Children & YA

“The rules are simple: Draw a target. Track him down and ‘kill’ him with a spork. Take your victim’s target for your own. Oh, and make sure the player with your name doesn’t get to you first. No safe zones. No time-outs. The game ends when only one player remains. James T. Kirk is playing for fun. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy is playing to get closer to a girl. But when a series of terrorist attacks rock the usually placid Starfleet Academy campus, it becomes clear that somebody is playing the game for real.”

“Best-selling author Alethea Kontis (The Dark-Hunter Companion, Enchanted) and Eisner Award-winning artist Janet K. Lee (Return of the Dapper Men, Jane Austen’s Emma) combine their talents to present a playful, incredibly visual interpretation of the alphabet by way of Lewis Carroll in this 26-letter celebration of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Packaged as a gorgeous poster board book, The Wonderland Alphabet is a surprising new look at one of the most beloved literary classics of all time.”

“In a strange, surreal world, Alex Metcalf finds himself joining a fantasy baseball league filled with figures from children’s literature and fairy tales. While playing the games, he meets Dorothy and other characters from the Oz series (not just the first book but the less familiar characters from the sequels) along with such stalwarts as Anne Shirley; Toad, from The Wind in the Willows (he thinks he is playing cricket); and the Cheshire Cat. More contemporary characters from the Redwall series, Madeleine L’Engle’s novels, and others have walk-on parts. Meanwhile, the Big Bad Wolf is trying to escape from prison and exact a bloody revenge on Alex and the other players. The backstory, based on a dream, adds up to a goofy, rather ramshackle story that may be too esoteric for most young people. Still, inveterate readers may enjoy the fractured take on children’s literature.”

“Along the Arctic Circle lies a small island called Neversink, whose jagged cliffs and ice-gouged rocks are home to a colony of odd-looking seabirds called auks, including one Lockley J. Puffin. With their oceanfront views and plentiful supply of fish, the auks have few concerns—few, save for Lockley’s two best friends, Egbert and Ruby, a know-it-all walrus and a sharp-tongued hummingbird. But all of this is about to change.”

“Comical mixed-media illustrations emphasize the story’s Wild West zaniness, a letterpress font highlights the rhyme scheme and the feel of yesteryear, and amusing fictional photographs on the endpapers offer more details. A rousing addition to storytimes and folktale studies.”

“Karyn Henley’s novel starts with a jolt, grabs the reader by the collar, and doesn’t slow down one minute. This author infuses her text with imagery, suspense, and a cast that will appeal to all ages.”