Rapunzel could not be happier. She has a beautiful tower that obeys her command; no one bothers her when she reads stories or brushes her hair; and a loving, caring Witch protects her from the evil people who would want to steal her away. In Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel, life is innocent and perfect—until Jack arrives. Jack thinks Rapunzel was involved in the injury of a fairy yesterday, but she’d remember something like that . . . right?

Challenged and intrigued by Jack, Rapunzel (and her hair) makes the choice to leave her tower for the first time. She encounters the Red Fairies, who begin to make her doubt, just a little, the perfection of Witch. Soon Rapunzel, Jack and her new friend Prince Frog are traveling across Tyme in search of many things—answers for Rapunzel, healing for the Red Fairies and something altogether mysterious for Jack. Rapunzel quickly learns that the world is much larger, more beautiful and more dangerous than she had ever known.

Filled with mystery, adventure and myriad twists and turns, Grounded turns a traditional fairy tale into something more. Strong characters and a complex story will encourage readers to return for the next journey in the world of Tyme.

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Almost-13-year-old Delphine, middle sister Vonetta and baby sister Fern Gaither are back in the final installment of the award-winning series by Rita Williams-Garcia. This time they’re spending the summer of 1969 in Alabama with their grandmother (Big Ma), great-grandmother (Ma Charles) and great-aunt (Miss Trotter).

Delphine is losing her grip on her sisters, and poor Big Ma can hardly keep her citified granddaughters in line. She blames their fresh behavior on their Black Panther mother and women’s libber stepmother. “One don’t eat chicken or ham. One don’t forgive. The other don’t iron. Just git, Delphine. Take your sisters and git.” But there is no place to git to. They head across the creek to visit Miss Trotter, who has plenty of family stories to tell. Half-sisters Big Ma and Miss Trotter do not speak to each other, except through the stories told to the younger generation.

It’s impossible to ignore the parallels between the Gaither sisters’ growing rift and the chasm between the elderly half-sisters. Delphine grows increasingly worried about her family, just wishing they could all get along under one roof. When danger comes to the family, she gets her wish—in a way.

The harrowing ending will have readers on the edges of their seats until the book’s satisfying resolution. Delphine might not be able to control her sisters, but she is a true sister: She’s there when needed.

Robin Smith is a second-grade teacher at the Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee. She also reviews for Kirkus and The Horn Book Magazine and has served on multiple award committees.

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Bowser has led a tough life, avoiding thugs in the city before ending up in an animal rescue shelter in Louisiana’s bayou country. Life hasn’t been easy for 11-year-old Birdie Gaux, either. With a police detective father killed in the line of duty and an engineering mother working on an oil rig off the coast of Africa, Birdie is being raised by Grammy, who owns a bait store and gives swamp tours. When Birdie selects Bowser as a belated birthday present, the lovable mutt and spunky tween become a formidable sleuthing team.

Their skills are tested in Woof, the first in a middle-grade mystery series, when Grammy’s mounted championship black marlin from 1945 goes missing. The value of a stuffed fish seems questionable until Birdie learns that a treasure map from her great-great-granddaddy may have been inside. Could a rival bait-shop owner be the prime suspect? As Birdie uncovers not only the thief but also a top-secret family history, Bowser deduces the strange language of humans.

Spencer Quinn, whose best-selling Chet and Bernie mysteries have captivated adult readers, spins a ruff-and-ready tale for kids. As young readers piece together the clues, they’ll discover the fun of both owning and being a dog.

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, May 2015

In the time Before, Peter Lee and his older brother, Nelson, loved baseball. They played it, listened to it on the radio and cheered for both Taiwan and the United States in the 1972 Little League World Series. But now Peter lives in the After. With Nelson dead from a car accident, Peter’s mother does nothing but watch TV, his younger sister is increasingly frustrated and his father, Ba, has become more distant than ever.

