“Life would have been much easier if I believed in fairy tales,” remarks Fortunata at the beginning of Fortune’s Folly. Unfortunately, life for Fortunata and her father has been far too hard of late; since his wife’s death, Fortunata’s father, formerly a prize-winning shoemaker, has completely lost his talent and is now only able to make ill-fitting shoes in preposterous designs.

Forced to flee their home city after the enterprising Fortunata outsmarts and infuriates a powerful man, Fortunata and her father fall in with a traveling performance troupe. From the group’s clever fortune-teller, Fortunata learns the art of prognostication, which, she discovers, has infinitely more to do with observation and careful guesswork than with supernatural powers.

Fortunata soon develops her own reputation as a skilled fortune-teller, a skill that will be sorely tested in the city of Doma. There she is enlisted to predict a future path for Prince Leonato, a handsome but unconfident youth. Fortunata concocts a dangerous, romantic, wildly unlikely future for Leonato—only to learn that if these events don’t come true, Fortunata’s beloved father will be put to death. Can Fortunata take destiny into her own hands—and maybe find love (and a little magic) along the way?

In her debut novel, Deva Fagan cleverly slips elements of several beloved fairy tales, from “Cinderella” to “Rapunzel,” into her story, playfully turning these old motifs on their heads. Although the novel’s basic plot (girl meets unattainable boy, the two fall in love, complications ensue, love conquers all) might seem a little like a fairy tale itself, Fortunata’s pragmatic outlook and slyly witty narration make the novel thoroughly modern. This tough, creative, fearless heroine will give readers someone to root for—whether they believe in fairy tales or not.

Norah Piehl is a writer and editor who lives near Boston.

Ivy June Mosely and Catherine Combs are both from Kentucky, but their lifestyles are worlds apart. The two seventh-grade students have agreed to take part in an exchange program; the girls will visit each other for two weeks at a time and record their impressions in their journals.

In the skillful hands of veteran author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of the Newbery Award-winning Shiloh and an astonishing 135 other books, Faith, Hope, and Ivy June unfolds with poetic restraint and unexpected discoveries. As the story opens, we meet Ivy June as she prepares to leave her home in mountainous and old-timey Thunder Creek for a stay with Catherine and her family in a posh suburb of Lexington. She moved in with her grandparents, Mammaw and Papaw, after her own home became too crowded. There’s no running water in most Thunder Creek homes and life tends to be led hand-to-mouth. The town relies on its coal mines, and Ivy June worries for the safety of her beloved Papaw as he returns home each night exhausted and covered in coal dust.

Miles away in Lexington, Catherine awaits Ivy June’s arrival. Catherine’s family takes great pains to welcome Ivy June and to hide their own apprehensions and prejudices. After a tour of Catherine’s lovely, spacious home—the air-conditioning and multiple bathrooms make a big impression—the girls begin to form a friendship, though fragile at times, based on their commonalities and an intentional downplaying of their differences. Their view of each other’s standard of living becomes especially dramatic when Catherine comes to Thunder Creek, trekking over the hills and bathing outside in a tin tub.

As they engage in their shared journey, the girls can’t help but be forever changed by it. But how will these changes affect their lives going forward? Each has expectations and fears, each has to contend with their family’s preconceived notions about life on the other side, and each has to come to terms with the idea that certain stereotypes will inevitably affect their experience. In the end, it’s a shared devotion to their respective families that will enable a bond to form, particularly in the face of loss and a newfound appreciation for the gifts of their own daily lives. 

Ellen Trachtenberg is the author of The Best Children’s Literature: A Parent’s Guide.

Twelve-year-old June Olivia Cantrell—aka Junebug—is like many other tweens. She’s a dreamer, slightly insecure and she often feels invisible, especially next to her older drama queen sister, Stella. She’s not a leading lady . . . yet, but hey, one can always dream.

Junebug’s life has always revolved around the Blue Moon—the playhouse founded by her father. It’s a serious playhouse where, these days, tragedies rule the stage. But even though Junebug knows the show must go on, this summer is a little different than most. She’s finding herself, to quote the Chekhov play The Seagull up next at the Blue Moon, “in mourning for my life.”

Here’s how Junebug sees it—her parents are still happily married; she’s got the lead role in the Blue Moon’s latest production and she doesn’t have to worry about anyone getting in her space.

But here’s how it is—her parents are separated (with dad fawning over the new actress); she’s just a prop girl (albeit proudly taking her star turn as the unseen “thunder” in The Tempest) and now she’s got a young know-it-all kid—an understudy of sorts—following her around, learning the ropes.

Alas, alack—Junebug is not content to be simply a behind-the-scenes player, so she takes charge and speaks out, wondering “how you’re supposed to know when the acting stops and the real person begins.” Soon, an unexpected denouement has surprising results for Junebug, who comes a bit closer to matching her dreams with reality.

With chapters that open with Junebug’s dreamy visions, countered by her tragic-comic reality, the well-paced novel traces her summer of discontent. Age-appropriate dialogue and a likeable ensemble cast are set against a backdrop of the theater—creating a perfect stage for this tale of finding one’s way amid an unscripted life. Even reluctant readers will keep turning pages to see if all’s well that ends well.

Sharon Verbeten is a freelance writer and former children’s librarian who made her acting debut as a rock in a grade school play.
 

Mary Bayliss Pettigrew and her older brother Leo are “cut from the same cloth—six of one and half a dozen of the other.” They are growing up during the Great Depression in rural Alabama, but the 11- and 16-year-old are up to their usual shenanigans, playing tricks on neighbors and sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.

Everything changes after Bayliss’s 12th birthday. In a tragic accident, Leo is killed. Bayliss miraculously survives, although her reality is grim. She wakes up in the hospital to find life without Leo, guilt and the nagging feeling that she has been spared for a special purpose from God. It’s a heavy burden for any 12-year-old girl, and Bayliss deals with the weight in an unusual way: she decides to become a nun. What ensues is alternately heartbreaking and funny, since we know that Bayliss is better suited for wearing overalls than a habit (the better for “traipsing through the jungles of Africa,” which is what she really longs to do).

Sandra Forrester, who is also the author of the Beatrice Bailey Magical Adventure series, is adept at portraying life after a tragedy—when supper must be made, the clothes washed, sadness confronted. It is a strange and confusing time, and Forrester characterizes each member of the healing Pettigrew family with depth and realistic imperfection. There is Bayliss’ dad, who is kind but fearful; her sister Kathleen, who possesses quiet strength; grandmother Tommie Dora, who is firm but filled with goodness. Each personality becomes richer and more likeable as the novel progresses.

Just when we think that the Pettigrews have faced enough hardship, there is a twist. The family takes in two orphan girls: precious five-year-old Isabel and steely eight-year-old Gwen. Bayliss reacts to this development with anger—she may be on the road to piety, but she refuses to replace her brother. Then, something cracks. Readers young and old will sympathize as Bayliss struggles with doubt and redemption.

Though it portrays pain, Forrester’s novel is enlivened by Bayliss’ snappy narration and the amusing, colloquial retorts by her family members. The Pettigrews will be an inspiration to any person who has dealt with loss.

Eliza Borné writes from Nashville.
 

Eleven-year-old Matisse Jones thinks his family is a bunch of “goofy loons.” Take his father, for example. He creates huge portable smokers and barbecue pits complete with shock absorbers and wide-load flags, and he wheels them through town to pool parties, soccer games and funerals, sometimes losing control of his pigs on wheels. To Matisse, his father is “just one big advertisement for someone whose brains are all gone.” Matisse’s mother is art-obsessed, his sister purple-obsessed, and his two-year-old brother is a two-year-old brother, enough said.

However, everyone thinks Matisse is a genius. He has the gift of copying masterpieces exactly, and with the new show coming to the local art museum, where his mother is in charge of security, Matisse will have lots of inspiration for his copies. Coincidentally, this show will be a major exhibition of Matisse’s namesake: Henri Matisse. But when Matisse copies "Portrait of Pierre" and swaps his painting with the original on the wall of the museum, things turn out less amusing than Matisse expected. The museum installs a new high-tech security system, and Matisse has no opportunity to get the original back on the wall without giving away his criminal deeds.

