The Rule Of Thre3 by Eric Walters - ESSENTIAL

Walters, Eric The Rule Of Three, 405 p. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2014. $18. Language: PG (6 swears, 0 ‘f’); Violence: PG (many bloodless deaths); Mature Content: G.  

Just another day at school - until the power goes out.  Things that run strictly on batteries still work - like Adam’s junker car, but anything that uses electronic circuitry is dead.  Back in his neighborhood, people are starting to panic.  Adam helps his retired military neighbor keep order, while watching over his younger siblings and waiting for his police chief mom to return.  As the power outage stretches on, the neighborhood bands together to keep each other safe, keep out human predators and make plans for the long term.  There are others out there who covet everything the subdivision has built and more drastic measures are necessary in order to preserve all of their lives.  Walters writes an excellent look at the beginnings of a world without electricity and the desperate fight to preserve humanity and kindness in a world gone mad.   

This is kind of how I imagine the backstory of one of the neighborhoods in the TV show Revolution,  with someone leading who doesn’t just want to preserve power for themselves.  Really well-written and engaging without descending into gratuitous violence.  

MS - ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Duck and Goose go to the Beach by Hills - ADVISABLE

Hills, Tad Duck and Goose go to the Beach.  PICTURE BOOK. Schwartz & Wade books, 2014. $18. CONTENT: G.  

Goose is happy just hanging out in the meadow, but Duck wants an adventure.  Out of the meadow and over the hills, their adventure leads them right to the beach.  New sights and new friends fill the pair’s day.  

Besides just being another great Duck and Goose book, this would a nice kickstart to either a unit about the beach for K-1, or a fun way to help a little friend learn about the beach before a long awaited trip.  

Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

The 100 by Kass Morgan - ADVISABLE

Morgan, Kass The 100, 323 p. Little, Brown And Company, 2013. $18. Language: PG-13 (56 swears, 0 ‘f’); Violence: PG (non-graphic deaths) ; Mature Content: G.  

Humans abandoned the poisonous atmosphere of Earth eons ago.  Now, however, the spaceships in which they live are failing - they can not continue to recycle their air, water, protein, etc. forever.  In order to test out Earth, the Powers That Be decide to send a shipload of 100 juvenile delinquents down to the surface.  Because if they die, no one will really miss them, right?  And their only other option is death anyway.  But each juvenile has his or her own purpose for their rebellion.  And maybe Earth isn’t completely free of dwellers anyway.  

I have had this book on my shelf for a couple of months.  Then I caught part of an episode  of The 100 on the CW and thought I should give it a chance.  The book is much less bloody than the TV series.  Now I want another book to read and I am also catching up on all of the episodes that I missed!  Double score.  

MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Oliver’s Tree by Kit Chase - ADVISABLE

Chase, Kit Oliver’s Tree, PICTURE BOOK, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014. $17. CONTENT G. 

Oliver the elephant can’t climb into trees like his friend Lulu the owl or Charlie the rabbit, which makes him very sad.  Lulu and charlie are very creative, however, and find a way to bring the tree to their good friend.  Treehouses and imagination and cute little characters.  This would be a great gift as well as being fun to read and share.  

Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE Cindy, Library Teacher

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - OPTIONAL

Han, Jenny and Siobhan Vivian  Fire with Fire, 517 pgs.  Simon and Schuster, 2013.  $17.99  Content: Language: R (150 + swears; 37 “F” words); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG.  

Lillia has promised her two close friends, Mary and Kat, that she will exact revenge on a boy at school named Reeve for the awful way in which he treated Mary.  Lillia is supposed to draw Reeve in, and make him fall in love with her, but break his heart.  Lillia isn’t as cold hearted as the plan calls for and Mary might never be happy with revenge, making the whole plan spin in a direction that none of them could have predicted.  

This is the second book in the Burn for Burn trilogy.  It can be read alone, but it helped to have the back story from the first novel.  The story drew me in and was hard to put down, but the amount of swears is over the top and impossible to recommend for a school library.  There are good twists in this story and I can’t wait to find out what happens to the characters, so it’s sad that it can’t be recommended.  

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin - OPTIONAL

Griffin, Adele  Loud Awake and Lost, 289 pgs.  Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.  $16.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (16 swears); Mature content: PG; Violence: PG.  

Ember is returning home from an eight month physical rehabilitation stint after a horrible car accident.  She feels like her life isn’t complete and that if she can figure out the missing memories that happened the months before her accident, she might be able to understand herself better.  When she meets a new boy named Kai, she begins to feel more like herself and with the patient help of her best friend and ex-boyfriend she starts to put the pieces of her life back together.  

This is a clean novel that reads like a ghost story, even though the very alive Ember feels like the ghost.  At times I felt impatient because I wanted the story to tell me more, but by the end the whole story is revealed-and it’s not supernatural.  My only complaint is that by the end I wanted to like Ember more, and I loved her best friend and her ex-boyfriend, but as much as I wanted to like Ember, she never became likable for me.  Because it's clean it's easy to put in the library and not worry about who reads it.

