New Books for Young Readers

A Nation's Hope This powerful picture book biography centers around the historic fight between American Joe Lewis and German Max Schmeling, in which Black and White America were able to put aside their prejudice and come together to celebrate our nation's ideals. Full color. (1st to 3rd Grade)





Small Persons With Wings
"In a fairy story that's wistful, humorous, and clever, Booraem (The Unnameables) suggests that the real world — with its disappointments and failings — is still better than living with illusions. When five-year-old Mellie Turpin tells her kindergarten classmates that there's a fairy living in her bedroom, it leads the Parvi Pennati — a Small Person with Wings — — to move out in anger, as well as years of torment and bullying for Mellie. After her estranged grandfather dies and her family inherits an inn and moves, Mellie, now 13, hopes her life will turn around. Unfortunately, the inn is infested with Parvi, and Mellie's parents tell her the family has a thousand-year-old pact to provide a home for the creatures. Before long, Mellie is turned into a frog, a walking mannequin tries to take over the world, and a potential friend learns all about Mellie's previous humiliations. There are serious threads about bullying and alcoholism, and several flawed characters; as in life, many problems are never fully solved, just exchanged for new ones. The theme of making progress, rather than ignoring problems, is a strong one, gently presented. Ages 10 — up. (Jan.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Across the Universe
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. (Ages 12 and up.)

Sapphique

Finn has escaped Incarceron only to find that he must defend his right to the throne from another challenger. His life and Claudia's hang on Finn convincing the Court that he is the lost prince, even though he has his own doubts about being the true heir. (Ages 12 and up.)