Kids New Title Radar, Week of May 20
Landing next week are several titles from big names who need no introductions. John Grisham continues his series featuring 13-year-old legal prodigy, Theodore Boone (you may have to squint to see the title on the cover; it’s The Activist) … Friends Elephant & Piggie return in their 19th adventure in Mo Willems’ A Big Guy Took My Ball! … Jennifer Brown again keys in to a hot teen subject, with a book on sexting, about a girl who sends her bodyfriend a picture that even a Thousand Words can’t take back.
The titles highlighted here and more arriving next week are on our downloadable spreadsheet, Kids New Title Radar, Week of May 20.
Picture Books
Ben Rides On, Matt Davies, (Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press)
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Davies ventures into the world of children’s books with his first title. While it addresses the familiar theme of facing a bully, the subject is made fresh with illustrations that recall David Catrow crossed with Ralph Steadman and capture Ben’s big feelings as he faces his nemesis.
How to Negotiate Everything Lisa Lutz, Illus. Jaime Temairik, (S & S BYR)
Not familiar with co-author David Spellman, (featured on the cover)? As a fan of Lisa Lutz’s Spellman Files mystery series, I am pleased to report that her first picture book exhibits her dry sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd, beginning with her faux co-author, the lawyer/older brother/ “good child” from her adult books. Sammy, the protagonist dispenses advice on how to get to “yes” whether making a deal for an ice cream or negotiating for a pet. Illustrator Jaime Temairik wows in her picture book debut with an animated cartoon style and judicious use of infographics.
P.S. Be Eleven, Rita Williams-Garcia, (HarperCollins/Amisted)
The sequel to the Coretta Scott King Award winner (and Newbery honor title), One Crazy Summer has received starred reviews from all the prepub sources. In this story, the three sisters return to Brooklyn from their summer in California with their mother and the Black Panthers, portrayed in the previous book. The title, P.S. Be Eleven comes from their mother’s letters to her oldest daughter, Delphine; a caution to not grow up too fast.
May 20th, 2013 at 9:58 am
Re: How to Negotiate Everything – we purchased copies of the book, reviewed it, and then decided to return them, as we could not figure out the intended audience of it. We wonder if most young kids would be confused and/or overwhelmed by the vocabulary. Seems like one of those picture books that’s more for adults than kids.