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Kirkus Reviews’ roll out of their Best Books list is almost complete. Out today are their picks of the Best Nonfiction (adult) and Best Indie titles, drawn from the Kirkus Indie program (publishers pay $425 or $575 per title, for “Standard service” or “Express service” reviews).
The indie list includes titles from self-publishers iUniverse and Amazon’s CreateSpace.
Ralph Fiennes’ debut as a director, for the adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, is currently in a one week Oscar-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles, (the full run begins on Jan. 20).
It was just announced that Felicity Jones will play Charles Dickens’ alleged mistress in Fiennes’ second directorial effort, The Invisible Woman, based on Claire Tomalin’s The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens, (RH/Knopf, 1991). Shooting is planned for sometime in 2012, which happens to be the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth.
Tomalin’s new book, a full-length biography of Dickens, incorporates material from the earlier one. Other scholars, such as Peter Ackroyd have concluded that Dickens’ relationship with Ternan, whom he met when she was 18 and he was in his mid-forties, was strictly a friendship. Tomalin argues that not only was she his mistress, but they had a child together.
Tomalin talks about Dickens (but not about Ternan) in the following video:
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Last year, the New York Times infuriated many of us by claiming that parents were pushing their early elementary children into chapter books, causing new picture books to “languish on the shelves” and publishers to release fewer titles.
This year’s many exciting new picture books stand as proof that is not true. Below are my favorites, perfect for gift giving.
We still love chapter books; watch for my selection of the year’s best tomorrow, followed by middle grade and YA favorites.
What Animals Really Like written and illustrated by Fiona Robinson, Abrams, 15.95. Ages 5+
Mr. Herbert Timberteeth, a beaver has composed a song about what he thinks animals enjoy — lions should like to prowl, wolves to howl and the pigeons to coo. His concert is disrupted when the animals insist on singing about what they really like. The cows like to dig, the warthogs like to blow big enormous bubbles and the kangaroos prefer ping-pong to hopping around. Absurdly humorous illustrations complete the package for a terrific read-aloud.
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Candlewick $15.99, Ages 6 and up
Fans of Emily Gravett’s The Odd Egg and Wolves (both S&S) will welcome this deceptively simple story of a bear who has lost his pointy red hat. His very polite exchanges with the other forest animals that aren’t very helpful. The deadpan humor will tickle the most jaded funny bone while beginning readers will delight that the limited vocabulary speaks volumes.
Blackout by John Rocco, Disney/ Hyperion ages 5 an up
It is evening and the family is very busy, too busy to play a board game with a little sister. Mom is working at the computer, Dad is cooking dinner and the older sister is on the phone. The little girl is resigned to playing a video game all alone when suddenly the lights go out. Rocco’s cartoon graphic panels capture the fear and excitement of the totally dark city in the shadows of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Clarion Books
Little sisters can be embarrassing. Little sisters can be annoying. Little sisters snoop and can’t keep secrets. This collection of narrative poems describe the relationship, the ups and downs, the good and the bad between Jessica, the narrator and her little sister Emma.
Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell, Hachette/LBYR, 15.99 Ages 6 and up
In this picture book biography we see primatologist, environmentalist Jane Goodall as a little girl with her stuffed chimpanzee named Jubilee. Together they observe the natural world – birds making their nests, spiders spinning their webs and squirrels chasing one another up and down trees. McDonnell intersperses his signature sweet cartoons with Goodall’s own original sketches and notes.
You will Be My Friend! By Peter Brown, 16.99 Little Brown ages 5+
Lucy, the bear from Children Make Terrible Pets is aggressively looking for friend. She is very excited about turning cartwheels, having picnics, climbing trees, and going swimming with each new friend. Finding a compatible playmate isn’t that easy. The frogs are too wet and small. The skunk is too smelly and Lucy is a little too big to fit in with the rabbits. Will she ever find the “just right” friend?
A Zeal of Zebras written and illustrated by Woop Studio, Chronicle, 17.99
This arty trip through the alphabet pairs collective nouns with 26 colorful prints.
