Fancy Nancy
by Jane O'Connor
Published 2005 by HarperCollins Publishers

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0060542098

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Jacket Notes:

O'Connor and Glasser bring to life a new character, who believes that more is always better when it comes to being fancy. How Nancy transforms her parents and little sister for one enchanted evening makes for a story that is funny and warm--with or without the frills. Full color.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 01/09/2006

With exuberance,élan and lots of heart, O'Connor (the Nina, Nina Ballerina books) and Glasser (A Is for Abigail ) prove that the bosom of the family has ample room for even the most outré individualist. Channeling the spirits of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn-whose pictures adorn her extravagantly decorated room-Nancy tries to make the world a more flamboyant place, starting with her decidedly down-to-earth family ("They never even ask for sprinkles," she notes as they exit an ice cream parlor). She offers her parents and little sister a free tutorial in all things fancy (yellow is plain, gold is fancy), which they gamely attend, and they even agree to go to a restaurant wearing Nancy-orchestrated frou-frou (Mom's ensemble includes Christmas ornament earrings and a feather boa). But when Nancy commits a faux pas of major proportions (she trips with a tray full of ice cream) she comes to realize that her family's love for her is as bottomless as her collection of hair accessories. O'Connor captures Nancy's dramatic precociousness without making her sound like a snoot ("My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple"); she comes across as a genuinely creative spirit rather than an imperious fashionista. Glasser's pictures brim with comic detail and sparkle like a bauble from Tiffany. Like O'Connor, she empathizes with Nancy's over-the-top sensibility, yet gently grounds the heroine in the steady (if bemused) embrace of her family. Ages 4-7. (Jan.)

02/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

PreS-K -Young Nancy, like her literary predecessors Eloise and Olivia, is a glamour queen dropped into a boring world--Nobody in my family is fancy at all. They never even ask for sprinkles.- She determines to rescue her relatives from their humdrum existence by giving them lessons and accessorizing their mundane wardrobes. A situation that is charming when observed by adults in real life doesn-t translate into a successful picture book. Children pretending to be fabulous creatures is appealing when it is innocent and unforced. This book, despite Glasser-s wonderfully energetic artwork, is ultimately a story told by adults for adults.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME

The Golem's Eye
by Jonathan Stroud
Published 2006 by Miramax Books

Paperback, English. ISBN: 0786836547

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Jacket Notes:

As apprentice magician Nathaniel works his way up the ranks of the government, a crisis hits--an indestructible clay golem is making random attacks in London. Nathaniel and the djinni, Bartimeaus, must travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 02/06/2006

"The sharp-witted shape-shifting djinni returns in this second volume of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, this time dealing with a mysterious attacker that is terrorizing London," wrotePW in a starred review. Ages 10-up.(Jan.)

Travis & Freddy's Adventures in Vegas
by Henry Johnson
Published 2006 by Dutton Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0525476466

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Jacket Notes:

In this sidesplitting debut, Johnson and Hoppe introduce a pair of 21st-century Hardy Boys who are out to break the bank in Las Vegas with their can't-miss, win-at-blackjack computer software.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 04/10/2006

As befits its setting, this humorously trumped-up, larger-than-life romp features a colorful array of wheeler-dealers-including the two nearly-13-year-old protagonists. "Easy-on-the-eyes guy" Travis can "talk his way into, or out of, anything"-even if he's hopeless in math class. Horse-faced, buck-toothed Freddy has no athletic prowess and no social skills, but this computer geek excels at math and helps Travis ace a math test for the first time. Each boy puts his special skills to use after they learn that Travis's gambling father is facing financial ruin. Beating the odds, they manage to board a plane and land a suite in Las Vegas, where they hope to win enough money to bail the man out. In a madcap series of events, the duo enlists the aid of Sam, a gutsy female cab driver whose father is in jail after being set up by Vegas's leading gangster. With Travis by his side, Freddy uses his "monster iBrain mega-laptop" to mastermind a big win for Sam at the blackjack table, but the gangster finds them out. The tone is frivolous enough that readers won't worry for the youngsters' safety-even as the villain hangs them upside-down in their tighty-whitey underpants off a balcony high above the strip. Though their emergence as heroes on both the Vegas and home fronts comes as no surprise, there are enough silly yucks along the way to keep kids amused-and betting on the duo. Ages 10-up.(Apr.)

