Featured Books: June 2009

	Destroy All Cars By Blake Nelson $17.99 / 9780545104746 / Scholastic Press Offers the story of staunch anti-consumerist James Hoff, his efforts to change the world, and the impact his beliefs are having on the relationships he has with the people in his life--including his ex-girlfriend, Sadie, who plays a more powerful role in his world than he would like to admit. Best for grades: 10-12.

	Catmagic By Holly Webb $5.99 / 9780545124140 / Scholastic Paperbacks Although initially unhappy about having to spend the summer with her uncle while her mother was away at work, Lottie Grace gets the surprise of her life when she discovers that the animals at his pet store can speak and are more than eager to talk to her! Best for grade: 4-6.

	Bethany the Ballet Fairy By Daisy Meadows $4.99 / 9780545106153 / Scholastic Paperbacks The ballet at Kirsty's school is sure to be a disaster without Bethany's magic ribbon. Rachel and Kirsty must help Bethany, the ballet fairy, find her magic ribbon so that everyone can enjoy the ballet. Can the girls outwit the goblins in time? Find the magic ribbon in each book, and help keep the Dance Fairies on their toes! Best for grades: 2-3.

	Jade the Disco Fairy By Daisy Meadows $4.99 / 9780545106160 / Scholastic Paperbacks The disco at Kirsty's school is sure to be a disaster without Jade's magic ribbon. Rachel and Kirsty must help Jade, the disco fairy, find her magic ribbon so that everyone can enjoy the disco. Can the girls outwit the goblins in time? Find the magic ribbon in each book, and help keep the Dance Fairies on their toes! Best for grades: 2-3.

	Jessica the Jazz Fairy By Daisy Meadows $4.99 / 9780545106214 / Scholastic Paperbacks The jazz at Kirsty's school is sure to be a disaster without Jessica's magic ribbon. Rachel and Kirsty must help Jessica, the jazz fairy, find her magic ribbon so that everyone can enjoy the jazz. Can the girls outwit the goblins in time? Find the magic ribbon in each book, and help keep the Dance Fairies on their toes! Best for grades: 2-3.

	Rebecca the Rock 'n' Roll Fairy By Daisy Meadows $4.99 / 9780545106184 / Scholastic Paperbacks The rock 'n' roll at Kirsty's school is sure to be a disaster without Rebecca's magic ribbon. Rachel and Kirsty must help Rebecca, the rock 'n' roll fairy, find her magic ribbon so that everyone can enjoy the rock 'n' roll. Can the girls outwit the goblins in time? Find the magic ribbon in each book, and help keep the Dance Fairies on their toes! Best for grades: 2-3.

	When I Grow Up By Leonid Gore $16.99 / 9780545085977 / Scholastic Press Comparing a rain drop that becomes a river and a small green plant that grows into a massive tree, a little boy and his father contemplate all the many wonderful things he may become in the future in this imaginative tale for preschoolers. In the end, the boy's greatest inspiration comes from the simplest of sources: his father's love. Best for ages: 5-6.

	Girlforce By Nikki Goldstein $14.99 / 9781599903545 / Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Examining the three elemental energies of Air, Fire, and Earth and the way they impact the mind, body, and soul, this informative guide for teen girls provides tips and techniques for improving one's self through balance, exercise, and stress-relieving techniques along with empowering messages to increase self-esteem, fashion advice, and much more. Best for grades: 7-9.

	Backcast By Lou Ureneck $13.95 / 9780312384890 / St. Martin's Griffin While father and son fishing trips can be the stuff of American legend, they can also turn out to be the stuff of anger, love and self-discovery. In his memoir of a fishing trip through the Alaskan wilderness, Lou Ureneck brings to life the struggle to reclaim the trust of his teenage son, Adam, following his divorce. Part adventure story, part reconciliation with life’s unexpected turns, and part commentary on the healing power of nature, Backcast explores the world of a man confronted by the hard choices divorce can bring to create a moving meditation on fatherhood.

	The Glassblower of Murano By Marina Fiorato $13.95 / 9780312386986 / St. Martin's Griffin Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists, Corradino Manin, sells his methods and his soul to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his secret daughter. In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with that of her ancestor and the treacherous secrets of his life begin to come to light.

	Come Sunday By Isla Morley $25.00 / 9780374126872 / Farrar Straus Giroux Abbe Deighton is a woman who has lost her bearings. Once a child of the African plains, she is now settled in Hawaii, married to a minister, and waging her battles in a hallway of monotony. There is the leaky roof, the chafing expectations of her husband’s congregation, and the constant demands of motherhood. But in an instant, beginning with the skid of tires, Abbe’s battlefield is transformed when her three-year-old daughter is killed, triggering in Abbe a seismic grief that will cut a swath through the landscape of her life and her identity.