Did you know that a group of pandas is called an embarrassment? Did you know that a herd of Gnus is an implausibility?
The Information about the animals is accurate and will delight wordsmiths and artists alike.
The Queen of France by Tim Wadham, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Candlewick, 16.99 ages 5+
“When Rose woke up that morning she felt royal. She opened the box of jewelry. She put on the necklaces. She put on the bracelets. She went to the make-believe basket. She put on the crown.” Rose’s mom and dad play along as she pretends to be royalty and goes about her day. The perfect read aloud for all those little girls begging for a princess book.
Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan illustrated by Stéphane Jorish, Dial, 16.99
Betty Bunny, the youngest of four children, tries chocolate cake for the first time. She loves it. She loves it so much that she says, “When I grow up I am going to marry chocolate cake!” When Betty discovers that she can’t have her favorite food for every meal, she turns into a “handful.” Realistic family relationships create a warm light tone as Betty learns how to manage her impulsive behavior.
The Family Storybook Treasury: Tales of Laughter, Curiosity and Fun, HMH, 18.99
This oversized compendium includes eight classic picture books like Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh, Nancy Shaw’s rhyming wonder Sheep in a Jeep and the rambunctious bedtime favorite Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. The volume also includes poems by eight renowned poets including Kristine O’Connell George, Nikki Grimes and Bob Raczka.
Stephen King fans have been busy unearthing Easter eggs in the unusual online promo for A&E’s two-night, four-hour mini series based on his novel Bag of Bones, starring Pierce Brosnan. The site, billed as a prequel to the series, features creepy black and white photos laden with King references.
A more traditional, but equally creepy, trailer is also online.
The tie-in is available in mass market and trade editions.
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So, there I was in the Bank Street College Bookstore, looking for my holiday gifts when I found myself helping other shoppers find the perfect book for their nieces, nephews, grandchildren and young cousins. I must have lost track of time and was startled when I heard my husband shout over from the stairs, “She doesn’t work here! Lisa, get back to your own shopping!”
My gift to readers for this holiday season is the 4th annual Books to Give Kids You Don’t Know Very Well. This is the time of year when we’re asked to recommend titles for that 4-year-old niece who is dying to learn to read (Mo Willems, Elephant and Piggie books, Disney/Hyperion), chapter books for that five-year-old emerging reader who lives in another state (Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick), the young adult cousin who can’t wait for the Hunger Games movie, (Divergent by Veronica Roth, HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan; Legend by Marie Lu, Penguin/Putnam; or Variant by Robinson Wells, HarperTeen).
I’ve organized the selections by age levels and interest; below are suggestions for younger children and for kids who just don’t like books (yet).
Here’s the links to the rest of the lists
Baby Animals, a series that includes the titles Pets, In the Jungle and In the Forest, various authors, Macmillan/Kingfisher. $5.99 each
Heavy stock board covered with close-up glossy photos of adorable baby gorillas, parrots and deer (there’s a reason CuteOverload.com is so popular).
The More We Get Together and You Are My Sunshine illus. by Caroline Jayne Church, Scholastic, $6.99 each
Shiny metallic covers envelope two classic songs with quietly sweet illustrations that embody friendship and love.
Little Black Book and Little Pink Book by Renée Khatami, Random House. $8.99 each
From the soft fluffy “touch and feel” fur of the black bunny to the page “seek and find” of licorice shapes, these are delightfully interactive color concept books.
If You’re Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre, pictures by Jackie Urbanovic, HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 16.99
A joyously buoyant retelling of the song “If your happy and you know it” with hoppy bunnies, growly bears and flappy butterflies.
I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, S&S/Atheneum, 14.99
A little boy is missing his stuffed monkey. Willy reminisces about past events that Bobo helped him through like going down a steep slide and walking past a big dog. He has looked everywhere! There isn’t a family who hasn’t experienced the loss of a treasured comfort object.
