Review: The Bamboozlers by Michael de Guzman

I've often looked at the cover of The Bamboozlers, by Michael de Guzman, and thought, what 11-year-old boy could resist this?  It's got cash, a gangster-looking grandfather, a boy in a 3-piece suit, and a tiny dog.  (It's actually a tiny 3-legged dog, but you can't tell on the cover.)  Happily, this is an occasion when the inside of the book matches the outside (or vice-versa), and I don't know why it took me so long to read this kid-friendly heist story.

Review: The Sleepwalkers by Viviane Schwartz

I don't want to say that the concept of The Sleepwalkers, by Viviane Schwartz, is better than the execution.  It's more like the execution is just really melancholy and full of the fear of death.

Review: Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, is one of those "is it magic or isn't it?" stories in which a children's game "turns sinister."  (I don't know what I'm quoting there, but it sounds like a quote from something.)  For me, the game never turns quite sinister enough, but the dynamics of three friends entering middle school and ending a long-standing game of pretend are perfect.

Cover Style: Cupcakes

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff had me thinking about baked goods and children's books.  Baked goods have always represented family, tradition, sweetness, and warmth, so it's no surprise that they often feature in books for children.

Review: Ghoulish Song by William Alexander

I think I would have really liked Ghoulish Song, by William Alexander, if I hadn't already read Goblin Secrets. I expected this second book to expand the world Alexander introduces in the first.  Instead, it contracts it.

Review: The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

About 40 pages into The Center of Everything, by Linda Urban, I thought, is she doing what I think she's doing?  Is she seriously writing a children's novel in which all of the action takes place over 10 minutes?  The answer is almost yes.

Review: The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh is a slim sci-fi novel that looks like it might be a good beginning chapter book.  I read it as a child and the outline of the plot still stands out in my memory: a father and his three children choose the bare minimum of possessions to take with them to a new planet, but when they get there, nothing will grow, and there is no way to leave or get help.