Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry

The adventures of Emmy Addison continue in this newest installment by Lynne Jonell.  The plot is more complicated here, and the book a little longer, but it's a fun summertime read.  Jane Barmy and Cheswick Vole (changed into rats in the last book) are back, and are plotting revenge.  They steal Professor Capybara's secret formula for restoring their human size, send Emmy on a trip to Schenectady to visit two elderly great aunts, and Sissy has a chance to find her long lost ratmom.  It's a busy plot (you probably should have read Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat and Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls first to avoid feeling confused), but fans of the first books will enjoy this quirky, entertaining tale. The flip-book art by Jonathan Bean continues here, and adds to the fun also.

Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships

Orangutan and cat, giraffe and ostrich, baby fox and badger.... The candid and endearing pictures in this book show some of the unusual friendships that develop between animals of different species.  The pictures are wonderful, and the simple text by Catherine Thimmish shares the mystery behind these unique friendships.  This will be enjoyed by all ages.

The Big Crunch

June has attended six schools in four years, and now she's beginning her junior year in a Minneapolis high school.  She knows she won't stay long because of her father's frequent job moves; so she just wants a few friends, and an okay-kind of boyfriend (no entanglements if possible).  Wes has just broken up with Izzy, and isn't ready for a new girlfriend.  When their paths cross, romance is sparked.  Told in alternating points of view, this book follows their romance through the four seasons.  Written by Pete Hautman, this story explores the emotions and social dynamics of first love, and the relationships between parents and teens at the edge of living independently.  It's an absorbing read for summer (or any season).

Stupid Fast

Fifteen year old Felton Reinstein attends a small Wisconsin high school.  He has just gone through a growth spurt, and is quite surprised when he wins a 600 yard dash in track.  Not known for his athletic prowess, he catches the eye of the football coach who wants him to become the team's star running back next fall.  At home, Felton's physical changes cause his mother to suddenly go into a deep depression.  Other typical teen issues for Felton include a newspaper delivery route, first romance with a piano prodigy, and a little brother who dresses like a pirate; but football is the centerpiece of this first novel by Minnesotan Geoff Herbach.  Teen boys can probably identify with the inner turmoil of Felton who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight.

The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town

Dirk Yeller has a reputation for being a mean old cuss.  When he arrives in the small western town of this story, everyone knows that trouble is brewing. Dirk seeks help for his cat scratch fever, and other problems; but the locals send him from store to store without success.  Finally Sam, a young boy, leads him to the library, where Miss Jenny knows the perfect solution for all his problems.  From the team of Mary Cassanova and Ard Hoyt (they also created One Dog Canoe), here is a rollicking picture book for book lovers of all ages.

Celebritrees; Historic and Famous Trees of the World

Trees are the largest plants on earth.  This book introduces readers to fourteen famous trees from all around the world--from Methuselah (a bristlecone pine) to General Sherman (a sequoia), to the Tule Tree in Mexico, the Bodhi Tree in Sri Lanka, and the Boab Prison Tree in Australia. Written by Margi Preus, with acrylic, watercolor, and pencil illustrations by Rebecca Gibson, this might be a resource for 'tree' units in elementary science classes.

Thirteenth Child

In an alternative (i.e. fantasy) version of Westward Expansion, we meet a girl named Eff--an unlucy thirteenth child and twin to her brother Lan--the lucky seventh son of a seventh son, and a highly talented magician like his father.  Their large family moves to Mill City, a town at the edge of civilization in the North Plains, where Eff's father wil become a professor of magic at a land grant college there.  Mill City is located on the Mammoth River along which runs the Great Barrier Magic, which keeps steam dragons, woolly rhinoceroses, woolly mammoths, and assorted other monsters away.  When a plague of beetles attach settler communities to the west of Mill City, Eff, her brother, father, and others must try to figure out the correct magic spell to end the plague.  Written by Patricia Wrede, this is the first volume in the Frontier Magic series.  The second volume is due out in August 2011.