New YA Classics

I was browsing the new book trucks yesterday and stumbled upon new editions of Pride & Prejudice and Romeo & Juliet.  They are published by HarperTeen and they are completely playing off the popularity and style of the Twilight books.  There is also an edition of Wuthering Heights (shown at left,) that is already in the system and all eight copies are checked out.  I know Stephenie Meyer mentions Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet in the Twilight books…I can’t remember a reference to Pride and Prejudice, though.  In addition to the Twilight-esque covers, these books also feature “Extras” including quizzes (the fun kind, not the boring kind,) Facebook surveys filled out by the characters and other intersing back matter.  Romeo and Juliet starts out with about a 70 page summary of the play written in first person from Juliet’s point of view, a great way to ease into Shakespeare.  The meat of the books is all the original, unabridged text, so these can be used for school assignments/people who want to read “the real thing.”  I think HarperTeen is really on to something with this new teen-friendly packaging since, really, we all judge books by their covers!

Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid and Twilight-Haters

I purchased Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid for the JFIC collection thinking it was a straight parody of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It’s not, it’s a graphic novel and includes other stories, and is more YA than J, so expect to see it in your YA GN collection soon.  The real “gem” inside this book, in my opinion, is the parody of Twilight, something you might have to point out to the Twilight-haters who might not otherwise notice it.

Odd and the Frost Giants

School Library Journal has an interview with Newbery award-winning author Neil Gaiman regarding his new JFic book, Odd and the Frost Giants. Check out the audio version, it is narrated by Neil Gaiman, and he’s an excellent narrator.

Winnie the Pooh

There is a new Winnie the Pooh book out, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, by David Benedictus.  I haven’t read it but I paged through it and enjoyed the illustrations.  We also have the audio version on order read by Jim Dale, the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks.  Speaking of audiobooks, we just received a fantastic audio version of the original Pooh stories called The Collected Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh.  Narrators include Stephen Fry and Judi Dench, and it sounds like a delightful listen.  A new book that I found reminiscent of Pooh is The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties by Dutch author, Toon Tellegen.  I’m not one to try and predict a Batchelder winner, but I wouldn’t be surprised if The Squirrel’s Birthday got a nod from the committee (if it is eligible,)  come January.

Coming Soon to Your Library…

A Second is a Hiccup by Hutchins.  Explains time from seconds, (a hiccup, spinning in a circle once,) to a minute, (singing a short song,) all the way to a year.

Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer, the final book in the Sea of Trolls Trilogy.  The book and the audiobook both already have holds.

How Loud Can You Burp? by Murphy.  (As loud as a motorcycle!) This follow-up to Why is Snot Green? continues to answer real questions asked by kids like: why do we get goosebumps?  Includes a pretty lengthy section on questions regarding climate change, like where will be the best place to live?

Also, why the sudden influx of Toy Story books?  Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have been re-released to theaters in 3-D.

Ramadan Moon

Ramadan and Eid have come and gone for 2009, but it’s still a great time to pick up and read Ramadan Moon. This illustrated picture book tells the story of Ramadan and Eid from a child’s perspective. One of the things I was struck by was the narrator’s mourning the passing of the month of Ramadan. I expect this book to receive year-round attention, but will be especially in demand next August and early September.

Swine Flu Reading

Just in time for the start of flu season, Mo Willems new book, Pigs Make Me Sneeze, is sure to have the youngest readers laughing through their sniffles.  Elephant can’t stop sneezing.  He concludes that he must be allergic to Pig, which means he can no longer see his best friend.  After a visit to Doctor Cat, Elephant is diagnosed with a cold.  When he excitedly shares the good news with Pig, he finds that Pig has caught the cold.  Another fun beginning reader from Mo Willems!

A Christmas Carol

Disney will be releasing a 3-D version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in November.  Jim Carrey is the voice of Scrooge AND all three ghosts.  Check out the trailer here.

And coming out next week, (but not in the catalog yet,) is an illustrated version of A Christmas Carol by Brett Helquist, illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events and the Blue Balliett mysteries.

New Snicket: 2012

Lemony Snicket is reportedly working on a new series that will be released in 2012.

From the Guardian:  Reached by telephone, Snicket would only say: “I can neither confirm nor deny that I have begun research into a new case, and I can neither confirm nor deny that the results are as dreadful and unnerving as A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Stick It!!

There is a new adult book coming through that will be a great help when planning teen or tween activities. It’s called Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects by T. L. Bonaddio. There is the usual section on wallets, but it also includes sections on rings, bags, and clothes. Check it out and get inspired!