Children's Notes

A pair of books shed light on the famous and doomed Mediterranean city. Through Time: Pompeii by Richard Platt, illus. by Manuela Cappon, offers comprehensive information and detailed illustrations of the city, as huts become farms and farms give way to a prosperous urban area. The book then chronicles the town's history from its destruction with Mount Vesuvius's devastating eruption to its popularity as a tourist attraction centuries later. (Kingfisher, $16.95 48p ages 6-10 ISBN 978-0-753-46044-3; Sept.)

For a 3D look at the city, Pompeii Pop-Up by Peter Riley and Dr. Thorston Opper, paper engineering by David Hawcock, provides a detailed history, with multiple pop-ups on every page depicting the city's architecture and layout. Photographs and sidebars on everything from religious practices to popular entertainment explore the culture. A standalone pop-up of a theater and war helmet are also included. (Rizzoli/Universe, $29.95 12p ages 8-up ISBN 978-0-7893-1569-4; Oct.)

Fans of the mythical fire-breathers have two new titles to entertain them. Dragonology: Field Guide to Dragons by Dugald A. Steer, illus. by Douglas Carrel, the newest “Ology” entry,” provides comprehensive information on different dragon species' appearances, sizes, habitats, appetites and methods of attack, and contains 12 miniature cardboard models of some of the dragons covered within, allowing readers to create a horde of their own. (Candlewick, $24.99 40p ages 8-up ISBN 978-0-7636-3686-9; Nov.)

The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed by Graeme Base is celebrating its 11th anniversary with a new edition that adds a fourth class of dragons—those of the New World—to the previously published material. (Abrams, $19.95 42p ages 9-12 ISBN 978-0-8109-5967-5; Sept.)

Little girls can live out favorite fantasies with several new titles. The board book Make Me a Princess! A Mix-and-Match Dress-Up Book by Sonali Fry, illus. by Judy Stead, pairs a story, about a girl who wants nothing more than to dress like a princess for her birthday, with two cardboard dolls and six pieces of fabric (think Woodkins) to give readers the chance to create royal fashions too. (Little Simon, $8.99 12p ages 4-7 ISBN 978-1-4169-4769-1; Sept.)

Girls who dream of the stage may enjoy Little Ballerina by Marianne Loibl, illus. by Clara Suetens. This introduction to ballet teaches budding ballerinas the first five positions, while the bright pink tulle skirt included in the package might inspire freeform dance moves. (North South, $17.95 48p ages 4-up ISBN 978-0-7358-2148-4; Oct.)

Two Sterling titles feature 3D tableaux of fantastic realms. Step Inside: Fairies depicts scenes from a fairy world, as it explores different types of fairies and the creatures' appearances in stories. Step Inside: Mermaids ventures beneath the waves, imagining a mermaid's school, chores and appearance at the spring tide ball. (Sterling, $9.95 each 12p ages 5-7 ISBN 978-1-4027-4898-1; -4899-8; Sept.)

Using a mix of humor and factual information, Real Princesses: An Inside Look at Royal Life by Valerie Wilding covers the ins-and-outs of princesshood. With dozens of photos, facts, stories and sidebars, girls can learn how to hold court from princesses past and current and around the world. (Walker, $16.95 64p ages 7-11 ISBN 978-0-8027-9675-2; Sept.)

Fall titles help kids understand their budding sexuality. The second book in the Girlology series, Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups, and Holding Out by Melisa Holmes, M.D., and Trish Hutchison, M.D., aims to provide teenage girls with the information they need about their bodies, relationships and sex. Based on actual questions submitted by young women, it covers sexual activity, birth control and personal hygiene, as well as the effects of alcohol and drugs on the dating scene. (HCI, $14.95 paper 272p ages 12-up ISBN 978-0-7573-0586-3; Sept.)

An updated version of Eric Marcus's What if Someone I Know Is Gay?: Answers to Questions About What It Means to Be Gay and Lesbian, first published in 2000, fields real teens' questions. Topics range from “Is it true that being gay is like a disease?” to “If I'm lesbian or gay and my religious beliefs tell me that what I am is wrong, what can I do?” (Simon Pulse, $8.99 paper 192p ages 14-up ISBN 978-1-4169-4970-1; Sept.)

Good for train rides or the bus, short story collections grab kids' attention. David Lubar offers The Curse of the Campfire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales, third in the series. Readers come up against Lubar's eerie and occasionally sinister imagination as two friends try to find the bottom of a bottomless lake, a boy discovers that his life is actually a play, a bully learns (the hard way) why he shouldn't pick on the fat kid and more. Likely to cause both chuckles and shivers. (Tor/Starscape, $15.95 208p ages 8-up ISBN 978-0-7653-1807-7; Sept.)

