Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard

Jonathan Auxier

As a town readies for Pyre Day—a burning ceremony of all things “nonsensical”—12-year-old Sophie Quire mends books in her father’s shop. Danger ensues when she obtains a book offering answers about her deceased mother and mandating that the magic of stories be preserved for all. Auxier delivers a fantasy novel thick with suspense in which Sophie fights against a world where people without imaginative stories have “dead looks in their eyes … mindless cogs in the ever-grinding wheels of progress.” He brings back characters Peter Nimble and his cat/horse Sir Tode from his previous novel.

The Most Important Thing: Stories about Sons, Fathers, & Grandfathers

Avi

This book’s epigraph asks, “What is the most important thing you can do for your son?” In seven short stories, Avi depicts boys dealing with absent fathers, death, cold distance, and domineering expectation. One divorced father forgets to introduce his son to his new wife. A prospective stepdad endures a boy’s interviewing and seems to nail Avi’s synopsis of a father’s role: “The first thing is to love him. Second thing is, convince him that you do love him.” Grandfathers play an admirable supportive role, but the overall portrayal of fractured father-son relationships may fuel resentment more than clarity.

Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle

N.D. Wilson

Most have only one chance to get their life right—not Sam Miracle. Vivid dreams have him wondering what is real and why his arms don’t work, until one day he plunges into a familiar Old West scene where he learns he has fought and died many times, always failing to save his sister and thwart a power-thirsty villain. This time Sam learns the power of self-sacrifice as his brave companion Glory, along with a Spanish priest and Sam’s unruly rattlesnake arms, promise a different outcome. This action-packed novel is the first book in a planned time-traveling series.

Free Verse

Sarah Dooley

In a West Virginia mining town, a patient foster mother cares for 12-year-old Sasha, who has suffered unimaginable loss. Sasha finds a kindred spirit in an equally scarred cousin. They run away together, but the cousin disappears for months, dealing Sasha another blow. Dooley supplements the narrative with pages resembling Sasha’s notebook written in different poetic forms. This mostly downcast story has several instances of profanity. It’s so depressing that even the poetry and hopeful ending don’t redeem it, yet kids are reading this novel. Parents—especially of children who have suffered loss—need to be prepared to deal with the issues in it.

Afterword

On a hot Tuesday in August 1958, photographer Art Kane summoned a host of musicians to a Harlem brownstone for a photo shoot. The black-and-white picture he captured, now referred to as “A Great Day in Harlem,” ran in Esquire magazine and became famous. With 21 rhythmic poems, Roxane Orgill’s Jazz Day (Candlewick Press, 2016) captures the story behind Kane’s celebrated photo, bringing it to life for young readers.

Once a music critic, Orgill pokes at Thelonious Monk’s tardy arrival, “Dizzy” Gillespie’s silliness, and Duke Ellington’s absence. She imagines the neighborhood boys who line the curb in Kane’s photo getting into scuffles and mischief, and a little girl pictured in the window waiting for the crowds to leave. The book includes biographies of the musicians. Artist Francis Vallejo provides lively acrylic and pastel illustrations, making this an inviting introduction to jazz for a new generation. —M.J.