kid stuff november 2009

kid stuff

watchung booksellers

your community bookstore
54 Fairfield Street Watchung Plaza Montclair, NJ 07042

Mon-Wed 10-6 Thur-Fri 10-8 Sat 10-5 Sun 11-4

(973) 744-7177

www.watchungbooksellers.com

kids picks, reviews & news

november 2009

Dear Friends,

Can you believe it's November and the Holidays are just around the corner? Don't fear! The ladies of watchung booksellers are well prepared for the upcoming madness. All you need to do is click on "wish list" - think of it as a personal gift registry where you create a list of all your desired titles for friends and family. They can just stop in the store and ask for a copy. It's as simple as that!

But first things first... You HAVE to stop in for our fabulous upcoming events this Saturday. Joe Brown, author of The Flights of Marceau, will do a reading and signing at 11am. Brown's book depicts the world of a taxi driver who shares his imagination with his customers, relaying stories of his amazing, visual adventures. This book is interesting and educational, providing adult vocabulary with easily accessible definitions.

Also on Saturday is Susannah Applebaum with The Poisons of Caux: The Hollow Bettle at 1pm. The Hollow Bettle introduces us to Ivy, our young heroine, who is in search of her missing uncle. There are many twists and turns in this tale, however, because Ivy is not alone on her journey. The tyrranous King of Caux is after her... but for what?

We can't wait to see you in the audience on Saturday for our author events. Also, please remember that the wish list is not only for great books. Feel free to include our recent shipments of classic games and stationary products. We have Scrabble, Yahtzee, and Boggle to name a few. We also have beautiful Moleskine journals, elaborate stationary sets, and a variety of specialty bookmarks and magnets. The watchung booksellers' wish list not only ensures you will give and receive the perfect Holiday gift, but can also help with birthdays and other special occassions.

Don't go crazy this year! Make us your one-stop shopping destination.

We hope to see you and your children very soon,

Carolyn, Jeanne, Margot, Marina, Marisela, and Nicole

The Yellow Tutu
by Kirsten Bramsen

What do you do with a beautiful yellow tutu? Why, put it on your head and pretend you're a ray of sunshine! Little girls will love the story of Margo, a girl with a tutu and a brilliantly imaginative mind. Lively text and charming illustrations that celebrate individuality and friendship will have fans of this new author-illustrator sister act calling for an encore! (Ages 4-8)

Big Frog Can't Fit In
Mo Willems

Big Frog is big. Quite big. So big this book can't hold her. But with a lot of help from some good friends, Big Frog will fit in just fine!

Filled with exciting and unique pops constructed sturdily, and perfectly suited for little hands, this vibrant new pop-up book will appeal to Mo fans old and new. (Ages 4-8)

tween blast! book review

Malice by Chris Wooding
reviewed by Aaron Stagoff-Belfort

Seth and Kady have heard the whispers. You gather the things, say the ritual, and Tall Jake takes you away to a terrifying and horrible world called Malice. But when Seth attempts the ritual as a joke, everything goes horribly wrong and Seth and Kady are sucked into a world where there is no escape. Part novel, part comic book, Malice is a suspenseful thriller that will make you sleep with one eye open.

Seth and Kady are best pals, but their friend Luke has been acting strange. They had all heard the rumors of Malice and the infamous Tall Jake, but they dismissed them for a stupid myth. Then Luke disappears. There have been a series of vanishings in the kids' hometown of London. Parents just think it's another kidnapping. But Kady and Seth know better. After searching Luke's room, they discover the Malice comic book there. The books are supposedly bought by kids who want to know about the horrific world of Malice. Created by an unknown artist named Grendel, Seth and Kady open the comic, only to find that it is blank.

              Seth and Kady embark on a quest to find Malice and the comic store that sells it. This is how they come across Black Dice Comics. After stealing a comic from the creepy shop owner, they read it only to find that it says there friend Luke is dead.
              Seth decides to avenge Luke's death by trying to travel into the world that took his friend. After gathering the ingredients, he says the words and asks Tall Jake to take him away. Kady decides to join her friend to defeat Tall Jake and avenge Luke's death.

Then the kids find out that if you somehow do get out of Malice, your memory is erased and you go mad. But once you get into Malice there is only one way to get out.
              Malice was truly terrifying, a fantastic read. I give it a10 out of 10. It kept me on my toes the entire time. The plot was very interesting and certainly thrilling. There were some great moments where the suspense was as good as any book I have ever read. Malice certainly delivers.

              One of the interesting things about Malice is that, although it's primarily a novel, it has some parts where the book is narrated as a comic instead of text. Ever since the award-winning book Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, books that have comics in them are a great way to get kids to read, while also adding a little extra flair to the story. The pictures in this book were interesting and well drawn.

              I only had two main criticisms of Malice. First, the characters weren't developed extremely well. You didn't get a great sense of who they were; however, I'm sure that we will get to know them better when the sequel and other books in the series come out. Second, since the book was part novel, some of the outlandish fantasy aspects of the book were hard to depict in just a few short slides. Still Malice was so full of energy and suspense you couldn't turn away.

              Malice is a great book for children 10 and up. It's great for kids who like action and adventure or scary books. It's a great book to get kids into reading because of the comic book elements. I would definitely recommend it and can't wait for the sequel Havoc to hit shelves in 2010. (Ages 12 & up)

The Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids
Michael Pollan

"What's for dinner?" seemed like a simple question-until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers' adaptation of Pollan's famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices. In a smart, compelling format with updated facts, plenty of photos, graphs, and visuals, as well as a new afterword and backmatter, The Omnivore's Dilemma serves up a bold message to the generation that needs it most: It's time to take charge of our national eating habits-and it starts with you. (Ages 8-12)

Save 20%	Please present this coupon and receive a 20% discount on the YA Expert Pick, I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President. If you can't print this coupon, just mention the newsletter when you come in.
Offer Expires: November 17, 2009