Famous People Book Pick: Bestsellers,Fiction,Romance,Fantasy Pick: media/The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor: Best children’s books of 2008

Birmingham, 1963 By Carole Boston Weatherford

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books)

"In this 2008 award winner aimed at “tween” readers, Weatherford relies on spare but powerful verse paired with a picture-book format to examine a notorious day in civil rights history"

Shift By Jennifer Bradbury

(sci-fi, children books, adventure, teens)

"This lovely story for teen readers is a tale of friendship, self-discovery, and coming-of-age explored through a cross-country bike trip and the mysterious disappearance of a friend. Young readers will lose themselves in its breathless, brilliantly woven plot"

Eleven By Patricia Reilly Giff

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books, sci-fi)

"Tough, skinny Sam struggles with a learning disability so he turns to Caroline, a new girl at school, to supply the reading skills needed to help him unravel a mystery about his own identity. It’s the excellently rendered relationships that make this book sing"

The Calder Game By Blue Balliett

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books, sci-fi)

"Calder’s whimsical yet sophisticated art is at the center of Blue Balliett’s new puzzle novel. Fans of her earlier book “Chasing Vermeer” will be thrilled to join Calder Pillay and his friends Pietra and Tommy on another adventure, this time in Woodstock, England, where a Calder sculpture has just been donated to a 1,000-year-old village – only to vanish."

A Thousand Never Evers By Shana Burg

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books)

"This superb coming-of-age novels set within the African-American struggle for freedom and equality is told through the eyes of a 12-year-old named Addie Ann Picket living in the small town of Kuckachoo, Miss., in 1963. Good storytelling and historical facts and events are interwoven into the fabric of this tale in a natural, unfeigned manner."

The Underneath By Kathi Appelt

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books, adventure)

"This tale of a lonely, loving dog who watches over twin kittens is an old-fashioned parable of good overcoming evil and of the consequences of breaking the rules. The book’s hauntingly dark themes and lyrical language make it most appropriate for readers ages 10 and up."

Masterpiece By Elise Broach

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books, sci-fi, teens)

"Elise Broach offers readers ages 9 to 12 a lively mystery about great art, a boy, and his unlikely helper (a beetle). As James (the boy) and Marvin (the beetle) find themselves unwittingly involved in the world of forgeries, art heists, and FBI operatives, there are both thrilling moments of suspense as well as places where young readers will just plain laugh out loud."

A River Of Words By Jen Bryant

(children books (Ages 9-12), children books)

"This poignant biography introduces readers from ages 8 to 12 to poet William Carlos Williams through a marvelous combination of collage-style illustrations, period paraphernalia, and excerpts of Williams’s poetry."

Something Wicked By Alan Gratz

(children books, sci-fi, teens)

"Alan Gratz follows up the success of “Something Rotten” (based on Hamlet) with this smart, droll remake of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “Something Wicked” has a snarky narrator who will speak perfectly to older teen readers as they become involved in a mystery that threatens damage to the environment."

Chalice By Robin Mckinley

(children books, sci-fi, teens)

"Chalice,” by Newbery Medal-winner Robin McKinley, is a contemplative story geared toward readers of high fantasy ages 8 to 12. The book’s unlikely heroine is a beekeeper and its plot is both compelling and a delightful change from formulaic fantasy."

Source:

The Christian Science Monitor: Best short stories of 2008

The Deportees By Roddy Doyle

(literature and fiction)

"In his first book of stories, Man Booker Prize-winner Doyle expands his range, focusing on the changing faces of Ireland – literally."

Unaccustomed Earth By Jhumpa Lahiri

(literature and fiction)

"Returning to themes she explored in her first novel, Pulitzer-Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri details with quiet precision the divide between American-born children and their Bengali parents in a short-story collection."

Dictation By Cynthia Ozick

(literature and fiction)

"In four lively tales, Cynthia Ozick imagines freighted interchanges between two great writers, Henry James and Joseph Conrad, and their secretaries."

Olive Kitteridge By Elizabeth Strout

(literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)

"This collection of 13 stories set in a coastal Maine town creates individual microcosms of small-town life, with its gossip, small kindnesses, and everyday tragedies."

The Boat By Nam Le

(literature and fiction)

"Vietnamese-born Nam Le transcends the ethnic label in these accomplished stories about the terrible reverberations of violence."

Say You’re One Of Them By Uwem Akpan

(literature and fiction)

"Akpan has used his firsthand knowledge of life in Africa to explore “big” issues, from religious rioting in Nigeria and the Rwandan genocide to child slavery."

The People On Privilege Hill By Jane Gardam

(literature and fiction)

"The 14 stories in Jane Gardam’s new collection focus to a large extent on generally feisty seniors who recall sometimes troubling events from their prime while they cope with the affronts of aging in a changing world."

Broccoli And Other Tales Of Food And Love By Lara Vapnyar

(literature and fiction)

"This slim collection of six short stories (plus recipes) focuses on Russian and Eastern European immigrants to the US. Food is the slender thread that connects the past lives of these immigrants to their presents."