Mine! by Shutta Crum, pictures by Patrice Barton, RH/Knopf, 16.99
A toddler explains to a baby that the toys – a stuffed giraffe, starfish, airplane and ball are “Mine…mine…mine” until the dog decides that they all need a good washing.
Bears! Bears! Bears! by Bob Barner, Chronicle, 14.95
Cut paper collage and rhyming words depict a variety of bears from “Polar bears dive for an icy seal” to “Sun bears lick up a sticky meal” in this fact-filled information book.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Hachette/Little Brown, $16.99
Beginning with the endpapers as the moon smiles benevolently down on the woodland creatures, we sing the familiar tune. As dusk descends, we follow a chipmunk on a fantasy journey into the evening sky and back again. Caldecott winner, Pinkney paints a dreamy bedtime tale.
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka, RH/Schwartz and Wade, 16.99
A wordless tour de force, Raschka paints in loose lines rendering a dog who is enthralled with big red ball. He rolls with it, bounces with it and naps with it on the comfy green and blue striped couch. One day at the dog park, the ball is snatched by another dog and burst. We see that our little dog is bereft as the pictures display the stages of grief over his loss. Don’t worry, although it takes time, things do turn out all right.
A book?! (the child’s face falls in disappointment as the wrapping is torn off). If that is the anticipated reaction, let’s try to turn it around.
Aesop’s Fables: A Pop-up Book of Classic Tales, illustrated by Chris Beatrice and Bruce Whatley, Little Simon, 27.99, Ages 5 and up
Familiar tales like The Lion and the Mouse and The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg are rendered in 3-D, pop-up glory. The lion leaps off the page struggling in the hunter’s ropes, Tortoise and Rabbit inhabit a lush garden while Crow teases a Fox at the top of a tree that looms twice the book width high.
Bob Staake’s Look! A Book!: A Zany Seek-And-Find Adventure, Hachette/Little Brown 16.99, Ages 3 and up
For the fans of the Walter Wick, I Spy Books, this is a volume jam-packed with graphic silly, absurd and teeny tiny images to engage readers. This is the book for the holiday trip on trains, planes and automobiles.
How to Speak Wookie: A Manual for Intergalactic Communication by Wu Kee Smith, Illustrations by JAKe, Chronicle, 16.95
No really. Want give a Wookie directions in a starship? “AHH ARGH, ARRGHH!” That phrase translates to “Turn Right. Right!” or “Jump to hyperspace”? AARRR WWGGH WAANH” If we are still unsure of the correct pronunciation, the author has provided digital audio for ten commonly used Wookie phrases. I can’t stop playing with it.
The Worst-Case Scenario: Survive-0-pedia Junior Edition, Chronicle, 16.99
This one is an accidental pick. Faced with two boys that needed to be entertained for a couple of hours while waiting for the Thanksgiving turkey, I grabbed this from a stack of book. It worked. Want to know how to survive an avalanche? A shipwreck? Living on a deserted island? An active volcano? No problem. Start reading.
Next week, look out for Lou Beach‘s quirky debut story collection based on Facebook posts, along with a new novel from Anita Desai and the relaunch of an old one by Paul Theroux. Veteran P.D. James delivers a murder mystery in the form of a sequel to Pride and Prejudice that is already getting attention. In nonfiction, there’s an original title from the Dalai Lama, along with Richard Bonin‘s look at Ahmed Chalabi’s role in shaping contemporary Iraq.
420 Characters by Lou Beach (Houghton Mifflin) is a collection of very short stories that originally appeared as Facebook status updates. Library Journal says, “there are some books you like, others that you don’t, and that rare book that you like in spite of yourself. This book fits into the latter category… Like a tasting menu, these stories add up to something wonderful.”
