in KIRKUS REVIEWS for…
| BY Sebastian Meschenmoser  $15.99 | “…Meschenmoser’s minimalist text provides just enough support for his laugh-out-loud illustrations, rendered in swift, penciled lines on creamy white space. Squirrel’s red coat provides a spot of color against the autumnal grays and sepias used to sketch out the trees and the other animals. He packs a wealth of expression into each animal’s face without venturing into heavy anthropomorphism. Readers will howl at the animals’ mistaken notions of snow, and they’ll sigh with satisfaction at the just-cozy-enough end. A perfect marriage of words and pictures.” – Kirkus Reviews (Starred, October 15, 2009) |
and in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY for…
BY CASSANDRA GOLDS
 $16.99 | “Gothic and wonderfully creepy, Golds’s (Clair-de-Lune) atmospheric story delights, offering meditations on the nature and power of love. Lonely Heloise wants only to be loved, but lives as if jailed in the house of her stern and sometimes cruel godmother. One day Heloise uncovers a beautiful doll, Maria, hidden under the floorboards of her room, and it is love at first sight. Heloise hides Maria from her godmother, whose personal Ten Commandments include forbidding play, “pretty clothes” and the possession of a doll, not to mention never uttering the word love (“We are all of us evil. And to love something evil is wicked,” she professes). Once Maria is discovered, Heloise finds out the horrible truth about the museum that adjoins her godmother’s cottage and is thrust down a strange and magical path that reveals how sheltered she has been (“Most people, she now knew, had heard music. Most people had seen pictures”). Readers will wonder throughout: who is Heloise really—or better, what is she? Aside from an occasional tendency toward sentimental prose, Golds’s novel is pure fun, filled with mystery and nearly impossible to put down.” – Publishers Weekly (Starred, September 28, 2009) |
School library journal praise for…
BY KATE O’HEARN
 $16.99 | “Kira is almost 13 and, by law and at her parents’ insistence, must be married by her birthday or be sent to prison. She is devastated as she secretly dreams of working with dragons, though she knows its illegal. She goes for a walk , followed by her younger sister, Elspeth, who tends to shadow Kira’s every move. While they are gone, their family is captured by Lord Dorcon, who believes that Kira’s father wronged him. Her father and brother are sent to the dragon army, a sister is imprisoned, and their mother is made a servant. Kira and Elspeth flee to a mountain where a rogue dragon lives, and Elspeth’s powers with animals allow them to tame one of his offspring. The girls are befriended by a wizard who tells them of a prophecy that a girl with a dragon will bring down the king. The sisters and their brother Dane separately begin to bring about what the king fears most: the loss of his kingdom and power. The story alternates between Kira and Dane, which serves to heighten the suspense as things race toward a confrontation. At times the events seem a bit too convenient, but on the whole the adventure is exciting and fast paced. The chargers are well rounded and believable. Shadow will be popular with fans of Anne McCaffrey’s “Harper Hall” trilogy.” – School Library Journal (October 2009) |
BY JEAN LITTLE
 $15.99 | “This well-written story handles the topic of foster and abandoned children with compassion and truth. Min, 11, has lived through a series of foster homes where she was cared for but not deeply loved. When her current foster mother decides to return her to the system shortly before Christmas, Min feels sorry for herself, but knows that she will not miss Bangs family. From this point forward, her life improves. She is taken in by Jess Hart, a doctor who recently lost her husband and who understands the child’s deep psychological pain because she, too, was once a foster child. While some elements of Min’s story may seem to be too “pie in the sky,” they are told with such warmth and detail that readers believe that Jess could be just right for Min. The child is finally given the chance to leave behind her fierce independence and for the first time in her life trust caring adult who will not let her down.” - School Library Journal (October 2009) |
Read the Publishers Weekly article, 10/19/09.
 978-1-935279-49-5 $10.99 - aGES 10-15 Pub date 01/01/2010 | Don’t blink. Don’t forget to breathe . . . On New Year’s Eve Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning . . . They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Hurled into a life on the run the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone. Hunted by the law and ruthless criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father’s mysterious death and a history-changing secret. Who can he turn to, who can he trust, when the whole world seems to want him dead? The clock is ticking. Any second could be his last. 12 Books, 12 Months – don’t miss this electrifying new series! |
 978-1-935279-25-9 $15.99 - AGES 9-13 PUB DATE 03/01/2010 | Kudos for forthcoming Spring Kane Miller title! Best Book for Language Development: Upper Primary 8-12 years It’s Andy’s first trip on an airplane when he and his dad travel to Vietnam to meet all his relatives. Talk about culture shock! Everyone calls him by his Vietnamese name instead of Andy, and he is stunned to discover the family restaurant is nothing like what he expected. Somehow though, Andy helps his Vietnamese family and his dad come to see things in a whole new way. |
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