Children's Notes
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 8/29/2005
Several classics return in rare form. First published in 1941, The Merry Chase by Clement Hurd unfolds in brick-red, lemon yellow and navy blue as a dapper man walking his dog and elegantly dressed lady strolling with her cat come 'round the corner, and "the merry chase began." Balloons, baby carriages, spaghetti and more scatter willy-nilly over the spreads before all is set to rights. (Chronicle, $15.95 32p ages 2-6 ISBN 0-8118-4967-8; Aug.)
When Joan of Arc by Josephine Poole, illus. by Angela Barrett, was published in 1981, PW said, "The opening lines, combined with a chronology at the back of the book, establish the agenda as historical—but the tone and much of the content reflect a religious sensibility. Barrett's detailed, epic-scale illustrations effectively portray the simple, massive courage of Joan's endeavors." (Knopf, $17.95 40p ages 8-up ISBN 0-679-89041-6; Aug.)
The classic All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, illus. by Helen John (1951), starring five sisters living in New York's Lower East Side at the beginning of the 20th century, is now available to a new generation of readers. (Delacorte, $15.95 192p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-385-73295-3; Aug.)
Robert Ingpen's adaptation of Michael Lawrence's The Poppykettle Papers, The Voyage of the Poppykettle, centers on the double mysteries of a Peruvian memorial to a lost ocean expedition and the discovery of some old brass keys on Australia's west coast. Ingpen conjures up seven pint-sized "Hairy Peruvians" who escape their conquered nation and sail to Australia in a ceramic teakettle. He paints the land and seascapes with N.C. Wyeth-like precision and cinematic scope. (Penguin/Minedition, $15.99 48p ages 5-up ISBN 0-698-40025-9; July)
Further Reading
Fans of Peter Benchley, Philip Pullman and Roald Dahl will be pleased to learn about a trio of summer titles. The author of Jaws (who claims, "all my life I have been fascinated by sharks") collects essays, arguments for why we need sharks, how to safely coexist with them, and how he came to write his bestselling novel in Shark Life: True Stories About Sharks and the Sea by Peter Benchley, adapted for young people by Karen Wojtyla. He begins with a near-death encounter with a great white shark guaranteed to reel in readers; his respect and awe of sharks is evident from first page to last. (Delacorte, $15.95 128p ages 10-up ISBN 0-385-73109-4; July)
Readers who were fascinated by the inner workings of the Golden Compass, the nature of Dust and whether or not there truly are "hidden dimensions," introduced in the trilogy that began with The Golden Compass, may wish to delve into The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials by Mary and John Gribbin, with an introduction by Pullman himself. The authors open with a quote from the books and segue into a discussion of the scientific underpinnings of some of the trilogy's themes. (Knopf, $15.95 224p ages 12-up ISBN 0-375-83144-4; Aug.)
Those who believe they know the oeuvre of the James and the Giant Peach author can test their mettle with So You Think You Know Roald Dahl? by Clive Gifford, with more than 1,000 questions divided into three levels: "Eccentrically Easy Questions" (e.g., "What is the name of the boy who won a prize to go to a chocolate factory"); "Madcap and Muddlesome" and "Devilishly Difficult" (e.g., "In The Vicar of Nibbleswicke, for whom were the ladies knitting sweaters?"). (Hodder [Trafalgar Sq., dist.], $9.99 paper 160p ages 11-up ISBN 0-340-88448-7; July)
