Caddy Ever After
By Hilary McKay
McElderry, $15.95
Ages 10-14 years
Multiple narrators carry the story in another tale of the Casson family. Starting it off is Rose, age 10 and perhaps the most idiosyncratic and determinedly eccentric of the children. She’s a plain speaker who sometimes seems ancient, but sometimes just 10. Caddy, who’s off at college, is the title subject, but she rarely narrates. She’s approaching the altar (again), and Hilary McKay plays the nuptial moments for all the humor this family can generate. The family is likable, but Rose remains perhaps the most so for the idiosyncratic and perceptive quality of her imagination.
Jumping the Scratch
By Sarah Weeks
Laura Geringer/HarperCollins, $15.99
Ages 11-14 years
Fifth-grader Jamie Reardon fears threes. His cat dies, his father leaves, and then he and his mother must move to Wondrous Acres, a trailer park that was “anything but wondrous,” to help Aunt Sapphy, whose memory is disabled after an accident. Jamie tries to survive the new school, a bully and a mean teacher, as well as help figure out how to get Sapphy’s memory back, like a record that needs to jump the scratch. He is resistant to being friends with Audrey Krouch, his classmate and neighbor, who’s practicing to be a hypnotist. Eventually he learns from Audrey’s resilience. Both Jamie and Audrey are interestingly drawn.
Down the Back of the Chair
By Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Clarion, $16
Ages 4-7 years
It’s not a good day at little Mary’s house. Dad’s car is loaded to set out for school and work, but he has lost the keys. “No car, no work! No work, no pay! We’re growing poorer day by day.” Mary’s suggestion: Go under the cushions in the big old wing chair. What’s down there? “Pineapple peel and a conger eel. . . . A packet of pins and one of the twins,” just for starters. What child hasn’t seen parents look for lost items, what child hasn’t hoped the search was successful? A dose of wish fulfillment that’s tonic for us all.
Manny’s Cows: The Niagara Falls Tale
By Suzy Becker
HarperCollins, $15.99
Ages 6-8 years
If you lived on a dairy farm with 500 cows, it wouldn’t be easy to go on vacation. Manny’s determined to find a way, so he hires buses for them all. Guess what–the cows don’t want to go: ” ‘buffalo roam, cows stay home.’ ” Bossy, their leader, gets them in line, literally, where dialogue like this takes place. “I’m not a morning person.” “No, silly, you’re a cow.” Cascades of silliness, especially if you liked Doreen Cronin’s “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.”
What Athletes Are Made Of
By Hanoch Piven
Atheneum, $16.95
Ages 7-10 years
Hanoch Piven takes the conventional “What are they made of?” to a visually literal point in making his collages about athletes whose personal stories intrigue him. Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s legs are made from rulers, and Tiger Woods’ eyebrows are golf tees. It isn’t the stats he emphasizes but the individual actions that have set people apart, like Andre Agassi’s decision to restart his career by shaving his whole body and showing up early for workout and practice. The athletes are not all paragons, but they are all individuals.
One of Those Days
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Rebecca Doughty
Putnam, $13.99
Ages 9-11 years
“And the thing is, there isn’t just one kind of one of those days–there are tons. … ” Everyone will find a favorite in this catalog. “Favorite Pants Too Short Day,” perhaps, or “Itchy Sweater Day.” The pictures tell their own stories, hilariously. On “Answer to Everything Is No Day,” the little girl dreams of a pony, and we can tell just exactly what her mother thinks of that idea. Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Rebecca Doughty bring the promise of a new day to all ages.
