The time and place–Venice, Italy 1602–however, the descriptions are very much like Venice today. Here is a novel with excitement and adventure about pirates, romance, witchcraft, and spies. Come to Oz and check it out for yourself, you won’t be able to put it down. (Ages 10 and up for girls and boys)

Holly Black is one of the authors who will be in Jackson on September 16th for the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour. She is well known for her collaboration with Tony Diterlizzi on the Spiderwick Chronicles, as well as her New York Times Bestselling series of Modern Faerie Tales. Her newest book, White Cat, is the start of a new young adult series entitled The Curse Workers.

The book begins with Cassel, the main character, waking up on the edge of the roof of his school dormitory. He was following a white cat he was sure had bitten out his tongue, but it turns out he was sleepwalking almost to his death. He’s had a hard past few years, what with his father’s death, his mom’s arrest after being caught conning a millionaire, and oh yeah, his best friend Lila’s murder – which he is pretty sure he did, although he has no idea why. So he has plenty of reasons to have bad dreams, but try telling that to the principal. On school probation because of liability, Cassel is forced to go back to living with his family, who, unlike himself, are curse workers. A curse worker can affect you just by touching you. Their work is illegal, so most workers end up working for the mob, influencing emotions, luck,dreams, memories, causing physical pain, and even death at the touch of a finger. After moving home, he realizes something is going on that no one will quite explain to him. He hears quiet family meetings downstairs that he is not asked to attend, his brother Barron drops out of law school, and his sister-in-law’s memories have been changed. To get to the bottom of this secret plot, Cassel must con his family into telling the truth.

Holly Black has crafted an intriguing story that had me guessing until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next book in the Curse Workers series or to meet her in person! This novel is great for boys and girls age 13 and up, so come on by and check it out!

In The Queen’s Daughter our story begins with Princess Joan, age seven. Joan’s mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and her father is Henry II, the King of England. Queen Eleanor is beautiful and has a sharp tongue which she often uses on the King and any one who gets too close. King Henry II is a military man with three handsome sons and an often forgotten daughter—perhaps because she is so like her mother. Any time the parents get together, serious arguments erupt. The arguments are often due to political ambitions. Joan loves both of her parents, but how will she choose between them?

As often is the case with royalty, Joan is married off to a man who is older and a man that she does not love. However, she never forgets her childhood crush on Lord Raymond who came to her rescue when she was but a very young girl.

In much of the story, one feels that Joan is much older that she really is until a birthday is mentioned and you realize that she is very much a young girl. It must have been very difficult to grow up in a family where the mother was often banished to some far away castle. In spite of the many military crusades and campaigns this was an interesting story. A map is included to help visualize the great distance involved in the plot. (Teen, ages 14 and up)

Deborah Wiles and her books have been a store favorite for quite some time with her beautiful books Love, Ruby Lavender, Each Little Bird That Sings, and Aurora County All-Stars. But with her new book Countdown, Wiles takes a different approach to literature. Set in the early ’60s, this book is filled with pictures, quotes, and song lyrics from the time period that give you a feel of what would have been important to our characters. Just look at that beautiful cover! The whole presentation of the book is fantastic and the book itself is physically heavier than normal because of the quality of the paper and pictures. So on to the story, which is just as beautiful as the physical book. Franny Chapman is eleven in 1962. She practices hiding under her desk for bomb drills, writes a  imaginary letter to Nikita Khrushchev,  First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and really just wants peace for everyone. She worries constantly about her family: her big sister Jo Ellen who just started college and now gets secretive letters and never comes home, her dad who is in the Air Force and could have to go fight any moment, her Uncle Otts who lives with them and has begun to have flashbacks of his stint in war, her younger brother who has trouble dealing with the changing and dangerous world that seems to be closing in on them, and her mom and how she is handling all of this. As you can see, Franny has a lot on her plate. So when her best friend stops being her best friend and she realizes she has a crush on her neighbor, things get really complicated for our softspoken protagonist. When the Russian begin to assemble nuclear missiles in Cuba in what is now known as the Cuban missile crisis, Franny can hardly keep it together for her family. With courage she doesn’t even know she has, Franny not only pulls through, but pulls her family through as well.

If you can’t already tell, I love this book. The presentation, the story, the whole package feels like an instant classic. It is a great book to introduce kids to history or historical fiction. A kid could read this alone and get a wealth of information, but I think the best way to read this book would be in conjunction with adult discussion. Wiles lays everything out for the audience, but even I have learned more recently by talking to people who lived through the 1960s.

I am really looking forward to talking to Deborah about her book on Wednesday, the 25th at 5:00 when she comes to sign. Come hear the discussion and join in the fun!

It’s hard to do both of those things, move and read. I am halfway through about five books right now because I will start one and then lose it in my room, only to start another one and subsequently lose it as well. So right now I am sticking with picture books, one of my all-time favorite book genres (hence the title children’s manager!).

This morning we had a great crowd for Story Time and I read one of my favorite new books–and one I think is an instant classic–DOG LOVES BOOKS! Dog loves books so much, he opens his own bookstore. When no one shows up, he occupies his time getting lost in his books, until one day a customer comes in and he know exactly what to recommend! While that’s not quite how it works here at Lemuria, we are avid readers as Peyton mentioned in her post and we try to know exactly what to recommend when you come in!

Another favorite right now is Man Gave Names to All the Animals. This book is the lyrics of a Bob Dylan song by the same name and the illustrations are done by Jim Arnosky. I just love the pictures in this book! The lush landscapes, all the animal species–you could look at this book for quite a while, just naming all the animals. And to top it off, the book comes with a CD of the Dylan song to listen to. This is a perfect book for any library.

And don’t miss next week’s great read with Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies. For those of you who loved Bats at the Library and Bats at the Beach, you will love this installment! They are our favorite bats since Stellaluna! See you next Saturday at 10:30!