Recently Nominated Books
Jobless for the summer, Alton finds himself assigned to help his blind, aging uncle at his weekly card games. His parents push him to cooperate to earn Uncle Lester's favor and, hopefully, a larger share of his fortune. But as Alton learns about the complexities of bridge, he discovers there's far more to his uncle (and the crazy Castenada family) than he ever expected. Louis Sacher is a wonderfully unobtrusive narrator for an unexpectedly engaging story. The listener can't see the card diagrams in the text, but it doesn't hinder the story. In fact, it makes it much easier to understand how skilled Lester is. A foghorn signals the "technical explanations" of the bridge hands and a .pdf of the appendix is included with both the CDs and audio download. -Colleen Beaupre
Verbena, a rising sixth grader, learns she is not only adopted but that her mother was an alcoholic and her father is in jail. Lashing out at her parents, she makes a gullible and allergic new friend by pretending to be a ghost of a girl who drowned in the pond where the two then begin to rehab a dinghy. Neither can swim. A near-perfect rendition of a pre-adolescent girl, a decent but skittery and fearful boy, and a well-realized mother illuminate this quiet coming-of-teenage story. Susan Hepler
Using a bold font to reveal actual quotes from Twain used in the narrative, this partial biography reveals Twain at his most relaxed and playful, at home with his family. Bound into the large-size pages are small pages of Susy's "journal", quotes from the biography she began of her father in 1885. For readers who don't know Twain's works, this will serve as an introduction, but many have already seen the movies of Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. Now they can read this book, then read those books. Susan Hepler
Two teens on two different quests: seventeen-year-old Pancho Sanchez is on a mission to find the killer of his sister Rosa and D. Q. who is dying of brain cancer is looking to find meaning for his life and forthcoming death. Shades of Don Quijote abound, from the character's names, their "impossible" quests, etc. Ryan Gesell's voice manages to make seamless transitions between the Anglo and Hispanic accents with enough tenderness when necessary keeping the story vivrant and true and at times even funny. María E. Gentle
In our discussion of the book, also nominated, several of us mentioned Turtle's voice and that is what comes through loud and clear and feisy and independent and thoughtful and concerned in Becca Battoe's narration of this terrific story. We feel Turtle's impatience with some of "the diaper" gang, as well as her longing for the life her mother dreams of, even as she knows what a dreamer her mother is.
Edie Ching
At graduation, every animal in the class will get a balloon - except for the porcupines. They will get nice bookmarks. But Isabel wistfully dreams of a balloon's "soft, thumpy sound." Exuberant, irrepressable Isabel will try anything to get that balloon. Laura Rankin's colorful illustrations perfectly suit Underwood's storytelling and pacing, with priceless expressions on the animal's faces and lively fly-away quill "hairdos." Isabel's eventual solution, too, is brilliantly foreshadowed and funny. Rhona Campbell
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