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (RH/Knopf; Random House Large Print; Random House Audio) subjects the characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to a murder mystery. It’s set in 1803, six years after Elizabeth and Darcy began their life together at Pemberley, when their idyll is shattered by Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who announces that her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been murdered. NPR’s Fresh Air featured it on Tuesday, calling it “a glorious plum pudding of a whodunit,” adding James “ferrets out the alternative noir tales that lurk in the corners of Pride and Prejudice, commonly thought of as Austen’s sunniest novel. Ruinous matches, The Napoleonic Wars, early deaths, socially enforced female vulnerability: Austen keeps these shadows at bay, while James noses deep into them.” We’ve put this on our “Watch List” because it may bring James a whole new audience.
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai (Houghton Mifflin) includes three novellas about characters struggling with modernization and Indian culture, by the author thrice shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Kirkus says, “reading Desai’s poignant and wry new effort offers a modest pleasure that suits its fragile characters. A deft exploration of the limits people place on themselves by trying to cling to the past.”
Murder in Mount Holly by Paul Theroux (Grove/Atlantic/Mysterious Press) is a caper novel set in the 1960s and first published in the U.K. in 1969, which follows a draftee, his mother and her amateur criminal lover in the small American town of Mount Holly. Booklist says “its a slim twig of a book, but it’s howlingly funny and will stay with readers for a long time,” but PW finds it “subpar” for the writer best known for his travel books.
Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell (Penguin/Putnam; Thorndike Press; Penguin Audio) finds Kay Scarpetta’s former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, has been murdered, and she wants to know why. It began rising on Amazon 10/25/11, and is at #78 as of 12/1/11. Publishers Weekly says, “As in other recent work, Cornwell overloads the plot, but Scarpettas tangled emotional state and her top-notch forensic knowledge more than compensate.”
Witch & Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson and Jill Dembowski (Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) is the climax of the Witch & Wizard fantasy series, in which sister and brother battle a merciless totalitarian regime.
Ruthless by Sara Shepard (HarperTeen) is book ten of the Pretty Little Liars series. High school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer are back – and this time must face a ruthless stalker who wants to make them pay for their darkest secret. The new season of the ABC TV Family series based on the books begins on January 2.
Big Miracle (originally, Everybody Loves Whales) by Tom Rose (Macmillan/St. Martin’s/Griffin; Dreamscape Audio) is the story of a reporter and a Greenpeace activist who enlisted the Cold War superpowers to help save a whale trapped under Arctic ice in 1988, written by a conservative talk show host. This edition ties in to the movie adaptation opening February 3, starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore. PW says, “the book is most compelling when it focuses on the simple drama of the whales plight and the extraordinary lives the people of Barrow eke from the harsh elements; its less interesting when it strays into antibig government polemics and caricatures of limousine liberal environmentalists.”
Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Alexander Norman (Houghton Mifflin; Brilliance Audio) continues the Dalai Lama’s case for a universal ethics rooted in compassion. PW says, “This wise, humane book, an original work rather than a collection of talks, is an incisive statement of His Holinesss’s thinking on ways to bring peace to a suffering world.”
Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi’s Long Journey to Triumph in Iraq by Richard Bonin (RH/Doubleday; Random House Audio) examines an Iraqi exile’s ultimately successful attempts to have Saddam overthrown. Kirkus says that “the book occasionally suffers from myopia as all of the events are seen through the lens of Chalabi,” and predicts that “this crisp, clean book won’t be the last word on the perplexing events in Iraq, but for now it’s one of the better ones.”
Inside SEAL Team Six: My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors by Don Mann and Ralph Pezzullo (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) chronicles the service of a SEAL team member and instructor.
The founder of the literary mashup, Seth Grahame-Smith, has just announced a movie deal for his next book, Unholy Night, (Hachette/Grand Central, 4/10/12) a retelling of the story of the Three Kings of the Nativity.
The film adaptation of Grahame-Smith’s second mashup novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is set to be released (in 3-D, of course) this coming June.
The adaptation of the first in the genre, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, has had a troubled history. Blake Lively was the latest in a string of actresses to turn down the lead role, following Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Mia Wasikowska and Rooney Mara. In late October, the film’s third director left the project.
