By Jan Pease
What is one of the best ways to start a new year? Why, with new books of course! Here is a list of new “chapter books” that
are all found in the juvenile section.
Who can imagine writing a series of books for children
ages 5-9 that average over 500 pages each?
Well, Kevin Sands is the guy. He
is the author of “The Blackthorn Key,” a series set in the 1600s featuring an
apothecary’s assistant named Christopher Rowe.
The four books in the series are “The Blackthorn Key,” “Mark of the Plague,” “Assassin’s Curse,” and
“Call of the Wraith.” This novel
combines historical fiction with all sorts of puzzles, codes, and secrets, and
has received great reviews from both kids and adults.
Bluecrowne, by Kate Milford, is the third book in the
Greenglass trilogy. Greenglass House is
an old, creaky inn, the perfect setting for mystery and suspense. The books in the series are The Greenglass
House, “Ghosts of Greenglass House,” and “Bluecrowne.” “Bluecrowne,” a prequel instead of sequel,
centers on earlier days in the old house.
Some of the questions raised in the later books may be answered in this
book.
“Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows,” by Ryan
Calejo, is a bit like Harry Potter, with a Latino twist. Ordinary boy Charlie wakes up one morning and
discovers that he is turning into one of the monsters from the stories his
grandmother told. Myths of Spain, Central
America, and South America are featured.
It feels like patrons have been waiting for years for “Clash
of the Beasts,” by Lisa McMann. This is
another “ordinary child discovers super powers” book. Superhuman powers and speed borrowed from the
animal kingdom could come in handy if you are a girl named Charlie who has just
moved to a new town. The series is
called “Going Wild,” and the titles are “Going Wild, “Predator vs Prey,” and
“Clash of the Beasts.”
“Hotel Between,” by Sean Easley, is another magical book. I hope Mr. Easley is starting a series,
because this book is a doozy. The hotel of
the title is an amazing place where doors open all over the world, stone
elephants come alive, and people could wander forever.
I think any of these books would be excellent to read
aloud in a class or at bedtime. These imaginative books, and many more, are
waiting for you at Litchfield Library!