04/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 5-7 -Best friends Travis and Freddy are looking forward to their promised 13th-birthday vacation. So, when Travis's dad loses all his money on a disastrous gambling bet, the boys decide to win it back. They con their way aboard a flight to Las Vegas, planning to use Freddy's high-tech inventions to beat the blackjack tables at the Excalibur Casino. In Vegas, they connect with Sam, a savvy cabdriver who is out to get Johnny Large, the mob boss who framed her father. Since Large runs the Excalibur, Sam agrees to help the boys with their scheme. Wearing Freddy's cyber-rigged glasses, she places blackjack bets according to instructions relayed from his specialized computer program. Unfortunately, her phenomenal winning streak attracts the attention of Large and his goons, who don't take kindly to being flimflammed. Can Sam and the boys get out of Las Vegas alive- There is a lot of middle-school insult dialogue and body humor and several instances of insensitively stereotyped peripheral characters, including a hard-of-hearing elderly couple. There is also a disturbing focus on dishonesty. The boys use the cyber-glasses to cheat on a math test as well as to rig the blackjack game. They also steal Travis's dad's credit card, lie to airline and hotel personnel, and hack into the casino computer system. While this is all played for laughs, there is no indication of either conscience or consequences, beyond the fear of getting caught. While the raucous comedy and sarcastic dialogue may attract some readers, there are many better choices available.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo
Published 2006 by Candlewick Press (MA)

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0763625892

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Jacket Notes:

The Newbery Medal-winning author of "The Tale of Despereaux" returns with this story about a toy china rabbit named Edward Tulane. When he becomes lost, Edward takes an extraordinary journey and shows readers a true miracle. Illustrations.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 12/12/2005

[Signature]Reviewed by Katherine PatersonAlthough Edward Tulane resents being referred to as a toy, much less a doll, most of us would regard him as such. He is, in fact, a rabbit made mostly of china, jointed with wire at the elbows and knees, so that he has quite a range of motion. His ears are bendable wire, covered with rabbit fur, so that they can be arranged to suit his mood - "jaunty, tired, full of ennui." He has a lovely, fluffy rabbit fur tail, as well. He prefers not to think about his whiskers, as he darkly suspects their origin in some inferior animal. Edward, thanks to his owner's grandmother, has more clothes, and certainly more elegant clothes, than most children. He even has a little gold pocket watch that really tells time. But the most important thing that Edward has in his pampered life is the love of a 10-year-old girl named Abilene Tulane.Surely, Edward Tulane is a rabbit who has everything - everything that is, but what he most needs. There will be inevitable comparisons of Edward Tulane to The Velveteen Rabbit, and Margery Williams's classic story can still charm after 83 years. But as delightful as it is, it can't match the exquisite language, inventive plot twists and memorable characters of DiCamillo's tale. Edward, unlike Rabbit, has never thought of himself as less than real, he just hasn't caught on to what it means to love anything or anyone beyond his own reflected image. Until, that is, he is rudely set off on the miraculous journey of the title - a journey that begins when Abilene's grandmother tells her and Edward a strange fairy tale of a princess who does not know how to love, and whispers in Edward's ear, "You disappoint me." And the journey ends, as any true fairy tale should, with a happily ever after. But it is the journey from pride through humiliation, heartbreak and near destruction that brings Edward to that joyful ending. Even in the galley stage, this is a beautiful book. Ibatoulline's illustrations are simply wonderful, and the high quality of the design incorporates luxurious paper and spaciously arranged blocks of text. But a story for today about a toy rabbit? Okay, I thought, Kate DiCamillo can make me cry for a motherless child and a mongrel stray. She can wring my heart following the trials of two lonely children and a caged tiger, and bring tears to my eyes for a brave little lovesick mouse, but why should I care what happens to an arrogant, over-dressed china rabbit? But I did care, desperately, and I think I can safely predict you will, too. Ages 7-up. (Feb.)Katherine Paterson has won the Newbery Medal twice, for Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, and The Great Gilly Hopkins won the National Book Award as well as a Newbery Honor.

02/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 3-6 -This achingly beautiful story shows a true master of writing at her very best. Edward Tulane is an exceedingly vain, cold-hearted china rabbit owned by 10-year-old Abilene Tulane, who dearly loves him. Her grandmother relates a fairy tale about a princess who never felt love; she then whispers to Edward that he disappoints her. His path to redemption begins when he falls overboard during the family-s ocean journey. Sinking to the bottom of the sea where he will spend 297 days, Edward feels his first emotion-fear. Caught in a fisherman-s net, he lives with the old man and his wife and begins to care about his humans. Then their adult daughter takes him to the dump, where a dog and a hobo find him. They ride the rails together until Edward is cruelly separated from them. His heart is truly broken when next owner, four-year-old Sarah Ruth, dies. He recalls Abilene-s grandmother with a new sense of humility, wishing she knew that he has learned to love. When his head is shattered by an angry man, Edward wants to join Sarah Ruth but those he has loved convince him to live. Repaired by a doll store owner, he closes his heart to love, as it is too painful, until a wise doll tells him that he must open his heart for someone to love him. This superb book is beautifully written in spare yet stirring language. The tender look at the changes from arrogance to grateful loving is perfectly delineated. Ibatoulline's lovely sepia-toned gouache illustrations and beautifully rendered color plates are exquisite. An ever-so-marvelous tale.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY