Flush
By Carl Hiaasen
Knopf, $16.95
Ages 10-14 years
The scene is the Florida Keys, and the plot is eco-friendly. The novel begins with Noah’s visit, on Father’s Day, to his father, who’s in jail for deliberately sinking a casino boat. ” ‘How come you won’t let Mom bail you out?’ ” Mom’s wearying of Dad’s impulsive actions, even if they are all to defend the keys’ environment. Noah and his little sister, Abbey, are either assisted by or running from a wonderfully down-at-the-heels cast of adults, but the hard-knock cast works (especially Shelly of the tattoo), and Operation Royal Flush reveals the truth of just what the sunken casino boat was dumping. Carl Hiaasen’s book conveys a great affection for the flora and fauna of the keys, and the reading pace is fast.
Beyond the Great Mountains
By Ed Young
Chronicle, $17.95
Ages 9-12 years
This book is different from the moment we open it, lifting at the bottom of the front cover to reveal the top of, well, “great mountains” beyond which we must journey. At opening, we can see a series of lines that form the verbal text, but each is illustrated by a collage laid in sequence, which we open separately, a meditation on the history of China’s land, in about 500 B.C., its resources and language. The rice paper materials are like the Chinese characters: The very textured feel of the paper is assembled, like the lines of the characters, into an image greater than the sum of its parts. By the time we reach the book’s concluding line–“This was Middle Empire, China”–we have experienced the land, its minerals and plants, and the essentially symbolic quality of language itself. Artists and those who enjoy imaginative journeys will love this one.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
Blue Sky, $15.99
Ages 3-5 years
Good combo: dinosaurs and table manners. Never thought of that, did you? The first half of the book uses all the charges routinely brought against the youngest members of the table and pictures the dinosaurs doing them–Quetzalcoatlus squirming in his chair, disturbing the whole restaurant, for example. After all the fun of imagining their antics, the pictures then tell us that, actually, these dinos are the best of table companions. Protoceratops “eats all before him with smiles and goodwill.” The didactic message is there, but the humor of the pictures makes it all bearable and more.
Bee-bim Bop!
By Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee
Clarion, $15
Ages 5-8 years
Check your rice supply, because there won’t be much of a lag time between the end of this book and a youngster’s request to make some bee-bim bop, or “mix-mix rice.” The book follows a little girl and her mother as they shop for and prepare this traditional Korean dish. The verses seem to be as much in a hurry as the little girl: “Hurry, Mama, hurry/Gotta shop shop shop!” A recipe at the end is carefully divided into directions for children and for grownups. The verses convey the excitement children feel when a favorite meal is being prepared, one they can help make.
The Costume Party
By Victoria Chess
Kane/Miller, $15.95
Ages 5-8 years
While adult readers will be lapping up the Gallic drollery in this story of how “Madame Coco with her little family” amuse themselves during the dreary rainy season, children will just be bonding with the doggies and their passion for dress-ups. Victoria Chess’ drawings give expressiveness to each dog, no matter what the occasion. (Note the realistic humor of the pictures when “they could only go outside for a tiny moment at a time.”) They even plan carefully the “snacks and beverages,” pouring over menus as only French dogs could do. There’s a lovely, quiet humor even in their costumes: “Rose was dressed as a daisy. And Daisy was dressed as a rose.” Get ready to plan your own costume party for resident two- and four-legged friends.
