Kids New Title Radar, Jan 21 to 26
Rosemary Wells introduces a new character this week, Sophie, a little mouse who can’t resist trouble. Older kids will be cheering for the return of the middle grade Genius Files and the YA Kiki Strike series…
Picture Book
Time-Out for Sophie, Written and Illus. by Rosemary Wells, (Penguin/Viking)
Rosemary Wells has an ear for early childhood. Max and Ruby are the staples of the preschool set, their stories reflecting child life issues. Here Well’s does it again with a knowing smile and a light touch as we witness the child who faces the consequences of her willful misbehavior.
Middle Grade
The Worm Whisperer, Betty Hicks, (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)
New YA books arrive each week, but it’s often difficult to find chapter books that reflect the lives of younger kids. This one arrives with reviews that make it sound like it hits that sweet spot. Booklist says of this story about a boy trying to rescue his family by winning the $1,000 prize in North Carolina’s annual Woolly Worm Race (there really is one), “Hicks’ story provides plenty of local color as well as humor.”
The Genius Files #3: You Only Die Twice by Dan Gutman (HarperCollins)
Worried that guys don’t? Dan Gutman MAKES them want to read. In this, the third in the Genius Files series, he introduces a new villain, masked impersonator Evil Elvis.
Young Adult
Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers Kirsten Miller, (Macmillan/Bloomsbury USA)
It’s been five long years, but Kiki is finally back. The many pre-teen fans who have now turned teen will be fighting over this one. Here, Kiki and the Irregulars’ efforts to solve a WWII mystery, take them from New York’s Upper East Side to the catacombs of Paris, where the Darkness Dwellers reside.