Children’s Notes

The American Girl franchise adds a new character to its list. In’70s California, Julie Albright and best friend Ivy navigate the pitfalls of growing up as well as the major social changes of the era in seven books, all penned by Megan McDonald and illusrated by Robert Hunt. Meet Julie introduces the new American Girl; Julie Tells Her Story finds Julie dealing with the repercussions of her parents’ divorce; in Happy New Year, Julie, Ivy’s family invites the Albrights over for the Chinese New Year; Julie and the Eagles centers around the best friends’ efforts to raise money to care for two injured bald eagles; Julie’s Journey centers on the celebration surrounding America’s Bicentennial; and Changes for Julie sees the fifth-grade girl running for class president. A seventh title, Good Luck, Ivy, focuses on Julie’s best friend, who uses gymnastics to cope with stress. (American Girl, $6.95 each paper ages 8-up Meet 104p ISBN 978-1-59369-257-5; Her Story 104p ISBN 978-1-59369-288-9; New Year 88p ISBN 978-1-59369-291-9; Eagles 88p ISBN 978-1-59369-350-3; Journey 88p ISBN 978-1-59369-352-7; Changes 104p ISBN 978-1-59369-354-1; Ivy 96p ISBN 978-1-59369-356-5; Sept.)

A pair of interactive Klutz titles can keep younger kids busy for hours. Tricky Stickies devises a number of games around 300 custom sticky notes (included are bunny, ant, fish, fly, donut and monster stickies). Kids can populate a fishbowl with goldfish, “feed” some hungry frogs, play a game of tic-tac-toe and more. (Klutz/Chicken Socks, $12.95 18p ages 4-6 ISBN 978-1-59174-346-0; Aug.)

For those who dream of living like a king (or queen) comes Castle: A Fold-Out Kingdom . Durable cardboard pieces included in this kit unfold to create a medieval castle, including parapets, fortified walls, medieval backdrops and a host of characters. (Klutz/Chicken Socks, $16.95 ages 4-6 ISBN 978-1-59174-198-5; Aug.)

The girls from Madonna’s The English Roses series return in a series of four chapter books, illus. by Jeffrey Fulvimari. In Friends for Life!, diary-like entries introduce each of the various characters. When soccer-crazy Grace’s parents start acting strange, her friends try to determine the cause in Good-Bye, Grace? In The New Girl, the English Roses are faced with a newcomer—Nicole’s sometimes-snooty friend from New York. A Rose by Any Other Name finds Grace unexpectedly in the limelight when she is cast in the sixth grade play over Charlotte. (Puffin/Callaway, $9.99 each 128p ages 12-up ISBN 978-0-14-241114-8; -240883-4; -240884-1; -240885-8; Sept.)

This latest crop of informational titles covers a wide array of topics. For the hippest technophiles comes Cool Stuff 2.0 and How It Works by Chris Woodford and Jon Woodcock. The follow-up to 2005’s Cool Stuff and How It Works, this volume takes another look into the world of technology, covering the mechanics behind roller coasters, virtual reality simulators, Mars rovers and more. Full-bleed color photography and illustrations make an equally compelling visual counterpoint to the scientific explanations. (DK, $24.99 256p ages 10-up ISBN 978-0-7566-3207-6; Sept.)

A perennial celebration of all things wacky and weird, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Special Edition 2008 offers hundreds of strange stories and facts. Beneath the holographic cover, its chapters examine such topics as “Creature Features,” “Mad Science,” “Spooky Tales” and more. (Scholastic, $15.99 144p all ages ISBN 978-0-439-92059-9; Sept.)

Sports trivia fans should get a kick out of Gold Medal for Weird by Kevin Sylvester. Each page offers tidbits about strange-but-true happenings in the world of sports, such as how the organizers of the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games had to truck in snow from Canada to cover the cross-country ski course. Sylvester contributes b&w line illustrations as well. (Kids Can, $6.95 paper 112p ages 7-up ISBN 978-1-55453-021-2; Sept.)