All this changes when Ba volunteers to coach Peter’s Little League team. While Peter wonders how baseball can have meaning without his brother, he finds himself rethinking almost everything about the game, including his father’s knowledge and his relationships with his teammates. As games are won and lost, new friendships form and old ones are redefined. Larger issues loom in the background, including women’s struggle for equality and ongoing protests against the Vietnam War.

Author Wendy Wan-Long Shang established herself as a fresh voice in diverse middle grade fiction with her debut, The Great Wall of Lucy Wu. In The Way Home Looks Now, she uses her characteristically accessible language to tell a story that combines historical fiction, detailed sports scenes and the unique perspectives of a grieving Asian-American family. The book concludes with instructions on how to play the neighborhood pick-up games that Peter and his teammates use to practice their skills.

For a preteen who isn’t quite ready for Kwame Alexander’s Newbery Medal-winning The Crossover but wants a similar read, this exciting, poignant and ultimately redemptive baseball tale is the perfect choice.

Jill Ratzan teaches research rudiments in central New Jersey.

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s 1948, and 11-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee’s teacher wants each of her students to choose a pen pal, hoping that “new worlds will unfold in front of you, and you’ll see your own world through fresh eyes.” Tate decides to write to rising country singer Hank Williams. She pours her heart out to her idol in letter after letter, even though he sends her fan photos but never writes back.

At first, Tate’s life in the tiny town of Rippling Creek, Louisiana, seems fairly ordinary. She spends her days with her Aunt Patty Cake, Uncle Jolly and her annoying younger brother nicknamed Frog. But readers gradually learn Tate’s deepest secrets, such as the fact that her father really isn’t a globe-trotting photographer and her mother isn’t a movie star.

Fans of Kimberly Willis Holt’s award-winning When Zachary Beaver Came to Town will welcome another sensitive portrayal of a child trying to find her place as she longs for absent parents. The rich Louisiana culture shines through, as do the daily effects of World War II and a community filled with cultural fears of African Americans, the Japanese and Communists. (The historical aspects are nicely addressed in an afterword.)

As we learn our letter-writing heroine’s greatest secret of all, this seemingly gentle novel about a “simpler” time and place is packed with plenty of punch, all deftly handled by a writer who writes like Hank Williams sang—with heart and understanding.

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Sometimes being the smartest kid in your class doesn’t make you any friends. Sometimes the way you see the world is so different from “normal” that you’re not sure anyone can understand you. So it is for Nicholas Funes, the 11-year-old hero of If You Find This.

Nicholas can feel the vibrations of the sounds around him, and he can see—and reveres—any prime number he encounters. Nicholas’ family is in trouble, but he hopes that by finding his grandfather’s missing heirlooms, he can save them from their plight. Along the way he makes some friends, learns about the grandfather he’s never met and finds out that his strange worldview can actually help others as much as it helps himself.

Matthew Baker is an established short story writer, and his first book for young readers is an ethereal, fascinating mixture of music and math. His sense of story as vignette is reflected in his writing, which works well for the way Nicholas’ mind processes things. With mystery, adventure, hidden treasure and wild boat rides, this book will appeal to any young reader.

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a Pre-K through eighth level Catholic school.

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In this humbly magnificent tale of the ultimate triumph of good over evil, 12-year-old Tam goes from wretchedness to hopefulness as he begins to understand the ancient wisdom of his people.

Tam’s family is forced to relocate from the mountainous forests of Laos to an area outside the Mekong Delta, the first of several events he must adjust to and eventually overcome. The displaced family receives a terrible history lesson when Tam’s father explodes a stray land mine while clearing his field and dies. To help support his family, Tam takes a job in the city at a cruel “farm” where bile is extracted from live, rare moon bears. The bears’ living situation is appalling, but Tam is powerless to change anything.

