Scanning the Bookshelf from Creators Syndicate

Instructional, Interactive Books Sure to Appease Every Child's Creative Interest for 09/17/2010

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

These new activity books offer kids "klutzy" inventions ideas, Japanese "manga" comic instructions, Paul Frank's Julius-inspired fill-in scrapbook and plenty of history's "bad things."

"The Klutz Book of Inventions" by John Cassidy and Brendan Boyle; Klutz/Scholastic; 198 pages; $19.99.

The folks at Klutz have the recipe for super fun activi ...

Updated: Fri Sep 17, 2010

Tales of the Undead Appropriate for Younger Readers for 09/10/2010

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Vampire and "undead" teen novels seem to get tons of press, but are they healthy for younger readers? These fun reads for kids in the middle grades are every bit as engrossing with a slant toward more age appropriate thrills and chills. They are also fantastic choices for reluctant readers near Halloween season.

"Zombiekins" by Kevin Bolger; illustrated by Aaron Blech ...

Updated: Fri Sep 10, 2010

Graphic Novels for Kids Are All the Rage for 09/03/2010

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Kids love visual media, sometimes too much. Graphic, cartoon-based books help bridge the gap between TV and video games and the most valuable virtues of reading. These new books offer cartoon appeal and fun tales.

"Zebrafish" by Peter H. Reynolds; Atheneum/Simon and Schuster; 120 pages; $16.99.

This thoughtful, creative tale of a young teen's band has all the zest and ex ...

Updated: Fri Sep 03, 2010

Eye-Catching Graphics Evoke the Wonders of Childhood in New Picture Books for 08/27/2010

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The bright artwork in these new books matches the witty, smart and prolific text, which includes the latest from icons Patricia Polacco and Jane Yolen.

"This is Silly" by Gary Taxali; Scholastic Press; 32 pages; $17.99.

"Warning: This book may cause uncontrollable giggling in children," reads the front dust cover of this innovatively wacky picture book. Reminis ...

Updated: Fri Aug 27, 2010

Back-to-School Books Help Ease Jitters for the Youngest Students for 08/20/2010

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Is your buffalo ready for school to start? How about your tiger? These exciting new picture books introduce a unique crew of animals and children preparing for the first day of class.

"Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?" by Audrey Vernick; illustrated by Daniel Jennewein; Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins; 32 pages; $16.99.

Humor helps ease jitters. In Vernick's whims ...

Updated: Fri Aug 20, 2010

Advice Books For Kids for 08/13/2010

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Kids don't always react well to staid, preachy advice books. But this group is different, full of fun tales and unique ideas meant to inspire greatness.

"Water, Weed, and Wait" by Edith Hope Fine and Angela Demos Halpin; illustrated by Colleen Madden; Tricycle Press; 32 pages; $15.99.

Gardening can be daunting, especially when young green thumbs are faced with rocky terr ...

Updated: Fri Aug 13, 2010

The Dream Machine Traces History of Previously Troubled But Now Touted V-22 Osprey for 08/06/2010

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Richard Whittle opens his book "The Dream Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious V-22 Osprey" with the crash at Marana, Ariz., in 2000 that killed 19 Marines. Dick Spivey, the Bell Helicopter marketer who had spent two decades by that point peddling the tilt-rotor concept — an aircraft that takes off like a helicopter but flies like a plane — is chilled by the devastat ...

Updated: Fri Aug 06, 2010

Zesty Books Kids Will Devour for 07/30/2010

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

This brand-new batch of novels for young people is extra active and absorbing — perfect for reluctant and eager readers.

"Kingdom Keepers III — Disney in Shadow" by Ridley Pearson; Disney/Hyperion; 545 pages; $17.99.

Adult crime novelist Pearson already has hits in his Disney-themed books for young people — the "Peter and the Starcatchers" ser ...

Updated: Fri Jul 30, 2010

So Many Books ... And So Little Time for 07/23/2010

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The "So Many Books" team of writers, editors, researchers and literary spooks has uncovered a fine assortment of graphic novels and illustrated works.

Let's start with an easy one, sure to make the time pass: "The Talisman: Volume 1, the Road of Trials" (Del Ray, 160 pages, $25), illustrated by Tony Shasteen and Nei Ruffino, adaptation by Robin Furth.

The trio ...