Providing countless minutes of “Did ya know?” material, Every Minute on Earth by Steve Murrie and Matthew Murrie, illus. by Mary Anne Lloyd, supplies more than 200 statistics about events that take place every 60 seconds—that’s how long it takes for a sloth to travel 13 feet or for an exercising human to produce 2/3 cup of sweat. (Scholastic Reference, $9.99 224p ages 9-12 ISBN 978-0-439-90887-0; Sept.)

A companion to last year’s 101 Things to Do Before You’re Old and Boring, 101 Things You Need to Know... and Some You Don’t! by Richard Horne and Tracey Turner asks (and answers) dozens of questions, including “Why Don’t Fish Drown?” and “Who Invented the Wheel?” Quizzes, activities, charts and diagrams make this an excellent companion for aspiring know-it-alls. (Walker, $9.95 paper 224p ages 12-up ISBN 978-0-8027-9674-5; Sept.)

Moo Who? Margie Palatini, illus. by Keith Graves. HarperCollins/Tegen, $6.99 ISBN 978-0-06-000107-0. With the help of her fellow barnmates, Hilda the cow tries to remember the sound she’s supposed to make. Palatini “maintains a simultaneously arch and familiar tone throughout... and Graves’s illustrations goose the jokes even more,” wrote PW . Ages 4-7. (Sept.)

The Seven Chinese Sisters Kathy Tucker, illus. by Grace Lin. Albert Whitman, $6.95 ISBN 978-0-8075-7310-5. “Eye-pleasing patterns abound in Lin’s vibrant, atmospheric illustrations” in this adaptation of the traditional Chinese folktale, wrote PW . Ages 5-8. (Sept.)

The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom Bettye Stroud, illus. by Erin Susanne Bennett. Candlewick, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-3519-0. A young slave and her father use a code hidden within the patterns of a quilt to find their way to freedom. “The child’s candid first-person narrative captures her apprehension as well as her hope and determination,” said PW . Ages 5-8. (Sept.)

Silk Umbrellas Carolyn Marsden. Candlewick, $5.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-3376-9. In northern Thailand, 11-year-old Noi and her family eke out a living painting umbrellas, doing factory work and laying bricks. PW's starred review praised Marsden’s “affecting portrait of a family coping with the changes thrust upon it.” Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Two Steps Forward Rachel Cohn. Aladdin/Mix, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-689-86615-9. Annabel, the feisty narrator of The Steps, shares the narration with stepsister Lucy in this sequel, as they prepare to spend a summer vacation in L.A. Ages 9-13. (Sept.)

Girl, Going on 17: Pants on Fire Sue Limb. Delacorte, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-385-73219-2. In this third installment of the series that began with Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, Jess begins another school year, but soon finds herself stuck in detention and fighting with her boyfriend. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Lyra’s Oxford Philip Pullman. Knopf, $6.99 ISBN 978-0-375-84369-3. PW wrote that “fans who can’t get enough of Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy will embrace this small, gifty-looking volume, which packages a short story about trilogy heroine Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon along with such ephemera as a beautifully engraved, fold-out map of the alternate-reality Oxford which Lyra inhabits.” Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Confessions of a Teenage Hollywood Star Dyan Sheldon. Candlewick, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-3408-7. The sequel to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen finds Lola ready to graduate high school and flee New Jersey forever—until she learns that a feature film is going to be filming in her town. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Foundling D.M. Cornish. Penguin/Speak, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-14-240913-8. “From the pre-industrial English feel to the sprawling setting and backstory, this book feels every bit as substantial as its heft implies,” wrote PW in a starred review of this first book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Stay with Me Garret Freymann-Weyr. Houghton/Graphia, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-618-88404-9. When her much older half-sister commits suicide, Leila sets out to discover why. In a starred review PW wrote, “The vivid characters in Leila’s extended family are all realistically flawed but tender with each other.... Small moments will stay with readers.” Ages 14-up. (Sept.)