There aren't any foxes on Fox Street

I was recently handed a copy of Tricia Springstuff's What Happened on Fox Street, which was summed up as "the blue-collar Penderwicks." This is certainly the quickest way of describing Springstuff's book, but I don't think it will take long to become known by it's own name; What Happened on Fox Street is going to go places. At least, copies of this book are going to fly from person to person.

Mo and her younger sister live on Fox Street with their dad. Mo defines her life by Fox Street, she knows the neighbors, the rythms of the neighborhood, and the memories people have of her mother. Each summer her best friend Mercedes visits her grandmother, Da, on Fox Street. But this summer, things are changing. Da is getting old and can't care for herself, Mercedes has brand new clothes and a new stepfather, and a developer is trying to by up all the houses on the street. It's a turbulent summer for Mo, full of adventures, new experiences, and change. Through the good, the bad and the downright difficult, one thing sustains Mo- the possibility of someday seeing a real fox on Fox Street.

This is a wonderful middle grade novel. Though firmly planted in the realm of realistic fiction, Mo experiences moments of real-life wonder and awe that feel truly magical. Yes, Mo faces difficult situations, such as moving, taking care of her younger sister, and trying to be a good friend, but she emerges with bits of wisdom and a changed view of the world. Mo's realizations will make you cry or look at the world through new eyes. All in all, you will be changed for the better by What Happened on Fox Street.

Published by HarperCollins, to be released August 24, 2010

Clementine, Friend of the Week

Clementine, Friend of the Week, written by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Marla Frazee, is a wonderful addition to a delightful series. Clementine herself is just the sort of girl you'd want to hangout with; she's silly, caring, and imaginative with a bit of accidental mischief up her sleeve.

It's Clementine's turn to be friend of the week, a week in which she gets to collect the milk money, tell her life-story, and learn what her classmates appreciate about her. Clementine tries extra-hard to be nice to her classmates this week but when her best friend stops talking to her and her cat Moisturizer disappears, she begins to doubt if she can be a good friend.

Book number five explores the importance of friends and family, as well as what it feels like to lose a beloved pet (and member of the family). Readers will empathize with Clementine, her first-person narrative allowing them to see her as their own special friend.

Age 7-9 published by Hyperion and to be released July 27th

A Cinderella Story

There have been many retellings of Cinderella, from Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted to Margaret Peterson Haddix's Just Ella. Malinda Lo's Ash is an entirely new take on Perrault's tale. Lo's bisexual twist makes this already wonderful teen novel into something no library should be without.

Ash grows grows up reading fairy tales, which her father says are just stories. When her father dies and her stepmother sets her to work, Ash dreams of escaping into the land of faerie, a place she knows is real. When Ash meets the faerie Sidhean, she learns that her wish may finally be granted. Meanwhile, Ash's walks in the woods bring her to forge a friendship with the King's Huntress. As their friendship grows, Ash comes to the realization that perhaps love can exist in the human realm. But Ash has already promised Sidhean that she will return to faerie, and she must choose between the possibility of love and the ethereal perfection of faerie.

Bronte Sisters Action Figures

A (fake) commercial for super writers who become a dinosaur- guess which.

I wish they were real....

Mirrorscape

I think you have to be a certain type of person to read books about the visual as so much depends upon the the imagination of the reader. Mike Wilkes' Mirrorscape requires of those readers.

Melkin Womper, a boy from a small town, is scooped up by Ambrosius Blenk, the greatest painter of the day, and given an apprenticeship. But things are not as rosy as they seem. Color, music, delicious food, anything which might be considered a luxury is extremely expensive and controlled by the Mysteries, and the Mysteries hold many secrets and much corruption. Mel and his friends Wren and Ludo find themselves in the thick of Mystery secrets in an adventure that will bring them into the Mirrorscape- the world within paintings.

Wilkes' book is heavy with description, detailing paintings, drawings, and bestiary illustrations. For readers unfamiliar with art, the book may be confusing, and I suggest looking at examples of medieval bestiary reproductions, Bosch paintings, and an Escher or two before delving into the book. Some of the creatures and environments within the Mirrorscape are confusing, as they are only elucidated with words. Seeing artworks beforehand may spark the reader's mind as s/he imagines Mel's world.

Mirrorscape is the first in a series that promises to mix magic with the visual arts. But it's not the fast-paced plot many readers are used to. Yes, the plot is thick with devilry, but simple resolutions are a long time coming. In places, vital descriptions trip up the adventure like disproportionate figures in a beautifully realized setting. Though the book is suggested for those twelve and up, and the character of Mel is about this age, the density of description recommend it for an older audience or a particularly patient reader.

After reading Mirrorscape, I got to thinking about stories that are intrinsically visual. I read A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book while independently studying art in Europe. I became lost in Byatt's descriptions of art and the creative process, and began trying to describe my creative process. Byatt captured something in her descriptions of the power and energy an artist thrusts into his/her work, something I don't realize until I've stopped working and view the unfamiliar work in front of me through the haze of hunger and watering eyes. The only other story that came to mind is the Chinese myth of the magic paintbrush, though I think Patricia McKillip may have an embroidery-based fairy tale. It's certainly a topic I'd like to look into further.

