Which of the many children's books published this fall are creating a buzz? Here are some of the sequels, follow-ups and special editions you'll want to know about.
Picture Books
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake is a delightful addition to the If You Give A… series of picture books written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. All of the books in the series, which began with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, are excellent read alouds. I recommend them for 3-8 year olds. They provide a hilarious look at cause and effect.Chester's Back! by Melanie Watt is the very funny sequel to the hilarious picture book Chester. In both books, Chester the cat goes to great lengths to try to convince the reader that it is he and not Melanie Watt, who wrote the books. I recommend the books for 4-8 year olds.
Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie is the follow-up to The Hello, Goodbye Window, winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal. On a visit to her grandparents, a little girl veers between acting like a sourpuss and a sweetie pie, but the love between grandparents and grandchild is never in question. The author is Norton Juster. Chris Raschka, the illustrator, also illustrated A Poke in the I: A Guide to Concrete Poems, Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing and More and A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. I recommend Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie for 3-6 year olds.
Fiction for 7-10 Year Olds
If your kids loved Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Tough Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic, the entertaining chapter book by Emily Jenkins about three adventuresome toys, they’ll be happy to know that the book is now out in paperback and a hardbound edition of the sequel, Toy Dance Party: Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots Stingray, a Courageous Buffalo & A Hopeful Round Someone Called Plastic is now available. The books are also excellent read alouds.Fantasy Novel for 9-12 Year Olds
Inkdeath, the final book in the Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke is now at bookstores. The first book in the trilogy is Inkheart, and the second is Inkspell. Funke’s books have been very popular with 9-12 year olds who enjoy fantasy and science fiction.Fantasy Novel for Older Kids, Teens, and Adults
Fans were so eager to purchase the third book in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle that 550,000 copies of Brisingr were sold on the first day of the book’s release, September 20, 2008, reported the publisher Random House. The publisher also reported that 12.5 million copies of Eragon and Eldest, the first two books in the Inheritance Cycle, have been sold worldwide.Poetry for Children
Hip Hop Speaks to Children, Sourcebooks’ new poetry anthology, follows the publisher’s first anthology, Poetry Speaks to Children, which was published in 2005. Both anthologies feature companion CDs. Hip Hop Speaks to Children was edited by poet Nikki Giovanni and is already on the New York Times children’s picture book bestseller list.Zany Frankenstein Books Boys Love
Frankenstein Takes the Cake follows Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich, the zany collection of creepy wacky rhymes, tales, and illustrations by Adam Rex. In these books, Frankenstein is the name of the monster. The cover of Frankenstein Takes the Cake describes the book as “Full of Funny Stuff Like Rotting Heads and Giant Gorillas and Zombies Dressed as Little Girls and Edgar Allen Poe. The Book we mean – not the cake.” Like the first book, this book is apt be a particular favorite of upper elementary and middle school boys.Audiobooks: Sequels
Listening Library has released new installments of some popular series this fall. These include- Inkdeath, the final book in Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart trilogy, ISBN: 9780739363003 (compare prices)
- Book 5 in Suzanne Collins’ Underland Chronicles, Gregor and the Code of the Claw, ISBN: 9780739364864 (compare prices)
- Volume 2 in M.T. Anderson’s Octavian Nothing series, The Kingdom on the Waves, ISBN: 9780739367865 (compare prices)
- The Runaway Dolls, the final book in Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin’s Doll People trilogy (narrated, as were the other books in the trilogy, by Lynn Redgrave), ISBN: 9780739371794 (compare prices)
Special Editions
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The tenth anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, released on September 23, would make a good gift for kids and teens who love the Harry Potter series. So would The Tales of Beadle the Bard) by J.K. Rowling, which will be released on December 3, 2008.I couldn’t resist buying the 50th Anniversary Edition of A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond. This is the original story of the lovable bear from “Darkest Peru.” The full color illustrations, including some previously unpublished artwork by Peggy Fortum, the original illustrator, and the high quality of the paper and the printing make this edition truly special. It would be an excellent gift for children and families who have always loved Paddington Bear, as well as the perfect edition to introduce Paddington Bear to those who have not yet experienced Paddington Bear and his hilarious adventures. The 142-page book is a wonderful read aloud and is also a good book for 8-11 year old readers.
