Children & YA | Chapter 16

Garden Secrets

By Michael Sims

June 6, 2011

June 6, 2011 It was the wheelchair scene that got me. I had been identifying more than I realized with the adventures of sad little Mary, who lost her parents to a cholera outbreak in India and who finds herself reluctantly lodged at a relative’s country estate in chilly England. Her only companions are the privileged brat Colin, who turns out not to be crippled, and homespun Dickon, who almost speaks the language of his wild-animal pets. In retrospect I find it easy to see that each child spoke to a different aspect of my own childhood experience and yearnings. But I didn’t think of that at the time. When Colin rose from the wheelchair, healed by the other children’s innocent affection and his own determination—in short, cured by the secret walled garden where it was safe to be a child—I was astonished to find myself crying.

A Story of Love and Magic

By Susannah Felts

May 13, 2011

May 13, 2011 In The Magician’s Elephant, the 2009 novel from award-winning children’s novelist Kate DiCamillo, an orphan named Peter Duchene cannot shake the suspicion that his younger sister, who died in infancy, is out there somewhere, still alive. After a fortuneteller tells Peter that his sister does indeed live, and that an elephant will help him locate her, the boy begins to follow his doubts and hopes. Finally out in paperback, the tale that unfolds is a genuine pleasure for all ages, imbued with plentiful allegorical potential and dashes of humor, and is sure to inspire discussions about truth, honesty, and belief. Kate DiCamillo will discuss the book at DK Booksellers in Memphis on May 13 at 6 p.m.

Once Upon a Time in South Beach

By Tina LoTufo

May 2, 2011

May 2, 2011 Cloaked, Alex Flinn’s latest recipe for fairy-tale mashup, calls for a ditsy princess and an enchanted prince, a hapless shoe repairman and a level-headed waitress, a handful of talking animals, at least one witch, and two very stupid giants. Add a heaping tablespoon of magic, mix well, and bake in the Florida heat until all is “uncloaked.” Alex Flinn will read from and discuss Cloaked at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on May 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Carrie, Before Blahniks

By Fernanda Moore

April 28, 2011

April 28, 2011 New York magazine once called Candace Bushnell “the patron saint of high-end power girls, the woman who got the ball rolling on the who-needs-a-husband-when-you-have-a-doorman mentality.” In her new YA novel, Summer and the City, Bushnell tells the backstory of Carrie and friends, before they swear fealty to fashion, friendship, and social climbing. Today Bushnell talks with Chapter 16 prior to her appearances in Memphis on April 29 at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Baseball Through the Looking Glass

By Tina LoTufo

April 26, 2011

April 26, 2011 A breathtakingly diverse assortment of characters culled from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, mythology, folktales, children’s literature, and even Manga inhabits Fantasy Baseball by Knoxville children’s author Alan Gratz. It’s a fast-paced adventure, a thrilling come-from-behind sports story, an artistic tour de force, and a heck of a fun read.

More Praise for Sepetys

By Margaret Renkl

April 9, 2011

April 8, 2011 The four starred reviews—one from every pre-publication review site in the industry—for Ruta Sepetys’s Between Shades of Gray was a pretty good clue that this debut YA novel was bound to be a big hit, but now the glowing reviews are really rolling in for the Nashville novelist.

“This book features fifteen notable campus forests in eleven states in the eastern United States, stretching from North Georgia, on up through the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic region, into coastal Maine. … Woodlands of the Mind serves as a travel book for wanderers and armchair adventurers alike. These fifteen narratives, or “rambles,” guide readers through forests that range from small, hidden parks to vast preserves.”

~ the publisher