General Chan, the powerful man in charge of the relocation project, often visits the moon bear farm, seeking the bile to cure his daughter, Savanh. Tam and Savanh become friends, and he tells her the truth about the farm. Eventually Tam makes a bold move to forever change the life of one small bear. Savanh supports Tam’s decision, leading to a dramatic confrontation.

Cultural references lend much grace to this tale, in which the pure of heart ultimately win.

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, April 2015

Ten years ago, Jeanne Birdsall introduced readers to the funny, smart, sweet-but-never-saccharine Penderwick sisters, whose initial summer adventures were followed by two additional books. This fourth installment opens five years after The Penderwicks at Point Mouette. With Rosalind away at college and Skye and Jane busy with teenage pursuits, the focus is on 10-year-old Batty, along with her stepbrother Ben and the newest Penderwick sibling, 2-year-old Lydia.

Batty has known since her summer at Point Mouette that she loves playing piano. She’s planning a Grand Eleventh Birthday Concert with longtime family friend Jeffrey, as well as walking dogs to earn money for singing lessons (although her grief for recently departed Hound is ever present). But when she overhears something that upends her world, only the determined, imperfect, loyal love of her family can untangle the knot of long-held assumptions and secrets that threaten to overwhelm her.

Although it’s more of a tearjerker than its predecessors, the ending of this tale is still happy, and the story is still imbued with the hilarious family and neighborhood moments, ritualistic sisterly (now sibling-ly) meetings and perfectly drawn animal characters that Penderwick fans have come to love. The highlight here is the chance to learn the fates of minor characters from earlier books, including beloved Aunt Claire, stuck-up Mrs. Tifton and, most of all, brotherly neighbor Nick Geiger. A fifth and final Penderwicks book is planned, making this penultimate volume a treasure to be savored.

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The fact that the world’s not fair is a hard concept for children to learn, but 11-year-old Julia Delaney (based on the author’s mother-in-law, also named Julia) knows this lesson all too well. She's growing up in St. Louis’ tough Irish neighborhood of Kerry Patch in the winter of 1911, one of the coldest winters in Missouri's history. When her grandmother, and last blood relative, dies, she is sent to live at the House of Mercy, an “Industrial School and Girls’ Home” run by strict nuns, and is eventually separated from her older brother and sister.

Julia soon finds herself scheming of ways to flee the orphanage, but running away isn’t easy. There are gang wars right outside the orphanage doors, and she needs to protect her wounded brother from the infamous Egan’s Rats and even from their organized crime boss, Thomas Egan (who may also have been responsible for their father’s murder). Egan and his Rats are just some of the historical details that enliven Julia’s sometimes-harrowing story.

Used to relying on herself for survival, Julia learns to lean on others, from her mute dormmate who clearly knows more than she can say; to the maiden piano teacher who takes a liking to the girl’s defiant spirit; to the nuns whose sternness masks their fierce protection. Readers will cheer on Julia to her hopeful ending.

Move over, Mary Poppins, and make way for Ms. Rapscott, Headmistress of the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents. Elise Primavera, creator of the popular Auntie Claus books, offers a whimsical tale of a most unusual teacher and her school for girls whose parents are much too busy to be, well, parents. In fact, there’s no need for moms or dads to even bother bringing the girls to school, as the admissions materials include a self-addressed box for safely mailing daughters to campus.

And that’s how five lucky girls find themselves hurtling through the air to land on the observation deck of a lighthouse, home of Ms. Rapscott’s unique establishment, where the school motto echoes Amelia Earhart’s words: “Adventure is worthwhile in itself!” They embark on magical excusions, including a visit to the Mount Everbest School for Boys, as Ms. Rapscott imparts essential lessons such as, “Life is like trying to bake your own birthday cake without a recipe.”

Accompanied by Primavera’s delightful artwork, these adventures will entice young readers to take Ms. Rapscott’s advice and get “lost on purpose” in a great story.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is The Great Trouble.

