The Best Children's Book Picks OCTOBER 2023 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Trevor Henderson - SCAREWAVES - Published by Scholastic Press (October 3, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338829501 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

Internet horror superstar Trevor Henderson is famous for his ghastly creations and hair-raising creepypastas. Now he brings that talent for the terrifying to this debut middle-grade thriller.

You don’t stay out after dark in Beacon Point…

The small town of Beacon Point has always been plagued by eerie local phenomena. It’s a town where disappearances are common, strange creatures have been sighted with unnerving frequency, and a ghastly secret lurks in the woods.

The adults in town are oblivious to these strange occurrences. Others prefer not to talk or even think about them. But over the course of several terrifying nights, a group of kids will come face to face with the horrors hiding within their sleepy town. Guided by the mysterious radio host Alan Graves, they must follow the clues to a terrifying secret before it eats them alive.

Jaclyn Moriarty - The Secret of Lillian Velvet - Published by Levine Querido (October 10, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646142613 - Hardback - Age: 7+

Here are only a few of the wonderful, strange, and mysterious elements in this breathtaking visit to the Kingdoms and Empires: A very proper girl named Lillian Velvet, living a very lonely life with a nasty Grandmother.  A jar of coins, each with the power to take Lillian on a journey to a different time and place…and also to grant a single wish. A small boy in a barn is about to be crushed to death by a load of hay. A family, each member in mortal danger, who are strangers to Lillian (but whom clever readers will recognize). And a web of dangerous magic closing tight around all.  Who IS this Lillian Velvet? And what is her secret?

Only Jaclyn Moriarty has the ability to make readers laugh, even while they grip the sides of their chairs in suspense. In THE SECRET OF LILLIAN VELVET, she is at the height of her storytelling powers, spinning, spinning, spinning seemingly disparate elements until all is revealed as one delicious, tantalizing whole. 

Donna Barba Higuera - Alebries - Published by Levine Querido (October 3, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646142637 - Hardback - Age: 10+ 

This is the story as it was told to me by Leandro the Mighty. 

For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel – or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. They don’t last long. 

13 year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them – the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations. 

When Gabi is caught stealing precious fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leando takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined -- far from a simple banishment, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek for a better world -- as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth. 

From Donna Barba Higuera, Newbery and Pura Belpré Medal-winning author of The Last Cuentista, comes another novel to astonish us and create a whole new imaginative world, that holds a mirror to our own.

Jessica Vitalis - Coyote Queen - Published by Greenwillow Books (October 10, 2023) - SBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063314405 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

 When a twelve-year-old decides that she must get herself and her mother out of a bad situation, an eerie connection to a coyote pack helps her see who she’s meant to be—and who she can truly save. The Benefits of Being an Octopus meets The Nest in this contemporary middle-grade novel about family, class, and resilience, with a magical twist.

Twelve-year-old Fud feels trapped. She lives a precarious life in a cramped trailer with her mom and her mom’s alcoholic ex-boxer boyfriend, Larry. Fud can see it’s only a matter of time until Larry explodes again, even if her mom keeps on making excuses for his behavior. If only Fud could find a way to be as free as the coyotes roaming the Wyoming countryside: strong, smart, independent, and always willing to protect their own.

When Larry comes home with a rusted-out houseboat, Fud is horrified to hear that he wants to fix it up for them to live on permanently. All she sees is a floating prison. Then new neighbor Leigh tells Fud about Miss Black Gold, a beauty pageant sponsored by the local coal mine. While Fud doesn’t care much about gowns or talents or prancing around on stage, she cares very much about getting herself and her mom away from Larry before the boat is finished. And to do that, she needs money, in particular, Miss Black Gold's prize money.

One problem: the more Fud fantasizes about escape, the more her connection to the coyotes lurking outside her window grows. And strange things have started happening—is Fud really going color-blind? Are her eyebrows really getting bushier? And why does it suddenly seem like she can smell everything?

Jessica Vitalis crafts a moving and voice-driven novel about family and resilience, with a fantastical twist. Coyote Queen is perfect for readers of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and The Elephant in the Room

The Best Children's Book Picks SEPTEMBER 2023 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Introducing our delightful children's book picks for September 2023! This month, we have a collection of fantastic tales that will spark imagination and captivate readers. From whimsical adventures to heartwarming stories, these books are sure to bring joy to children of all ages. Let the magic unfold as we embark on a journey through the pages of these wonderful stories!