So, he is stuck with the original. Coming from an artistic family, he knows the value of art, the importance of preserving it, and the big trouble he is in. "Portrait of Pierre" has close calls with a feather duster, humidity, water balloons and a militant security guard Matisse calls Guardzilla, as Matisse tries to protect the painting and extricate himself from his dire situation.

Matisse’s series of improbable events becomes a journey of self-discovery, in which he finds important truths about his family, himself and where his true gifts lie. Through this humorous tale, readers will learn about a portion of the art world, and they may just decide to research the work of the great Henri Matisse and his son Pierre, an influential art dealer in New York City. Though Pierre died in 1989, Bragg resurrects him for this novel so she can weave in all of the high-tech security devices that so effectively thwart Matisse Jones’ machinations. Matisse on the Loose is an amusing romp in the world of art.

Dean Schneider teaches middle school English in Nashville.
 

Ten-year-old Allie, who is growing up during the Great Depression, is quite content living in a two-family home in New Haven, Connecticut. Her parents want more space, however, and one day her father announces major news: they are moving to a rented one-family home in Stamford. While this may seem like a positive development, Allie has reservations about leaving her best friend, Ruthie, and worries that she will have no friends and that she may not be accepted in her new school.

Swept off her feet by the magical name of her new street, Strawberry Hill, Allie’s fears nearly vanish. She begins to acclimate to her new home, neighborhood and school, though she views Stamford as vastly different from New Haven. Faced with new challenges, Allie must sort out the true meaning of friendship. She grows to appreciate her family and comes to learn a few perplexing, though valuable, lessons on her journey toward self-discovery.

Teacher and author Mary Ann Hoberman has been writing books for children for more than 50 years, though Strawberry Hill marks her first foray into fiction. Currently serving as the Children’s Poet Laureate, Hoberman wrote the rhyming text in the picture book A House is A House for Me, which was a 1984 National Book Award winner. Distinct picture book offerings, such as One of Each and Seven Silly Eaters, as well as memorable poetry collections, such as The Llama Who Had no Pajama, have enlightened and entertained countless readers. Hoberman’s latest offering, Strawberry Hill, is a delightful and endearing autobiographical coming-of-age narrative.

Hoberman’s sweet look at the loss of innocence combined with the small steps we take toward maturity has a charm all its own. Join Allie on her trek to make Strawberry Hill feel like home.

Freelance writer Andrea Tarr is a librarian at Corona Public Library in California.

Best-selling author Ignatius B. Grumply is in a pickle–in more ways than one. He hasn’t started the children’s book he’s been contracted to write, and he needs a quiet place to do so.

Grumply’s writer’s block is resolved–or so he thinks–when he rents a creaky 32 1/2-room Victorian mansion on Old Cemetery Road in Ghastly, Illinois. But an uninvited and unwelcome houseguest (young pretentious boy) makes Grumply alternately grumpy and uppity. Throw in a playful ghost (single invisible female); a demanding, yet rather accommodating, publisher (Paige Turner); and an overbearing real estate agent (Anita Sale) and the Klise sisters have crafted a delightfully fun, frolicsome and fast-paced read. Told in a series of letters back and forth among the key players, Dying to Meet You sets up playful tension against a spooky backdrop–it’s the perfect ambience for the ghost stories Grumply allegedly pens (it’s been 20 years since his last installment, but who’s counting?)

The book reads like a diary, laden with hilarious exchanges, faux newspaper pages, the young boy’s handwritten notes and crafty sketches and omniscient observations by the ghost (Olive C. Spence). Punny names abound (including librarian M. Balm and attorney E. Gadds), an addition sure to be enjoyed by the target audience.

Even reluctant readers can embrace the easy-to-read format and lighthearted ghost story–which shows some shades of Lemony Snicket-esque whimsy.  

But will Grumply continue to be grumpy? Can the cohabitants of 43 Old Cemetery Road live in peace? Will Olive’s chicken paprikash be a dinner success? And, perhaps most importantly, does the 13th entry in the Ghost Tamer series ever get written? The award-winning Klise sisters have dubbed Dying to Meet You as Book One in an intended series–so future adventures and mayhem in the manse can be eagerly anticipated . . . if readers dare!

Former children’s librarian Sharon Verbeten lives in a house inhabited only by the squeals of an active two-year-old in De Pere, Wisconsin.