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RED RIDING HOOD

Name: RED RIDING HOOD
Author: Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

ENHANCED EDITION

by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright & David Leslie Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2011

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Werewolves are both danger and dark romantic element in this teen retelling of the traditional tale, soon to be in a theater near you. Seventeen-year-old Valerie is beautiful, fearless and different from others in the medieval village of Daggorhorn, which has been living under a curse requiring them to offer an animal sacrifice to the Wolf every full moon. Suddenly a blood moon appears, and people start dying. Father Solomon heightens the fear, insisting the Wolf is living among them, not in the woods. Valerie, already torn between the love of Henry, the well-off young blacksmith, and Peter, her close childhood friend and woodcutter, comes to doubt everyone, even her beloved Grandmother. The digital enhancements of this e-book—created as background to the upcoming film by Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight—include an audio introduction and seven short appendices featuring audio/video clips and images on the writing process, concept artwork, storyboards and design (sets, props, costumes). Neither interactive nor integral to the text, they are the functional equivalent of quickly digested color insert pages in a paperback. Written on the film set in the space of four weeks (according to the embedded video discussion among the director, scriptwriter and young debut author), the mostly pedestrian novelization ends prematurely, with an invitation to visit www.redridinghoodbook.com, which currently promises a final chapter “soon” (a countdown widget indicates “soon” is the movie’s release date, March 11, 2011). It’s hard to know if readers will bother. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011

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A PLACE TO HANG THE MOON

by Kate Albus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021

A wartime drama with enough depth and psychological complexity to satisfy budding bookworms.

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Three plucky orphan siblings are in search of a mother in wartime England.

When their grandmother dies, 12-year-old William, 11-year-old Edmund, and 9-year-old Anna are left in London in the care of an elderly housekeeper. As part of the World War II evacuation of children to safety, they are relocated to the countryside, something the family solicitor hopes may lead to finding adoptive parents. However, they are billeted with the Forresters, an unpleasant family reminiscent of the Dursleys. Bullying by their hosts’ two sons, who despise them; the ever present fear of German attack; and the dread of homelessness test their mettle to the limit. The orphans long to find a home of their own, and good boy William is stressed by his responsibility as head of the small family. Edmund’s desire for revenge against the Forresters and a prank involving a snake get them evicted from their billet, and they end up in a much worse situation. They find sanctuary in the village library and a savior in the librarian, who is married to a German and therefore ostracized by the locals. Mrs. Müller provides them with moral support, a listening ear, and true appreciation and love. The classic books she chooses for them—The Wind in the Willows and Anne of Green Gables, among others—may generate ideas for further reading. All characters are White.

A wartime drama with enough depth and psychological complexity to satisfy budding bookworms. (reading list) (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-8234-4705-3

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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THE LIGHTNING THIEF

From the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series , Vol. 1

by Rick Riordan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2005

The sardonic tone of the narrator’s voice lends a refreshing air of realism to this riotously paced quest tale of heroism...

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Edgar Award–winning Riordan leaves the adult world of mystery to begin a fantasy series for younger readers.

Twelve-year-old Percy (full name, Perseus) Jackson has attended six schools in six years. Officially diagnosed with ADHD, his lack of self-control gets him in trouble again and again. What if it isn’t his fault? What if all the outrageous incidents that get him kicked out of school are the result of his being a “half-blood,” the product of a relationship between a human and a Greek god? Could it be true that his math teacher Mrs. Dodds transformed into a shriveled hag with bat wings, a Fury, and was trying to kill him? Did he really vanquish her with a pen that turned into a sword? One need not be an expert in Greek mythology to enjoy Percy’s journey to retrieve Zeus’s master bolt from the Underworld, but those who are familiar with the deities and demi-gods will have many an ah-ha moment. Along the way, Percy and his cohort run into Medusa, Cerberus and Pan, among others.

The sardonic tone of the narrator’s voice lends a refreshing air of realism to this riotously paced quest tale of heroism that questions the realities of our world, family, friendship and loyalty. (Fantasy. 12-15)