Coco Ma - Nightbreaker - Published by Viking Books for Young Readers (19 Sept. 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593621462 - Hardback - Age: 14+ 

Fifteen years ago, The Vanishing thrust Manhattan into darkness, forever changing the City That Never Sleeps. By day, resilient New Yorkers have adapted, clinging to the vestiges of their cosmopolitan lives. By night―well, you never go out at night unless you have a death wish. Or unless you're Rei Reynolds. Rei attends an exclusive New York prep school, but unlike her classmates, she welcomes nightfall. That's when she can secretly hunt Deathlings, the deadly creatures that have prowled Manhattan's subway tunnels and blood-soaked streets since the Vanishing. After they brutally slaughtered her parents years ago, Rei is desperate for vengeance. To get it, Rei must qualify for―and win―the Tournament, a competition to join the ranks of the city’s legendary Deathling hunters. Rei’s nightly pursuits should give her an advantage, but the other competitors are fierce, and in some cases familiar: enter Kieran Cross, Rei’s most infuriating rival . . . and ex-boyfriend. As the Tournament progresses―and the cutthroat competition escalates―everything Rei believed about who she can trust is called into question. Soon enough, she’s caught in the crosshairs of the elite who want to keep the city's ruling class in power, as well as those who will stop at nothing to bring it down. Because sometimes it's not the monsters waiting in the dark you should fear . . . it's the ones who dare to walk into the light. Coco Ma's exhilarating urban fantasy thrusts readers into an immersive world of thrills and chills, featuring the smart, sardonic post-apocalyptic heroine you’ll soon wish you could be.

Janelle McCurdy - The Traitor of Nubis: 2 (Umbra Tales) - Published by Aladdin (19 Sept. 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665901307 - Hardback - Age: 7+

Mia grapples with the responsibility of her new powers and uncovers even more of Nubis's secrets in this thrilling second book in the Umbra Tales middle-grade series that's Keeper of the Lost Cities meets The Golden Compass.

The Reaper King's attempt to break free and thrust the rest of the Kingdom of Lunis into darkness has been thwarted, but all is still not well in Nubis, Mia's moonlit kingdom home. The whole city is on guard for another attempt to resurrect the Reaper King. Though imprisoned, his followers, the Elite, are still inside the city, and tensions among the population are at an all-time high. 

Meanwhile, Mia struggles to cope with her new Lightcaster powers and to fit in with the rest of the tamers, many of whom are skeptical of her abilities. But it's the appearance of old friends and new maybe-enemies that will truly put Mia's abilities--and the loyalties of everyone she trusts--to the test.

Karl Hiaasen- ‎ Wrecker - Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 26, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593376287 - Hardback - Age: 9+

Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas—just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Welcome to another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen's Florida!

Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living. 

So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help—in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them. 

Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West—at the marina, in the cemetery, even right outside his own door. And now they want more than his silence—they want a lookout.

He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . .

Lindsay Currie - It Fund Us -  Sourcebooks Young Readers (September 5, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728259499 - Hardback - Age: 7+

From the author of Scritch Scratch and The Girl in White comes a new spooky mystery about a girl detective who must decode a series of ominous clues tied to a century-old tragedy to find a missing teenager before it's too late…

Twelve-year-old Hazel Woods has always had an unusual knack for sleuthing. Some may call it snooping, but all she really wants is to solve mysteries around town. So, when she not-so-accidentally overhears her brother Den planning to sneak into the cemetery at night for an epic game of hide-and-seek, she decides to secretly tag along. This seems like the perfect opportunity to investigate the claims that the cemetery is haunted.

But the moment the game ends, Hazel realizes something is very, very wrong. From her hiding spot in the bushes, she overhears that her brother's best friend, Everett, is missing. Everyone else was found by the seeker but there's no sign of Everett anywhere. It's as if he just . . . vanished

Hazel and Den are determined to find Everett before it's too late. But as they begin to unravel the terrifying clues that started appearing since that night in the graveyard–eerie whispers that sound like someone counting, the intermittent smell of smoke, and the cold, lost presence that follows them everywhere, she's not sure what they are dealing with. But Everett needs more than search parties and scent-tracking dogs to find him, especially if his disappearance is tied to the history of the cemetery, and the lost, century-old spirits that might still be trapped there . . .