MS, HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino -- ADVISABLE

Rubbino, Salvatore A Walk in Paris. Candlewick Press, 2014. $16.99. Content: G

In this mixture of fiction and nonfiction, a little girl and her grandpa explore Paris, remarking on all the sites they visit, as well as providing information on such things as how to buy tickets for the Métro, what kinds of cheese are available (over four hundred of them!), and the history of several of Paris's oldest sections. Includes a fold-out page with a large Eiffel Tower.

This would make a wonderful gift for someone traveling to Paris, or someone interested in French culture, as it is both informative and entertaining. The illustrations add a European flair and give a sense of the Parisian vibe.

EL -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn

Cathedral by David Macaulay -- ADVISABLE

Macaulay, David Cathedral. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. $19.99. Content: PG

The original work, first published in 1973, has received an update, with new, colorful illustrations and revised text. With great detail, the book tells a fictionalized account of the building of a cathedral, from destroying the old one and expanding the site upon which it sat, to recruiting the workers, to designing the layout, to building the foundations, and every step after. Informative, and filled with surprising details and illuminating illustrations, Cathedral would be a helpful addition to many libraries. It would be perfect for students working on reports about cathedrals, or those interested in Medieval architecture and history. Because of complicated architectural concepts, adult guidance may be necessary for full comprehension, especially with younger readers.

EL -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn

Ziggy's Big Idea by Ilana Long -- ADVISABLE

Long, Ilana Ziggy's Big Idea, illustrated by Rasa Joni. PICTURE BOOK. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2014. $7.95. Content: G.

Although no one knows quite how bagels were invented, this story shows one way it could have happened. Ziggy is known throughout his shtetl, or town, for inventing new contraptions, including a ball that won't roll away from him and stilts for the very short rabbi. But when the local baker complains that his special buns never totally bake in the center, Ziggy has his best idea yet. Includes a recipe for bagels and an author's note about the history of the bagel. This is a fun take on a rarely-examined subject, and could inspire students to come up with their own creative solutions to everyday problems.

EL (K-3) -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn

Wild About Bears by Jeannie Brett -- ESSENTIAL

Brett, Jeannie Wild About Bears. PICTURE BOOK. Charlesbridge, 2014. $17.95. Content: G

An illustrated introduction to the world's eight bear species: polar bear, brown bear, North American black bear, spectacled bear, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and giant panda. Discusses similarities in physical traits and behavior, then provides deeper info on each type of bear. Also contains a colorful map showing bears' range, a habitat glossary, and a suggested reading list.

Wild About Bears would be a very helpful resource for students studying any of these types of creatures, although they will have to go elsewhere if they prefer actual photographs to illustrations.  The text is concise and arranged in a clear order. It contains enough basic information for a report, but enough surprising tidbits to increase readers' interest levels.

EL (K-3), EL -- ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Caryn

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn - PUBLIC ONLY

Kuehn, Stephanie Charm & Strange, 216 pg. Macmillan, 2013. $17.99.  Language: R (68 swears 24 Fs)  Violence: PG; Mature Content: R (sexual abuse). Win is a troubled and confused young man with a violent past, a past he doesn’t talk about. But rumors abound at his boarding school.  Now, someone has been killed in the nearby woods and Win fears that he might be responsible.  He feels like there's something terrible inside him.

This psychological drama kept me on the edge of my seat.  Told in flashbacks, I worried about the past the present and the future.  A well-written, mature debut novel, this Morris Award winner’s content and language is too mature for the school library.

PUBLIC ONLY Lisa Librarian

The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren -- ESSENTIAL

Elvgren, Jennifer The Whispering Town, illustrated by Fabio Santomauro. PICTURE BOOK. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2014. $7.95. Content: PG.

Anett's family harbors a Jewish mother and son during the Holocaust, intending to send them to safety via a boat to Sweden. Unfortunately, the cloudy nights make it impossible for the refugees to find the harbor, and Nazi soldiers are searching the neighborhood for escaped Jews. But thanks to Anett's bravery and ingenuity, and her neighbors' kindness, there may be hope for the boy and his mother after all. An author's note at the end gives more background on the Danish resistance.

I loved this book. Anett was a wonderful protagonist, and her story brought an important part of history to life in an interesting, beautiful, and very moving way. Anett did not act alone, however. Her family and their fellow townspeople helped, showing that a group of people can work together to make a positive change, despite the dangers and the odds against them. Although this is a picture book, the illustrations are somber enough, and the concept mature enough, that it could also work in many middle school classrooms.

EL, MS -- ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Caryn

The Quayside Cat by Toby Forward and Ruth Brown -- OPTIONAL

Forward, Toby and Ruth Brown The Quayside Cat. PICTURE BOOK. Andersen Press, 2013. $16.95. Content: G.

Jim, a cat who lives near the ocean, longs for a life of adventure, so he asks Old Tregarn, another stray, about his long-ago days at sea. Old Tregarn relates a few tales, then invites Jim to sneak aboard a ship that's about to set sail. Jim takes him up on it, and has an exciting and harrowing experience that he can spend the rest of his life talking about.

I love the premise of this book, and the illustrations are fantastic, bringing to life both the cats and their surroundings in beautiful detail. Unfortunately, the text itself is often very confusing, even for experienced readers; it contains a lot of dialogue with no indication as to who is talking, and readers are forced to guess purely from context.

EL -- OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Caryn