Full House: Ten Stories About Poker, ed. by Pete Hautman, should interest teenage card sharks. The 10 stories, by writers including K.L. Going, Francine Pascal and Walter Sorrells, draw parallels between the skills (and luck) needed to take home the pot in the game and in life in general. (Putnam, $17.99 192p ages 12-up ISBN 978-0-399-24528-2; Sept.)

Coinciding with the reissue of 145th Street: Short Stories, Walter Dean Myers returns with What They Found: Love on 145th Street, a new collection of 15 intertwining short stories that take place in the same Harlem neighborhood. Here, a reluctant soldier unexpectedly finds love during a tour of duty and a wise matron holds court at the Curl-E-Que beauty shop. (145th Street: Delacorte, $15.99 160p ages 12-up ISBN 978-0-385-32137-2; What They Found: Random/Lamb, $15.99 256p ages 14-up ISBN 978-0-375-93709-5; Sept.)

Several books explicitly seek to challenge readers' ways of thinking. Could You? Would You? by Trudy White sets out to get kids' imaginations humming with such questions as “Could you recognize your family with your eyes shut? Would you know their voices, their smell, or something else?” and “Could you travel to outer space? Would you bring someone back?” Line drawings on pastel pages depict the familiar and the strange, helping to create a dreamlike feel. (Kane/Miller, $12.95 paper 96p ages 5-up ISBN 978-1-933605-45-6; Sept.)

Nursery rhymes have always been a source for inspired imagining. Other Goose: Recycled Rhymes for Our Fragile Times by Barbara Wyn Klunder updates traditional rhymes with a modern, often environmentalist bent. Little Miss Muffet speaks out against second-hand smoke, Humpty-Dumpty finds himself immersed in a polluted lake, and Old King Cole sings jazz, blues and hip-hop. While the wry political humor may be lost on younger readers, caricatured cross-hatch ink illustrations are sure to catch the eye. (Groundwood [PGW, dist.], $17.95 48p ages 7-up ISBN 978-0-88899-829-3; Sept.)

Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie offer four books dedicated to making kids question, think and discuss: KidChat, KidChat Too!, KidChat: Oh, the Places to Go! and KidChat: Gone Wild. From the outlandish (“If you were given 5,000 ping-pong balls, what would you do with them?”) to the sensible (“If you were a teacher, what are three rules that you would insist that your students obey?”) these books should stimulate conversations on topics both general and specific. (Roaring Brook, $6.99 each paper 128p ages 8-up ISBN Chat 978-1-59643-314-4; Too! -315-1; Places -317-5; Wild -316-8; Sept.)

Zany Zoo William Wise, illus. by Lynn Munsinger. Houghton/Lorraine, $6.95 ISBN 978-0-618-95686-9. According to PW, “Wise serves up 25 poems about animals whose behavior is wacky mostly because it's so recognizably human,” while Munsinger “proves once again that, when it comes to imagining anthropomorphized animals, she has few peers.” Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Thunder Rose Jerdine Nolen, illus. by Kadir Nelson. Voyager, $7 ISBN 978-0-15-206006-0. This tall tale focuses on the firstborn child of newly freed slaves who venture to the frontier of the Old West. “Nelson's oil, watercolor and pencil compositions endow Rose's larger-than-life feats with verve. Notes of humor, warmth and rustic detail vie for attention in his bright-blue, big-sky scenes,” wrote PW. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)

Urchin and the Heartstone M.I. McAllister, illus. by Omar Rayyan. Hyperion/Miramax, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-7868-5489-9. In the second installment of the Mistmantle Chronicles, Urchin attempts to escape the wicked Kind Silverbirch in order to return to the island of Mistmantle and save it from evil forces. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret Obert Skye, illus. by Ben Sowards. Aladdin, $8.99 ISBN 978-1-4169-4718-9. The second installment in the Leven Thumps series finds Leven and his friends journeying through Foo once again, this time in an effort to save the displaced King Geth. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Something About America Maria Testa. Candlewick, $6.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-3415-5. Written in free verse and inspired by true events, this novel tells the story of a 13-year-old girl whose family moves to America after she is horribly burned during the war that ravaged Kosovo. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life Dana Reinhardt. Random/Lamb, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-375-84691-5. “In a moving first novel, Reinhardt uses a sure but gentle hand to explore the relationship that develops between an adopted teen and her biological mother.... Readers will quickly become absorbed in Simone's quest to understand her [Orthodox Jewish] heritage and herself,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Gender Blender Blake Nelson. Delacorte, $8.99 ISBN 978-0-553-37603-6. When a sixth grade boy and girl magically switch bodies, “the results are traumatic for them but hilarious for readers,” said PW in a starred review. Nelson “demonstrates his keen understanding of peer pressure and gender stereotyping,” and provides “honest, humorous answers to questions youngsters are often too embarrassed to ask.” Ages 12-up. (Sept.)