Updated: Fri Jul 23, 2010

New Adventurous Reads Inspire Imaginations for 07/16/2010

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

These new novels for young readers will capture attention with tons of infused adventure and mystery.

"Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer" by John Grisham; Dutton/Penguin; 263 pages; $16.99.

John Grisham's first book for children delivers the masterful storytelling of his best-sellers, but this time he captures courtroom drama appropriate for 10- to 14-year-old readers. Here, 13 ...

Updated: Fri Jul 16, 2010

Spreading the Word for 07/09/2010

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

"Bookish" is sometimes used to describe a shy, retiring, quiet person.

The best books, though, can transform mild-mannered readers into outgoing, noisy apostles, eager to spread someone else's words.

Each week, the Arts section will check to see what readers are pressing on friends and strangers. This week, we asked four prominent local writers — and two non-writer ...

Updated: Fri Jul 09, 2010

Help Kids Rock Out and Read Summer Style for 07/02/2010

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Fresh new summer picture books and a smattering of affordable character-driven paperbacks, plus zippy beach tunes, make this roundup appealingly friendly.

"A Fabulous Fair Alphabet" by Debra Frasier; Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster; 32 pages; $16.99.

Part of the appeal of country fairs are their vivid colors, well-loved farm animals, exciting ride visions and home-style ...

Updated: Fri Jul 02, 2010

Hoover Dam Story is a Story of America for 06/25/2010

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

When a journalist reports on the events from the not-so-recent past, he faces a different challenge from daily reporting. But meeting a new set of demands seemed to come naturally to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reporter Michael Hiltzik.

Hiltzik's fourth book, "Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century," is his first work of historical nonfiction. Buildin ...

Updated: Fri Jun 25, 2010

Fantastic Books for Summertime Reading for 06/18/2010

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

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Updated: Fri Jun 18, 2010

So Many Books ... And So Little Time for 06/11/2010

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

"War." The title could not be more direct. Yet there it is, as Sebastian Junger asks you to open "War" (Twelve, 287 pages, $26.99) and plunge into the "Korengal Valley, a small but extraordinarily violent slit in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains of eastern Afghanistan."

He did just that, making five trips between June 2007 and June 2008 on assignmen ...

Updated: Fri Jun 11, 2010

Kids Will Enjoy These Interesting Characters and Stories for 06/04/2010

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Recently, an entertaining, homey slew of historical fiction tales showcase personable, quirky young people who kids today would be lucky to befriend.

"Lucky Breaks" by Susan Patron; Atheneum/Simon & Schuster; 181 pages; $16.99.

Patron's Newbery Award-winning "The Higher Power of Lucky" was the first in a Southern trilogy about a spunky girl named Lucky, and ...

Updated: Fri Jun 04, 2010

Creative Reading: Listen for the Voice and Music of Great Poets for 05/28/2010

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Long ago, the great English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley said, "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." And those words, written in 1821, but not published until 1840, keep getting quoted through the centuries. They were in his "A Defence of Poetry," and it has to be said that poets had a larger role in Western cultures during his day than they do now. They are ...

Updated: Fri May 28, 2010

Tapping Into His History: Daniel Widener for 05/21/2010

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Daniel Widener, who grew up in Los Angeles, was living in New York in the 1990s and thinking about what kind of dissertation he wanted to write for his Ph.D. in history from New York University. His interest centered on the era of the civil rights movement in the United States. He also decided on a second ambition related to his topic.

"I wanted to write it in a way that would bring ...

Updated: Fri May 21, 2010

So Many Books ... And So Little Time for 05/14/2010

Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

It is dreamlike and haunting, beautifully poetic yet brutally savage — and difficult to put down once you've started.

Charles Bowden's nightmarish "Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields" (Nation Books, 316 pages, $27.50) is a startling piece of journalism and a startling look at a slaughterhouse literally just a few steps from the United S ...

Updated: Fri May 14, 2010

From Mammoths to Lions, Books Introduce Amazing Animals for 05/07/2010

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Kids love creatures, big and small. These new books tell facts and fiction about dogs, ducks, mastodons and mammoths.

"Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age" by Cheryl Bardoe; Abrams Books for Young Readers; 44 pages; $18.95.

Awe-inspiring and fascinating, Bardoe's picture-filled chronicle of mammoths and mastodons draws on the latest research, much of it meant t ...

Updated: Fri May 07, 2010