Braille Book Review

May-June 2008


Fiction

Piratica II: Return to Parrot Island; Being the Return of a Most Intrepid Heroine to Sea and Secrets BR 16856
by Tanith Lee
3 volumes
Artemesia "Art" Blastside, the daring pirate in Piratica (BR 16272), is now wed to her rescuer from the gallows but misses the sea. Eager for adventure and danger, Art agrees to be a privateer, or legal pirate, to prey on French and Spanish ships for England. For grades 6-9. 2006.

House of the Red Fish BR 16860
by Graham Salisbury
2 volumes
In this sequel to Under the Blood-Red Sun (BR 10261), Tomi and his family are still battling anti-Japanese feeling in 1943 Hawaii. Tomi and his friends try to salvage his father's sunken fishing boat, but Keet Wilson, a white teen, wants to stop him. For grades 5-8. 2006.

The End: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13 BR 16863
by Lemony Snicket
2 volumes
Lost at sea, the Baudelaire orphans wash up on the shore of an island along with the evil Count Olaf. Sequel to The Penultimate Peril (BR 16300) and the last book in a Series of Unfortunate Events. For grades 4-7. 2006.

Hattie Big Sky BR 16934
by Kirby Larson
2 volumes
Montana, 1918. Sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Inez Brooks arrives at the remote homestead claim she inherited from an unknown uncle. She expects hard work but does not anticipate the strong local anti-German prejudice directed at her good neighbors, the Muellers. For grades 6-9 and older readers. 2006.

Summer of the War BR 16935
by Gloria Whelan
1 volume
Michigan, 1942. With their parents working for the war effort, Mirabelle and her siblings travel to live with their grandparents on Turtle Island. Fourteen-year-old Belle is resentful when her more sophisticated fifteen-year-old cousin Caroline joins them, but during the summer they become a real family. For grades 6-9. 2006.

A Good Day BR 17029
by Kevin Henkes
1 volume
What starts out as a bad day turns into a good day for a little yellow bird, a little white dog, a little orange fox, and a little brown squirrel. And a lucky find makes a little girl have a good day, too. PRINT/BRAILLE. For preschool-grade 2. 2007.

The Growing Story BR 17031
by Ruth Krauss
1 volume
In the springtime, a boy, a puppy, and some chicks are very small. During the summer the boy watches the puppy and chicks grow and wonders if he is growing, too. He learns the answer in the fall when he tries on last winter's clothes. PRINT/BRAILLE. For preschool-grade 2. 1947.

Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories BR 17032
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
1 volume
Stories about the give-and-take friendship between a playful dachshund and a timid stuffed bear who prefers reading to action. In "Dog Changes His Name" Bear does not agree with the new names Dog suggests but thinks of one they both like. PRINT/BRAILLE. For preschool-grade 2. Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. 2007.

Changes for Kit--A Winter Story: An American Girl, Book 6 BR 17150
by Valerie Tripp
1 volume
Cincinnati, 1934; the Great Depression. Kit's grouchy uncle Hendrick dictates a letter to the newspaper complaining about hoboes. This inspires Kit to write her own letter encouraging donations of clothing and food for hobo children. Sequel to Kit Saves the Day (BR 17154). For grades 3-6. 2001.

Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery BR 17165
by Deborah Howe and James Howe
1 volume
Harold, the family dog, recalls the time the Monroes brought home a cute baby bunny they found at a Dracula movie and named Bunnicula. But Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that the rabbit is really a vampire. For grades 3-6. 1979.

Blizzard of the Blue Moon: Magic Tree House, Book 36 BR 17168
by Mary Pope Osborne
1 volume
Merlin the magician sends Jack and Annie to New York during the Great Depression in 1938 when a blizzard is burying the city. Their mission is to find an ancient fantasy creature--the last unicorn. For grades 2-4. 2006.

Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do? BR 17202
by Cynthia Voigt
3 volumes
Mikey Elsinger and Margalo Epps, best friends since fifth grade, help each other cope with ninth-grade problems. Margalo pursues her plans in drama while Mikey puts honesty above winning in tennis, and both girls aid their friends. Sequel to Bad Girls in Love (BR 14572). For grades 6-9. 2006.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony BR 17205
by Eoin Colfer
3 volumes
Sequel to Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception (BR 16206). Artemis solves temporal equations to detect demon presence and prevent catastrophe. But someone else completes the complex mathematical calculations--a twelve-year-old girl who may be as smart as Artemis, which makes her a formidable new foe. For grades 5-8. 2006.

Epossumondas Saves the Day BR 17242
by Coleen Salley
1 volume
In this variation on the Louisiana folktale "Sody Sallyraytus," each of Epossumondas's birthday guests disappears until it is finally up to him to rescue them all and bring home the "sody" for his birthday biscuits. PRINT/BRAILLE. For grades K-3. 2006.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom BR 17243
by Tim Tingle
1 volume
Mississippi, before the Civil War. Martha, a Choctaw girl, makes friends with Little Mo, a slave boy on a plantation. She helps Little Mo and his family cross the river to freedom one night when his family is threatened. PRINT/BRAILLE. For grades 2-4. 2006. 2006.

Adèle and Simon BR 17244
by Barbara McClintock
1 volume
Paris, early 1900s. When Adèle walks her little brother Simon home from school, he loses his hat, gloves, scarf, sweater, coat, knapsack, books, and crayons and his drawing of a cat along the way. Before Mama becomes angry, there is a knock at the door. PRINT/BRAILLE. For grades K-3. 2006.

Is There Really a Human Race? BR 17248
by Jamie Lee Curtis
1 volume
While thinking about life as running a race, a child wonders whether it is more important to finish first or to slow down and have fun along the way. PRINT/BRAILLE. For preschool-grade 2. 2006.

The Golden Egg Book BR 17249
by Margaret Wise Brown
1 volume
A lonely little bunny finds an egg and wonders what is inside. While the bunny naps, a baby duck hatches from the egg. When the bunny wakes up, his egg is gone--but he has a new friend. PRINT/BRAILLE. For preschool-grade 2. 1947.

Getting Near to Baby BR 17286
by Audrey Couloumbis
1 volume
Still reeling from the sudden death of their baby sister, Willa Jo and JoAnn are whisked away to an aunt's house while their mother recovers from depression. Unhappy with bossy Aunt Patty, Willa Jo and the now mute Little Sister retreat to the roof. For grades 5-8. Newbery Honor. 1999.

The Book of Everything BR 17292
by Guus Kuijer
1 volume
Amsterdam, 1951. Nine-year-old Thomas wishes that he could protect his mother from his abusive, religious father. Thomas wants to be happy when he grows up. He receives encouragement from many sources, including an elderly neighbor and candid talks with Jesus. For grades 4-7 and older readers. 2004.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy BR 17293
by Gary D. Schmidt
2 volumes
In 1911 Turner Buckminster hates being the son of the new minister in Phippsburg, Maine. Things improve for awhile when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from the poor, nearby Malaga Island community founded by former slaves. For grades 6-9 and older readers. Newbery Honor, Printz Honor. 2004.


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