Possibly for Cashore Fans

When I pick up ARCs, it really is a digging process. But when I saw "For fans of Kristin Cashore...Tamora Pierce, and Megan Whalen Turner," I had to grab the book. Megan Whalen Turner?! I thought. She's bloody brilliant! But then I started thinking more rationally. While I might put Pierce and Cashore or Pierce and Turner together, I don't rank Cashore anywhere near as high as Turner (this is not to say that I think Cashore, if she mixes up her plot a bit more, could produce something truly good, just that she hasn't done it yet). After reading Mistwood, by Leah Cypess (out in May), I think the Cashore comparison is a good one. Full of princes, ill-gotten thrones, almost-human creatures of astounding beauty, and a pretty nest of plotters, Mistwood is very similar to Cashore's Fire, though Cashore does it better. Okay, Mistwood does not have quite as obvious an outcome as Fire, but the journey and development of Cashore's characters is much stronger than Cypess. I think one of her key problems is that the main character, the Shifter (in the guise of a human female through most of the book), doesn't know who she is. As the book is very much about her discovering who she is, it is strange to feel disconnected from her, it is almost as if she gets lost in the larger plot. Perhaps it is partially that the book is in the third person, a first person narration might have helped readers follow the Shifter's personal journey. The book isn't entirely bad, and people who like Cashore may enjoy the read, though I suggest grabbing Juliet Marillier's teen novels or Tamora Pierce's work if you haven't yet. As this is Cypess' first novel, I look forward to seeing what she may produce in the future- time and work may create something deserving of being compared to Tamora Pierce.

Maryrose Wood

I read an ARC of Wood's The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling a number of months ago and absolutely adored it. But today, when I went to post on the audio book version, I discovered my total failure to post my adoration here. Incorrigible Children stars Miss Penelope Lumley, a 15 year old from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. Penelope is educated, well-mannered, and purposeful. When she discovers the children she has been hired to care for were raised by wolves, she takes it in stride. Despite the low expectations of the foundling's parents, Miss Lumley soon has them learning manners, Latin, and how to refrain from chasing squirrels.

It is Miss Lumley's strong character and the wonderfully Gothic voice that pulled me in. The story is dark and mysterious, but also, let's face it, silly. People have been comparing it to Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and this book deserves to be compared to Snicket. The tone and length of Incorrigible Children is very similar to Snicket's, as is the middle-reader audience suggestion. And it manages to be just as dark and strange and wonderful. But don't think this is a knock-off, the adventure goes very much in it's own direction and Wood possesses a strong voice all her own. I also think the 15 year-old age of Miss Lumley, and the amount of time the reader shares with her, may also recommend the book to a slightly older (and perhaps reluctant) readership.

Now the audio book. Katherine Kellgren did the audio books for the Enola Holmes series, which I adored. Her beautifully expressive voice and accent are perfect for books written to sound like British children's classics. If I had been asked to choose the reader for Incorrigible Children, it would have been Kellgren, and we are so lucky to have her vocal skills for this audio book (now I just need to get my hands on a copy).

And now for more Maryrose Wood! While picking through an avalanche of ARCs, I came across The Poison Diaries, due out in August. It wasn't until I read the author's bio that I even realized the author was Wood (I'm sorry. I know I should remember these things, but most of the time it's the cover image that stays with me; I am an illustrator after all).


The tone of The Poison Diaries is not as much fun as Incorrigible Children, but I think that is due to the difference in audience (teen versus middle reader). While I prefer the narration in Incorrigible Children, The Poison Diaries is good. Allow me to elaborate; there is a lot of rubbish being published today as publishers look for the next big teen or crossover phenomenon. But there are gems in the rubbish heap, it just takes a lot of digging. As romantic Teen novels go, The Poison Diaries is a good one.

The book is told in the first person, and we begin listening to the narration of Jessamine, the daughter of a herbalist with a special garden devoted to poisonous plants. Jessamine is not allowed in the poison garden, despite the fact that she is no longer a child, something that grates on her nerves. But Jessamine's life is changed by the arrival of very strange young man called Weed, who, according to the keeper of a madhouse, can cure the mad and make the sane sick. Weed, Jessamine's father is assured, is mad, but her father is also certain that Weed possesses a vast knowledge of plants that should not be kept secret. But through Weed's own voice (he narrates a few of his own chapters) and Jessamine's discussions with him, we learn that Weed's skill comes from his ability to talk to plants.

The tale, based on a concept by the Duchess of Northumberland, is dark and intreguing, with a cliff-hanger of an ending indicating sequels to come. Readers will enjoy Weed's growth (it has to be a pun, horrible though it may be) and the budding relationship (ditto) between him and Jessamine. And when you throw some poison on that lot, the intrigue only increases.