Marti Noxon, who wrote the most recent script, told Movies.com recently that she finds it a “a little baffling,” that the project is taking so long to get off the ground but feels it’s “very hard to sell a comedy-horror concept” right now, making it “hard to find an actress who is super hot” to play the lead.
That’s likely to change if Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a success.
The steampunk novel, Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest (Macmillan/Tor, 2009) was an EarlyWord readers’ favorite books.
It’s also caught the eye of Hollywood and has been signed for a film adaptation. The script is being written, but no director or cast has been named yet.
It’s the first in a series, followed by,
Dreadnought, (Macmillan/Tor, 2010)
Ganymede, (Macmillan/Tor; Sept., 2011)
Inexplicable, according to the author’s Web site, the fourth volume in the series will arrive in fall, 2012, followed by the fifth, Fiddlehead the following year.
Movie premieres are so yesterday. Now we’re expected to get all breathless over the world premiere of a movie’s trailer.
Good Morning America did just that yesterday for the “world premiere ” of the trailer of Disney’s John Carter. Never mind that a teaser trailer came out in July, this is the full-length trailer. There’s still a bit of a wait for the real thing; it doesn’t hit theaters until March 9th.
The movie is based largely on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, (available in trade pbk from RH/Modern Library; it was originally published as a magazine series in 1917) the first title in the John Carter novels. Burroughs also wrote the Tarzan series.
Friday Night Lights‘ Taylor Kitsch plays the title role. In 2012, he will also appear in Oliver Stone’s Savages, along with John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Benicio Del Toro. It is based on the book by Don Winslow (S&S, 2010).
Below is the full trailer:
School Library Journal has just posted the editors’ picks of the best books of 2011 — 65 selections in all.
UPDATE, 12/23:
We’re happy to announce that our annual spreadsheets, rounding up all the titles in the national best books lists, with ISBN’s and information on additional formats — audio, large print, and eformats from OverDrive — are now available for downloading and checking against your collections.
The world’s priciest cook book, Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold (The Cooking Lab, $625) is one of 19 titles on the New York Times list of the year’s most notable cookbooks. The annotation states, “The recipes are likely to drive home cooks mad, but the photography is both revolutionary and museum-worthy.”
Not everything is out of reach, however; it explains how to create cappuccino art.
It’s in six volumes, so it’s more like an encyclopedia than a single cook book. As we noted earlier, some libraries have decided to buy it precisely because it’s so expensive, and thus out of reach for many of their customers.
The first printing sold out, but it is now back in stock at wholesalers.
Tina Fey may add a Grammy to her many awards. Her best selling audio recording of Bossypants (Hachette Audio) was announced as a nominee in the Best Spoken Word category at last night’s Grammy Nomination Concert (full list of nominees here). Winners will be named on Feb. 12.
It has already been selected as one of the year’s best audios by AudioFile magazine. For our money, it’s already won the Most Disturbing Cover of the year.
The other nominees are:
Fab Fan Memories – The Beatles Bond; Nathan Burbank, Bryan Cumming, Dennis Scott & David Toledo, producers, WannaBeats Records
Hamlet, William Shakespeare; Dan Donohue & Various Artists – Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Blackstone Audio
If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t), Betty White, Penguin Audio
The Mark Of Zorro, Val Kilmer & Cast, Blackstone Audio
TNT kicked off a series of movies based on popular novels last night with an adaptation of Scott Turow’s Innocent (full line-up, with tie-ins, here).
The cable channel just announced that the series will continue in the spring, beginning with an adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s Hornet’s Nest, (Penguin/Putnam, 1996), the first in the three-book Andy Brazil novels. In this title, two detectives, played by Virginia Madsen and and Sherry Stringfield (ER), investigate a serial killer and are joined by young reporter Brazil, played by Robbie Amell.
It began filming in Wilmington, NC this week.
The other two books Andy Brazil books are Southern Cross (Penguin/Putnam, 1999) and Isle of Dogs (Penguin/Putnam, 2001). They were not as well-received as Cornwell’s series featuring the forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta (the latest in that series, Red Mist, is coming next week).
