Children’s Notes

Young artists may find inspiration in these books on art and design. Composed of selected works from their exhibitions at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About Their Art offers kids and parents insight into the creative processes of renowned artists including Robert Sabuda, Tomie dePaola and Maurice Sendak. All the artists share their inspirations and personal beliefs about art; for each, a fold-out page reveals a selection of his or her artwork. With a foreword by Eric Carle that urges parents and educators to foster kids’ artistic leanings, as well as illustrator biographies and bibliographies, this book offers a captivating look at these illustrators’ methods and the passion that lies behind their work. Proceeds benefit the Eric Carle Museum. (Philomel, $30 114p ages 7-up ISBN 978-0-399-24600-5; Sept.)

On My Block: Stories and Paintings by Fifteen Artists, ed. by Dana Goldberg, explores the connections between locations, memories and art, as artists from around the world discuss and depict places of personal significance, from the “Hawaii Cinerama Theater” to Brooklyn rooftops or a neighbor’s garden in Havana. Kids may be inspired to look at their own surroundings in a new light. (Children’s Book Press, $16.95 32p ages 6-up ISBN 978-0-89239-220-9; Aug.)

Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow by Susan Goldman Rubin examines the life of the prolific painter as he grew from an artistically inclined boy into one of the most important and recognizable artists of the 20th century. With dozens of color reproductions and extensive biographical background, this book is an excellent resource for those interested in this American great. (Abrams, $18.95 48p ages 8-12 ISBN 978-0-8109-9347-1; Aug.)

In this follow-up to A Book About Design, Mark Gonyea shares more thoughts on composition in Another Book About Design: Complicated Doesn’t Make It Bad. Whereas his first book focused on the notion that a complicated design is not necessarily a good one, this time he explores how and why certain complicated designs work. (Holt, $19.95 160p ages 9-up ISBN 978-0-8050-7576-2; Aug.)

For the arts and crafts crowd comes Alter This!: Radical Ideas for Transforming Books into Art by Alena Hennessy. Offering dozens of tips, tricks and suggestions on how to reuse books to create projects that include checkerboards, travel collage journals, picture frames and secret boxes, this title will get kids to look at literature in a new light. (Sterling/Lark, $14.95 96p ages 10-up ISBN 978-1-57990-948-2; Aug.)

The no-nonsense mountain woman who outwitted the Devil in Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble and bested mettlesome kinfolk in Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lazybones adds two new encounters with no-good, low-down unwanted guests in Aunt Nancy and the Bothersome Visitors by Phyllis Root, illus. by David Parkins. In the same tall format as its predecessors (to remind readers that they’re reading tall tales, perhaps), this volume reprints the first two Aunt Nancy titles as well. (Candlewick, $16.99 64p ISBN 978-0-7636-3074-4; Aug.)

Tinker Bell and friends are back in Gail Carson Levine’s Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand, illus. by David Christiana, the sequel to Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg. Tired of waiting for the magic wand Rani promised her, the mermaid Soop gives the fairies an ultimatum: get her a wand or suffer a devastating flood. But Mother Dove has forbidden the fairies to do so, forcing Tink, Rani and Ree to go on a perilous mission to appease Soop and save Fairy Haven. (Disney, $17.99 208p ages 6-10 ISBN 978-1-4231-0100-0; Aug.)

The heroine first introduced in Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator (to which PW gave a starred review) returns in Jennifer Allison’s Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata, the third title in the series. This time Gilda must unravel the mystery surrounding a piano virtuoso’s death before her best friend falls victim to the same fate. (Dutton, $15.99 288p ages 10-up ISBN 978-0-525-47808-9; Aug.)

The Boy Who Cried Fabulous Lesléa Newman, illus. by Peter Ferguson. Tricycle, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-58246-224-0. “Kids will always cotton to a character who marches to a different drummer— especially one with a fabulous beat,” wrote PW about this story in which a boy declares (in verse) that his town and pretty much everything in it are “fabulous!” Ages 4-7. (Sept.)

Earl the Squirrel Don Freeman. Puffin, $6.99 ISBN 978-0-14-240893-3. In a starred review of this posthumously published tale by the creator of Corduroy, PW said, “Freeman serves up some laugh-out-loud images, as well as some affecting ones, in this tale well worthy of publication.” Ages 5-up. (Sept.

Larklight Philip Reeve, illus. by David Wyatt. Bloomsbury, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-59990-145-9. This “whimsical story” about two siblings’ adventure through the galaxy “is utterly entertaining.... The climax is an absolute hoot, and leaves the door wide open for any number of sequels,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Here Lies the Librarian Richard Peck. Puffin, $6.99 ISBN 978-0-14-240908-4. “Offering plenty of action and a cast of larger-than-life characters, the book pays tribute to the social and industrial revolution which awakens a sleepy town and marks the coming-of-age of an unforgettable heroine,” wrote PW. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl Barry Lyga. Houghton/Graphia, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-618-91652-8. “The geeky 15-year-old narrator of Lyga’s debut novel will quickly win over readers,” said PW, as Fanboy and Kyra (aka Goth Girl) struggle with the pain and confusion of being outsiders during high school. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away Joyce Carol Oates. HarperTeen, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-06-073527. A devastating automobile accident changes a teen’s life in Oates’s psychological drama. PW’s starred review called it “engrossing... an intense novel that offers keen insight into the cause and effect of a teen’s self-destructive behavior.” Ages 14-up. (Sept.)

Tyrell Coe Booth. Scholastic/PUSH, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-439-83880-1. Booth’s debut novel, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction, highlights a youth’s struggle to lift himself out of the ghetto. “Using the voice of an inner-city teen,” Booth maintains her “character’s credibility,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 15-up. (Sept.)