher:
"Theodora was just a baby when Georgie rescued her from a hobgoblin-infested graveyard and delivered her to the Monstrous League of Monsters. The kind-hearted monsters vote to keep Theodora, risking Headquarters’ wrath if they’re ever discovered. They get away with it, too – until a series of anonymous letters coated in earwax threaten to expose them to Headquarters. As the monsters race to identify the letter-writer Theodora takes matters into her own hands, hatching a simple – no, clever – no, brilliant – plan. If she fails, her beloved monsters will rot in the dank prisons of Transylvania. Forever. But if she succeeds, Theodora will lose her own freedom. Forever."
September 10, 2024 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by Follett First Look
Christopher has to travel to Scotland to stay with his grandfather while his father travels for work; his mother died, which of course made his father had "contracted... downward and inward". Animals have always been attracted to Christopher, as they were to his mother, but his father doesn't like this. The grandfather understands, though, and kindly welcomes his grandson, even knitting him a sweater! We also meet Mal, who can fly when there is wind, with the help of a coat. She's attacked by a murderer and separated from her griffin, whom Christopher finds. The two meet and have to work out how to deal with the magical creatures, since magic has been dying in the area. This seemed very British, in that it seemed like it was for younger children most of the time but then had dark turns with the murderer. Feels a tiny bit like Mull's Fablehaven or Sutherland's The Menagerie, but stylistically is closer to the late Kate Saunders' 2012 Magicalamity, or maybe I'm just stuck on the similarity of covers.
The day Christopher saved a drowning baby griffin from a hidden lake would change his life forever. It’s the day he learned about the Archipelago, a cluster of unmapped islands where magical creatures of every kind have thrived for thousands of years—until now. And it’s the day he met Mal, a girl on the run who desperately needs his help.
Nice mixture of reviews today. Super excited to read Natalie's book.
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