Staff picks are selected each month and archived here. Check back often to find more suggestions for great reading.
To view previous staff picks, please click on the dates below:
November & December 2004
Dragon Rider (Scholastic, $12.95)
Dragon Rider takes the reader along with the dragon Firedrake, a brownie girl named Sorrel and Ben, an orphan destined to be the Dragon Ruler, as they travel around the world on a quest to find the Rime of Heaven, legendary home of the dragons, using a map created by a scholarly rat. As they make their way across oceans and over mountains, a terrible villain watches their progress, hoping they will lead him to the home of the dragons so that he can destroy the last of the dragons who had escaped him long ago. Once you begin the quest with Firedrake, Ben and Sorel you won't want to stop reading. This book makes a great read-aloud for younger children as well as an independent read for those who are older. --Lisa Cody
The Game of Sunken Places (Scholastic, $16.95)
Gregory and his friend Brian are invited to stay at Grenville Manor, Gregory's adopted Uncle Max's Victorian Mansion in Vermont. When they arrive they are forced to relinquish their luggage and dress in the Victorian clothes provided them. They find themselves living as if in another time with a butler, maids, aGregory's shy cousin Prudence, and Uncle Max who is mean and sarcastic and particularly dislikes Brian. Gregory and Brian discover a game board in the nursery. The starting place on the game board is Grenville Manor. When they discover the hourglass that goes with the game and turn it over, they find themselves forced to play the game through and win it before the hourglass runs out. To play the game, they must solve riddles, overcome dangers, and ultimately face the enemy together. --Lisa Cody
The Royal Mice (Little Brown, $16.95)
The Royal Mice is the story of a group of mice who live in the palace of a queen who wants them gone. She hires a big, arrogant cat to do the job, but with a little magic and the help of some ghost mice, the palace mice overcome the cat and win the respect of the queen. The illustrations are attractive with a medieval influence. This story is good for reading aloud to children 4 and older. --Lisa Cody
Hana in the Time of the Tulips (Candlewick, $16.99)
Luxurious illustrations bring seventeenth century Holland to life in this poignant portrait of love between parent and child. Tulip fever is raging and Hana's father is so consumed by making money that he is too preoccupied to pay attention to Hana. When the tulip market crashes, Hana reminds her father of what is truly valuable. A lovely story and relevant to the twenty-first century family. --Jenny Williams
African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa's Royal Women (Hyperion, $16.99)
Beautifully illustrated with paintings and photographs, African Princess brings to life six fascinating women who were very influential during their lifetimes. In addition to being an attractive and enjoyable book for the home library, this collection offers enough detail to be an academic resource. --Jenny Williams
Lu and the Swamp Ghost (Atheneum, $17.95)
Lu's Mama always said, "You're never poor if you have a loving family and one good friend."" Lu has a loving family but no friends, but the Swamp Ghost she meets has no family and no friend. And so Lu and the Swamp Ghost become friends. But is the Swamp Ghost really a ghost? The colorful illustrations and text written in a Southern dialect are entertaining and heart-warming. --Emma Casale
Mira Mirror (Penguin Putnam, $17.99)
Have you ever wondered about the talking mirror in Snow White? Mette Ivie Harrison tells the story of how an apprentice witch named Mira first becomes the witch's mirror and what happens to the mirror after the witch loses her. This is a fascinating reimagining of some of the events surrounding Snow White with complex and interesting characters and plot. I highly recommend this book to fantasy and fairy tale fans. (Ages 10+) --Emma Casale
Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the
High Seas (Penguin Putnam, $17.99)
Artemesia hits her head at Angel's Academy for Young Maidens and remembers her childhood on a pirate ship with her mother the pirate queen. She escapes from her boarding school and goes in search of her mother's old crew. She convinces the crew to steal a ship and turn to piracy, and then she is forced to face off with another pirate queen, Goldie Girl, and her ship The Enemy. A rollicking, swash-buckling adventure of a novel. Very funny. (Ages 10+) --Emma Casale
Betsy and the Emperor (Simon & Schuster, $16.95)
When Napoleon Bonaparte was sent into exile on St. Helena in 1815, he lived with the Balcombe family and befriended their daughter Betsy Balcombe. This story exposes the softer side of Napoleon as well as following the development of Betsy Balcombe from a girl into a young woman, it is both funny and poignant. This is my favorite novel to be released during this fall season and I highly recommend it. This novel is based on the true story of Napoleon and Betsy Balcombe as indicated in the Author's note at the end of the novel. --Emma Casale