This article was originally published in the March 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In 1895, 11-year-old Stanley Slater and his mother must move to a logging camp for her job. Now he has to live with his grandmother—who is 99.9 percent evil—and put up with his cousin Geri.

In between braving Geri’s diagnoses (she wants to be a doctor), speculating on the speckled past of a logger named Stinky Pete and begging to accompany the lumberjacks on a dangerous river drive, Stanley composes imaginary letters from his missing father, detailing the crazy adventures that keep him from his son. Stanley’s convinced that if he can just be manly enough, he can find his father and preserve his family. But being manly turns out to be harder than it looks.

The hilarious antics that Stanley describes (one memorable incident involves Geri, an uncooked chicken and sewing supplies) make My Near-Death Adventures a laugh-out-loud book. But what truly stands out are the black-and-white images of vintage magazine ads, postcards and other documents that Stanley pastes into his scrapbook and annotates with amusing, perceptive comments.

This is a rare combination of historical fiction, collage illustration and, in the end, depth of character.

Jill Ratzan teaches research rudiments in central New Jersey.

This article was originally published in the March 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, March 2015

The latest novel by award-winning author Pam Muñoz Ryan is a hefty yet riveting page-turner containing four interwoven stories.

The first is a fairy tale about a boy named Otto who becomes lost in a German forest. He is rescued by three mysterious maidens who happen to be characters in a book that he has just bought from a gypsy. This gypsy also gives Otto a unique harmonica that has special powers. “When you play it,” the maidens explain, “you breathe in and out, just as you would to keep your body alive. Have you ever considered that one person might play the mouth harp and pass along her strength and vision and knowledge?” Indeed, this instrument has amazing “pay it forward” abilities.

The fairy tale is followed by three novella-length stories of historical fiction, each connected by Otto’s magic harmonica. It first appears in Trossingen, Germany, in 1933, where a boy named Friedrich yearns to become a conductor. He’s tormented, however, by his disfiguring facial birthmark, and his safety is threatened by a Nazi law requiring sterilization of those with deformities. The harmonica’s next owner is an orphaned boy in 1935 Pennsylvania who fears being separated from his younger brother and loves playing the piano. And finally the harmonica turns up in Southern California in 1942 in the hands of Ivy Maria Lopez, a young Mexican-American girl whose family’s fortune changes after a Japanese family is sent to an internment camp. These interwoven tales unite in a majestic scene in 1951 New York, along with a short epilogue explaining how Otto passed along his magic harmonica to begin its magical journey.

These fast-paced stories are woven together to give young readers a wealth of historical information in an incredibly gripping way. In a novel filled with real-life examples of prejudice and injustice, Ryan repeatedly illustrates an important message uttered by Friedrich’s father: “Music is a universal language. A universal religion of sorts. Certainly it’s my religion. Music surpasses all distinctions between people.”

This article was originally published in the March 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Centuries-old dragon Miss Drake, narrator of A Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, is mourning the death of her beloved pet, Fluffy (actually a human named Amelia) when young human Winnie shows up at her door. Winnie is precocious, observant and, at first, annoying. But Miss Drake soon realizes that Winnie is dealing with a painful loss as well—her father—and decides she must look after the girl to honor Fluffy’s memory.

When Winnie draws the marvelous creatures she encounters on trips with Miss Drake in her new sketchbook, trouble begins. The magical book brings the sketches to life and sets them free, so the two new companions must recapture them all before a magical disaster takes over the city.

In the first book in this new series, authors Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder skillfully blend fantastic creatures and powerful spells with the relationships, emotions and small pleasures that make up everyday life. With Yep and Ryder’s guidance, a view of San Francisco Bay or a picnic bought at a farmer’s market are equally as magical as flying on a dragon’s back.

Perhaps most impressively, this whimsical and often wise adventure explores themes of love and loss accessibly and honestly. A straightforward tale embellished with excellent voices, vivid details and subtle lessons in empathy, A Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans will capture the attention and imagination of young fantasy readers.