Ethan M. Aldridge -  Deephaven - Published by Quill Tree Books (September 5, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063283169 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

From Ethan M. Aldridge, bestselling creator of Estranged, comes a gothic middle-grade prose novel that follows a nonbinary student who is drawn to their boarding school’s forbidden east wing, where something stalks the shadowy corridors. Perfect for fans of J. A. White and Mary Downing Hahn!

When Guinevere "Nev" Tallow receives an acceptance letter to the exclusive Deephaven Academy, they know it’s the fresh start that they’ve been looking for.

But things are strange from the moment they arrive—the house itself seems to breathe, students whisper secrets in dark corridors, and the entire east wing of the academy is locked away for reasons no one wants to explain. And Nev knows something ragged stalks the shadowy corridors, something that sobs quietly and scratches at the walls, waiting to be released.

With the help of another first-year student, Nev takes it upon themself to unravel the mysteries hidden in Deephaven's halls. But will they risk their fresh start to bring the academy’s secret to light?

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Children's Book Picks Feb 2023 - US Published Post

 

Beth Lincoln (Author), Claire Powell (Illustrator) - The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels - Published by  Dutton Books for Young Readers (February 7, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593533239 - Hardback - Age: 7+

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. 
Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.

Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.

So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.

Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.

• Jonathan Starrett - The Architect - Published by Tyndale House Publishers (February 7, 2023) - 
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496466600 - Harback - Age: 8+ 
• There’s a golden rule in Phantom City: “No one about when the Zeppelin is out.” But one night, twelve-year-old Charlie Crane comes face-to-face with the Zeppelin, and instead of finding trouble, she is awakened.
  
  Determined to find the truth in a city plagued with lies, Charlie, along with a quirky band of unlikely heroes, works to free the people of Phantom City from the clutches of a shadowy, evil villain. Helped by a mysterious Architect who only communicates over radio and telephone, Charlie wrestles with two big questions: Can she trust a guide she can't see? And is the truth actually worth the trouble?
  
  Filled with sinister schemes, bumbling superheroes, unexpected friendships, and plenty of humor and plot twists, The Architect keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Boys and girls alike will be fascinated by the unique world of Phantom City, with its steampunk and Gotham City–type elements and will quickly find themselves cheering for our heroes in their fight against evil.

Miya T. Beck - The Pearl Hunter - Published by Balzer + Bray (February 7, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063238190 - Hardback - Age: 8+

Set in a world inspired by pre-Shogun era Japan, this is a stunning debut fantasy in the vein of Grace Lin about how a young pearl diver goes to the ends of the earth to rescue her twin sister, who has been stolen by a ghost whale.

Kai and Kishi share the same futon, the same face, and the same talent for pearl diving. But Kishi is the obedient daughter, while Kai tries to push the rules, and sometimes they fight. Still, when Kishi is stolen and killed by the legendary Ghost Whale, nothing will stop Kai from searching for her, deep in the ocean, hoping for a way to bring her back to life.

But such a rescue is beyond the power of an ordinary mortal. Kai strikes a deal with the gods: she’ll steal a magic pearl in exchange for her sister’s soul. As she journeys across treacherous landscape, Kai must navigate encounters with scheming bandits, a power-hungry warlord, and a legion of conniving fox spirits.  And when a new friendship becomes something almost as powerful as her love for her sister, Kai must make impossible choices and risk everything just to get home again.

Woven through with Japanese culture and legends, this many-layered story will grip readers of all ages.

Misa Sugiura - Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind - Published by Labyrinth Road (February 28, 2023) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593564066 - Hardback - Age 7+ 

All Momo wants for her twelfth birthday is an ordinary life—like everyone else's. At home, she has to take care of her absentminded widowed mother. At school, kids ridicule her for mixing up reality with the magical stories her mother used to tell her.

But then Momo’s mother falls gravely ill, and a death hag straight out of those childhood stories attacks Momo at the mall, where she’s rescued by a talking fox . . . and “ordinary” goes out the window. It turns out that Momo's mother is a banished Shinto goddess who used to protect a long-forgotten passageway to Yomi—a.k.a. the land of the dead. That passageway is now under attack, and countless evil spirits threaten to escape and wreak havoc across the earth.

Joined by Niko the fox and Danny—her former best friend turned popular jerk, whom she never planned to speak to again, much less save the world with—Momo must embrace her (definitely not "ordinary") identity as half human, half goddess to unlock her divine powers, save her mother’s life, and force the demons back to Yomi.