	I Am Not Sidney Poitier By Percival Everett $16.00 / 9781555975272 / Graywolf Press Percival Everett’s hilarious new novel follows Not Sidney’s tumultuous life, as the social hierarchy scrambles to balance his skin color with his fabulous wealth. Maturing under the less-than watchful eye of his adopted foster father, Ted Turner, Not gets arrested in rural Georgia for driving while black, sparks a dinnertable explosion at the home of his manipulative girlfriend, and sleuths a murder case in Smut Eye, Alabama, all while navigating the recurrent communication problem: “What’s your name?” a kid would ask. “Not Sidney,” I would say. “Okay, then what is it?”

	The Last Child By John Hart $24.95 / 9780312359324 / Minotaur Books A year after the disappearance of his twin sister, thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon risks everything in a final, desperate search through the dark side of his hometown with the aid of a giant-sized man, while detective Clyde Hunt, unable to forget the unsolved case, chooses to break from convention when a second child goes missing.

	A Prayer for the Dying By Stewart O'Nan $14.00 / 9780312428914 / Picador USA Set just after the Civil War, A Prayer for the Dying is the story of a small Wisconsin town gripped by a mysterious, deadly epidemic, and one man desperate to save it. Torn between his loyalty to his family, his faith in God, and his terror of this vicious disease, Jacob Hansen struggles to preserve his sanity amid the chaos and violence around him.

	Seeds of Terror By Gretchen Peters $25.95 / 9780312379278 / Thomas Dunne Books Seeds of Terror will reshape the way you think about America's enemies, revealing them less as ideologues and more as criminals who earn half a billion dollars every year off the opium trade. With the breakneck pace of a thriller, author Gretchen Peters traces their illicit activities from vast poppy fields in southern Afghanistan to heroin labs run by Taliban commanders, from drug convoys armed with Stinger missiles to the money launderers of Karachi and Dubai.

	An Edible History of Humanity By Tom Standage $26.00 / 9780802715883 / Walker & Company Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes—caused, enabled, or influenced by food—has helped to shape and transform societies around the world.

	The Girl I Left Behind: A Personal History of the 1960s By Judith Nies $14.99 / 9780061176029 / Harper Perennial A critical social history and personal account of the author's journey toward independence and equality describes how the author, a Vietnam-era speechwriter and chief staffer to a group of anti-war congressmen, found herself reassessing her beliefs about her marriage and career after being targeted by an FBI investigation for her political beliefs.

	The American Future By Simon Schama $29.99 / 9780060539238 / Ecco A Columbia professor and cultural essayist's use the starting point of the landmark 2008 presidential election to look back on particular events, personalities, movements, and ideals that illuminate themes of the American story. The American Future evaluates current issues facing the nation and how the election may enable a reclamation of American ideals. By the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Rough Crossings.

	The Bean Trees By Barbara Kingsolver $16.99 / 9780061765223 / Harper Perennial Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

	The Pact By Jodi Picoult $16.99 / 9780061765230 / Harper Perennial Until the phone calls came at three o'clock on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily is dead—shot with a gun her beloved and devoted Chris pilfered from his father's cabinet as part of an apparent suicide pact—leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew.

	Ahab's Wife: Or, the Star-Gazer By Sena Jeter Naslund $17.99 / 9780061767654 / Harper Perennial From the opening line -- "Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last" -- you will know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller and in the company of a fascinating woman hero. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an enthralling and compellingly readable saga, spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. At once a family drama, a romantic adventure, and a portrait of a real and loving marriage, Ahab's Wife gives new perspective on the American experience.

	I Love You, Beth Cooper By Larry Doyle $14.99 / 9780061732775 / Harper Perennial Recklessly announcing his love for the head cheerleader during his valedictorian commencement speech, Denis Cooverman is inducted into the wilder side of youth culture by the object of his affection, who turns out to be more than he bargained for. If it doesn't feel like Larry Doyle is targeting your funnybone with a jackhammer, you might want to have a doctor check your pulse.

	1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance By Gavin Menzies $15.99 / 9780061492181 / Harper Perennial The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434, China—then the world's most technologically advanced civilization—provided the spark that set the European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans embraced Chinese intellectual ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all of which form the basis of western civilization today.