England (UK)

Tamar: A Novel Of Espionage, Passion, And Betrayal

Now available – the Carnegie Medal winner comes to the U.S.

When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War — and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.

From acclaimed British sensation Mal Peet comes a masterful story of adventure, love, secrets, and betrayal in time of war, both past and present.

Featured in Volume II, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Cake Girl

cakeIn this bedazzling picture book for all seasons, a Witch is once again alone on her birthday. So she uses her powers to bake a Cake Girl to act as her servant for the day. She tells Cake Girl to sing and dance—and do all the housework! “And then,” says the Witch, “I’ll eat you.” But Cake Girl proves to be too clever a confection for such a fate, and she soon turns the tables on her maker, with happy results for them both. Cheery and cheeky themes abound in this deliciously illustrated story about the magic of laughter and play and new companions.

The Lost Conspiracy

On an island of sandy beaches, dense jungles, and slumbering volcanoes, colonists seek to apply archaic laws to a new land, bounty hunters stalk the living for the ashes of their funerary pyres, and a smiling tribe is despised by all as traitorous murderers. It is here, in the midst of ancient tensions and new calamity, that two sisters are caught in a deadly web of deceits. Arilou is proclaimed a beautiful prophetess—one of the island’s precious oracles: a Lost. Hathin, her junior, is her nearly invisible attendant. But neither Arilou nor Hathin is exactly what she seems, and they live a lie that is carefully constructed and jealously guarded. When the sisters are unknowingly drawn into a sinister, island-wide conspiracy, quiet, unobtrusive Hathin must journey beyond all she has ever known of her world—and of herself—in a desperate attempt to save them both. As the stakes mount and falsehoods unravel, she discovers that the only thing more dangerous than the secret she hides is the truth she must uncover.

Who Wants To Be A Poodle I Don’t

Lauren Child takes the lead with this wry and wooly tale of a pampered poodle who just wants to paddle in puddles — like REAL dogs do.Trixie Twinkle Toes lives in the lap of luxury, with every creature comfort a manicured paw away. Adored by the glamorous Mademoiselle Bruleé, the little poodle has a maid to plump her pillows and a cook to prepare her nibbles. But Trixie isn’t happy. She doesn’t like the puffing and poofing and preening. She doesn’t like being dressed in little pink ponchos. She wants to be dazzlingly dangerous and daring. She wants to step in puddles! With a witty text that scampers across the pages and hilarious mixed-media illustrations, Lauren Child offers a one-ofa-kind treat — sure to entice both spirited little readers and deeply devoted dog-lovers alike.

From Somalia with Love

Safia Dirie is a teenage girl living in East London with her mother, Hoyo, and two older brothers, Ahmed and Abdullahi. Though she was born in Somalia, she doesn’t remember much of  it — Safia’s a London girl, through and through. But now, after 12 long years, her father, Abo, has returned to the family from war-torn Mogadishu. Safia knew things would change, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality of dealing with Abo’s cultural expectations. Or that Ahmed, her favorite brother, would start to run wild. And she herself certainly didn’t expect to find her cousin’s party-girl lifestyle so tempting. Safia must come to terms with who she is — as a Muslim, as a teenager, as a poet, as a friend, but most of all, as a daughter to a father she’s never known. Rooted in Somali and Muslim life, this poignant and beautifully written novel about one girl’s quest to find her own place in the world strikes a chord with young readers everywhere.

Read more about From Somalia with Love in WOW Review.

Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection (Candlewick Illustrated Classic)

classic“Few anthologies for this age group include such a fine selection of works, introduce the poets so vividly, or provide such a rich collection of haunting illustrations.” — Booklist Poetry provides the best introduction to the marvels of the English language. This volume, collected by award-winning author Michael Rosen, presents a glorious selection of classic poetry, chronologically arranged from the seventeenth century to modern day—poems by such celebrated poets as William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, and Langston Hughes— complete with biographical sketches of the poets, information on individual poems, and notes on poetic forms. Paul Howard’s full-color illustrations illuminate some of the most brilliant poems of the English-speaking world with stunning breadth and beauty. A book to be treasured, Classic Poetry belongs on every shelf—every child should know these poems and keep this book with them as they grow.

Mothstorm: The Horror from Beyond Uranus Georgium Sidus!

A sinister cloud has appeared on the edge of the solar system, and seems to be moving closer. The closest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary Reverand Cruet and his daughter Charity. Their last communication: ‘Great danger—  imperative that—’And then nothing. Art, Myrtle and family decide to investigate whatever monstrous force of darkness was hiding within the cloud. But how could they know what mothy horrors lay in wait!? Because the evil they discover is far beyond anything their imaginations could concoct. Now, with the Empire in dire peril, it’s up to Art (and his family, truth be told) to muster all their cunning and courage to try to Save It (again).

The Mystery Of The Fool And The Vanisher

From the creator of FAIRIE-ALITY, an eerie tale-within-a-tale weaves stunning photographs into a thrilling, time-shifting mystery that leaves readers questioning what is real.

Some say the English Downs are haunted by fairy creatures — and that those who find a flint stone with a hole through it can look into the fairies’ realm. It is just such a stone that leads photographer David Ellwand on a dark journey to the past, one that starts with a musty wooden chest and a nineteenth-century journal and ends with a disappearance as sudden as a vintage camera’s flash. In this journal-within-a-journal, illustrated by Ellwand’s exquisite photographs, lies a tale of archaeologists and fairies, human hubris and otherworldly revenge, the magic of the natural world and the mystery of the imagination.