“Cumming’s illustrations affectionately capture a child’s-eye view of the immensity and wonder of the world and have many funny touches.” from the red boat
FITZ
Cochrane, Mick Knopf (192 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99 Nov. 13, 2012 978-0-375-85683-9 978-0-375-89773-3 e-book 978-0-375-95683-6 PLB A high school sophomore kidnaps his estranged father at gunpoint. Fitzgerald, or Fitz as he calls himself, has never met his biological father. His mother is maddeningly evasive on the subject, but Fitz learns that his father, a wealthy lawyer, lives nearby from the address on the monthly child support checks. He obtains a gun with unbelievable ease from a schoolyard drug dealer and hatches a plan to hold his dad hostage with the vague notion of getting “a lump sum of his father’s time and attention. Back pay.” Despite the sinister presence of the gun and his father’s initial shock, the two are soon enjoying a pleasant day out together, which includes a trip to the zoo and lunch at a diner. But Fitz quickly realizes that it will take more than one afternoon to bond with this person who is essentially a stranger. “What you get at gunpoint, that’s not love…you can take a guy’s car, but you can’t jack someone’s heart.” The distant, third-person, present-tense narration fails to convey the emotional urgency of the provocative premise, and the gun, which is hardly mentioned after its initial appearance and harmlessly discharged once near the end, feels like a titillating contrivance added on to spice up an otherwise unremarkable story of father/ son conflict. Ends not with a bang, but a whimper. (Fiction. 12-15)
THE LAZARUS MACHINE
Crilley, Paul Pyr/Prometheus Books (280 pp.) $16.95 | Nov. 6, 2012 978-1-61614-688-7 Series: A Tweed & Nightingale Adventure, 1 A series opener, Crilley’s steampunk adventure follows an unlikely duo to the underworld of Victorian London. Coldly rational and from the bad part of town, Tweed is 17 when his father is kidnapped. Headstrong and highborn, Octavia is about the same age, only her mother has been missing a year, so she has had more time to gather facts on the likely culprits. A nebulous Ministry is at the center of their suspicions, as are the resurrected characters of Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes and a nefarious mastermind. Octavia’s father turns a blind eye to her comings and goings, and Tweed has no mother, but the two receive help from a mildly entertaining couple Tweed and his father know. This seemingly low-bred pair of lovebirds adds one of the few human touches to a story that is too full of gadgets and machinations 2260 | 1 October 2012 | children ’s
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for most readers to keep track of. The primary action of the book is a break-in at the Ministry beneath London that Tweed and Octavia execute with success, only to find all is not what they expected. Though the style of writing is simple and engaging enough, the story itself goes in too many directions to follow, leaving open too many loose ends for readers to know exactly what they are looking for in the next installment. Too complicated to engage. (Steampunk. 12 & up)
THE RED BOAT
Cumming, Hannah Illus. by Cumming, Hannah Child’s Play (32 pp.) $16.99 | Nov. 1, 2012 978-1-84643-493-8 A “magic” boat offers a lonely girl a whole new world...of imagination. Little Posy, whose unruly mane of red hair is nearly as large as her body, is apprehensive about the big new house her family has just moved to. The people next door seem strange, and her new bedroom is too dark at night; she only has her faithful yellow dog George to keep her company. And what will her new school be like? In the backyard, Posy and George find a red rowboat under some bushes, and they play in it all afternoon. That night, Posy can’t sleep and sneaks into the backyard with George to play in the boat again. This time, they float all the way to the South Pole, where they meet some polar bears. On subsequent nights, they play hide-and-seek on the moon and visit a large plain that’s home to an amazing variety of friendly animals. Posy’s nighttime adventures and George’s moral support give her courage, and she boldly greets her new neighbors and makes many friends at school, with no problem. Cumming’s illustrations affectionately capture a child’s-eye view of the immensity and wonder of the world and have many funny touches. Her text is crisp and direct, an ideal complement. A deftly delivered lesson on facing life’s little challenges. (Picture book. 3-6)
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? How Schoolchildren Eat Around the World Curtis, Andrea Photos by Duivenvoorden, Yvonne Red Deer Press (40 pp.) $12.95 paperback | Oct. 15, 2012 978-0-88995-482-3
“Organic,” “sustainable” and “food miles” all appear in the comprehensive glossary of this book, whose simple title and cover photograph imply a basic approach to the international topic of food. This very political book, biased toward food equity, explains why certain foods are eaten in certain countries and why school lunches are important. They fill various needs, from the
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