  Just Books
T H E R E D B A L L O O N B O O K S H O P B O O K R E V I E W | April 2011 For the Love of Reading for All Ages ISSUE: 12
|   The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
(2011, $17.99 HC, ages 8-12)
Kate, Michael, and Emma have to find the Emerald Atlas that separated their family. Luckily, they can travel back into time to secure it so it can’t be stolen and used against them. Of course they don’t get it right the first few times, so history gets changed. One of them even gets left behind. This story is packed with action and excitement. - Julie Poling, RBB Bookseller
Other books by John Stephens.
  Across the Universe by Beth Revis
(2011, $17.99 HC, ages 12+)
I usually don’t read science fiction, but I really like this book about Amy and her parents being frozen so they can travel 300 years into the future. When Amy is unfrozen early, she joins Elder the future leader of the ship to figure out what is really happening. Reading about the community on the spaceship and how the spaceship was designed was interesting, and I liked the romance between Amy and Elder. It’s a good book for teenagers who like science fiction and romances. - Abby J., 15, Plymouth
  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
(2010, $15.00 PB Adult Fiction)
I'm a sucker for historical fiction—I love anything by Chevalier or Susan Vreeland. In this story, Mary Anning and her fellow fossil-hunter Elizabeth were "remarkable creatures" indeed, and I loved the story, the setting, everything! Teens would also enjoy this one. - Barb Bassett, RBB Bookseller (RBB Bookseller Julie Poling loved it also!)
Other books by Tracy Chevalier.
  Lit by Mary Karr
(2010, $14.99, PB Adult fiction)
Mary Karr writes about the birth of her son, her struggles with alcohol addiction and recovery, and her personal journey to faith in her newest memoir. This book is not for everyone, but those who like redemption stories will appreciate Karr’s eloquence and honesty. - Barb V., RBB Bookseller
Other books by Mary Karr.
~ QuickViews ~ from the staff of The Red Balloon
Children’s Books
Piggy Pie Po is a great story for toddlers! - Willi
Preschoolers will giggle over Chicken Big. - Justine
The Little Red Pen—good read aloud with lots of grade school humor. - Willi
Monkey See, Monkey Draw—a fun art story for teachers or parents but weird-looking blue monkeys with human faces. -Willi
The charming stuffed-animal characters from The Quiet Book experience lots of “louds” in the fun The Loud Book! New this month. - Barb V.
The Gollywhopper Games—laugh-out loud funny. - Anneke K.
Young Adult
Pathfinder—good characters and dialogue. - Joan
Words in the Dust is filled with triumphs and tragedies for an Afghani girl with a cleft lip. - Willi
Adult
Just finished The Cookbook Collector—loved the characters and their quirks. - Barb B.
I loved The Tale of Halcyon Crane—and now it’s a Minnesota Book Award winner! - Barb V.
| Patricia MacLachlan to Write Boxcar Children Prequel
Newbery Medalist (Sarah, Plain and Tall) Patricia MacLachlan will write a prequel to Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children series, which has sold more than 50 million copies since its debut in 1942. The publisher annually adds four novels to this series about four big-hearted and clever orphaned siblings. Warner authored the first 19 of the 150 installments currently in print. MacLachlan’s prequel will be released in September 2012 and will be published simultaneously as an e-book. For more information, go here
Book Sales vs. E-book Sales
For the year to date (January/February 2011 vs January/February 2010), which encompasses this heavy post-holiday buying period, e-Books grew 169.4% to $164.1M while the combined categories of print books fell 24.8% to $441.7M.
For February 2011, e-Books ranked as the #1 format among all categories of Trade publishing (Adult Hardcover, Adult Paperback, Adult Mass Market, Children’s/Young Adult Hardcover, Children’s/Young Adult Paperback).
This one-month surge is primarily attributed to a high level of strong post-holiday e-Book buying, or “loading,” by consumers who received e-Reader devices as gifts. Experts note that the expanded selection of e-Readers introduced for the holidays and the broader availability of titles are factors.
Source: Association of American Publishers website article dated April 14, 2011.
Minnesota Book Awards Winners Announced
The Red Balloon Bookshop congratulates Minnesota Book Award winners Michael Hall and Pete Hautman. Michael Hall won the Award for Children’s Literature for his picture book My Heart is Like a Zoo, his first book for children; Hall’s second book, Perfect Square, was published in March 2011. Pete Hautman won the Award for Young People’s Literature for his young adult book Blank Confessions. Hautman is the author of nearly a dozen books for adults and young readers including Godless, which won the National Book Award. For more information on the Minnesota Book Awards, go here .
Children's Authors & Illustrators with April Birthdays
How Many Have You Read?
Click on their name for a listing of their books | Hans Christian Andersen - April 2, 1805
Johanna Reis - April 4, 1932
Richard Peck - April 5, 1934
Graeme Base - April 6, 1958
Margaret Peterson Haddix - April 9, 1964
Martin Waddell - April 10, 1941
Beverly Cleary - April 12, 1916
Gary Soto - April 12, 1952
Erik Christian Haugaard - April 13, 1923
Marguerite Henry - April 13, 1899
Phyllis Root - April 14, 1949
Jacqueline Briggs Martin - April 15, 1945
Garth Williams - April 16, 1921 |
Mary Hoffman - April 20, 1945
Barbara Park - April 21, 1947
Eileen Christelow - April 22, 1943
Paula Fox - April 22, 1923
Maud Hart Lovelace - April 25, 1892
Patricia Reilly Giff - April 26, 1935
Ludwig Bemelmans - April 27, 1898
John Burningham - April 27, 1936
Shaw Nancy - April 27, 1946
Lois Duncan - April 28, 1934
Amy Hest - April 28, 1950
Harper Lee - April 28, 1926
Jill Paton Walsh - April 29, 1937
| Looking Ahead
 Our May 2011 issue of will mark the one-year anniversary of Just Books. In our second year we will introduce you to a Minnesota author or illustrator each month in our new feature “What You Probably Didn’t Know.” Meet Minnesota author and illustrator David LaRochelle in our May issue.
Remember to check our website for upcoming book events! You can sign up for our free e-mail companion newsletter News & Events there as well. We always love to hear from our readers so send your book reviews and suggestions to rbbnewsletter@aol.com. Teachers, please consider having your class do book reviews and send them to us. Also, please encourage the young people in your life to do book reviews—we will include their names and ages next to their reviews. We encourage you to forward this newsletter to any of your friends who might be interested in subscribing. (To subscribe, simply e-mail to rbbnewsletter@aol.com with Just Books in the subject field. Be sure to include the e-mail address you want it sent to.)
Good news! If you like reading e-books, we now sell Google eBooks.
Happy reading from all of us at The Red Balloon! - Barb Vaughan, Editor
   THE RED BALLOON BOOKSHOP - 891 Grand Ave, SaintPaul,MN. - 651-224-8320 - rbbnewsletter@aol.com | |
