Published by Feiwel and Friends

Summary:  Livy is visiting her Australian grandmother for the first time since she was five.  Bob has been waiting in the closet since Livy told him to five years ago.  Livy has forgotten all about Bob, but as they spend time together, gradually her memories return.  As a five-year-old, she thought Bob was a zombie, but now she doesn’t know what he is.  Adults can’t see Bob, and Livy starts to forget him as soon as she’s away from him.  As the two of them reconstruct what happened the last time Livy visited, they slowly begin to uncover the truth of Bob’s origins, and his importance to Livy and to the drought-stricken community where her grandmother lives.  208 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  When I heard of a collaboration between Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, I could scarcely contain my glee.  Although this book is shorter and different from their previous work, it is still a masterpiece of storytelling that will appeal to a wide age range, starting as a read-aloud for primary grades.

Cons:  It would have been nice to have more illustrations.

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Published by Walden Pond Press

Summary:  Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets is a fairy who has been trained to grant wishes.  Problem is, the sense of wonder in the human world is dropping off, creating a shortage of the fairy dust required to make wishes come true.  So Ophelia’s been biding her time since her training ended, fastidiously keeping up her skills until it’s her turn to visit the human world.  Her chance comes at last, and she ventures forth to retrieve a nickel a girl tossed into a fountain, wishing for a purple bicycle.  Sounds easy enough, but Ophelia’s best-laid plans are foiled at every turn, and she has to deal with airplanes, fire extinguishers, birds of prey, and a not-too-bright dog named Sam who thinks he’s her new best friend.  Ophelia’s also distracted by a boy named Gabe whose path keeps crossing hers and who seems to have a wish far more compelling than a purple bicycle.  When Ophelia is forced to choose between her original mission and Gabe’s wish, she shakes the fairy world to its very core.  Can there be a happily-ever-after ending for both fairies and humans?  336 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  John David Anderson moves away from realistic fiction to create a detailed imaginary fairy world and a funny, slightly neurotic fairy heroine.  Readers will find themselves thinking twice before pulling on a wishbone or tossing a coin into a fountain.

Cons:  The story didn’t really pick up for me until Ophelia left her fairy home and ventured into the human world.

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Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Svenna, mother of two polar bear cubs, is dismayed to find Roguers at her den one day, demanding that she hand over her children to them to be taken to an unknown destination.  She refuses, saying she will go in their place.  She’s given a few days’ reprieve, during which time she desperately tries to find them a new home and teach them to hunt.  After leaving them with a distant cousin, she is taken away.  The cousin proves to be evil, and the two cubs, known only as First and Second, escape to try to find either their mother or the father they have only heard about in stories.  Plenty of adventure awaits them, and various animals help them, including a fox, a seal, and a snow leopard.  Chapters about Svenna show her to be in a bizarre city where polar bears worship a large ice clock and sacrifice cubs to keep it running.  First and Second (who name themselves Stellan and Jytte halfway through the book) manage to survive on their own to the end of the book, but it’s clear they’re not free of danger and many more adventures await.  240 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  Fans of Warriors and Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’hoole will enjoy her latest series, which seems to tie in to the world of Ga’hoole (this connection seems like it will become clearer in book 2).  Plenty of animal adventure and a touch of the supernatural will leave readers anxiously awaiting the rest of the series.

Cons:  The anthropomorphizing occasionally goes a little too far, e.g. when the bears are sitting around drinking hot chocolate with a snow leopard.

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Published by Marvel Press

Summary:  T’Challa is the prince of Wakanda, the most technologically advanced nation in the world, and will one day follow in the footsteps of his father, the Black Panther.  When danger threatens their country, the king sends T’Challa and his friend M’Baku to safety in the United States. At their new middle school in Chicago, the two African boys find friends–and danger.  When M’Baku is lured to the dark side, T’Challa must decide whether or not he can confide in his new friends Zeke and Sheila about his true identity to try to save M’Baku. Armed with a Black Panther suit and a ring containing Vibranium, the secret substance that is the key to Wakanda’s power and success, T’Challa finds himself on a dangerous mission involving voodoo as he struggles to do the right thing and make his father proud.  Sheila’s final question, “When’s the next mission?” leaves open the possibility of a sequel. 272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Just in time for the Black Panther movie, this action-packed story will appeal to Marvel fans as well as anyone who enjoys a middle school story about an outsider making good.

Cons:  There could have been more interesting commentary on the two African boys’ first experience with American life and culture.

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