The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicle of Kazam by Jasper Fforde

Magic is real in the Ununited Kingdom.  Only it’s become pathetic and weak.  Once powerful wizards now hope to gain employment magically unclogging drains or rewiring electricity for homes.  If that isn’t lame enough 15 year old foundling, Jennifer Strange is running the Kazam Mystcal Arts Management Agency herself.  Magic is tied to dragons and when rumors surface that the last known dragon is about to be slain, the future of magic is nearly hopeless.  That is, until the last dragonslayer is revealed to be the most unlikely person in all of the Ununited Kingdom.

For fans like me, still longing for the next Harry Potter or Artemis Fowl installment this book is a good bet.   Funny and unpredictable with clever plot twists and great characters The Last Dragonslayer provides a good dose of magic.

Drama and Smile by Raina Telgemeier.

Two books for the price of one in this post! Both of these graphic novels are fun, fast reads with great stories and great art. These books have one other thing in common -- they are both written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier. Telgemeier has won a lot of awards for her writing and illustrations. Her distinctive style might look familiar from the graphic adaptations of the Baby-Sitter's Club books for which she is the artist.

Drama (2012)
Middle-schooler Callie is having some trouble. She is a hardworking member of the school's stage crew, but, when the Spring production comes around and she decides she might want to be on stage instead of behind the scenes, life gets complicated. This new desire to perform, the introduction of two cute brothers, and a challenging stage prop combine to create...drama


As Callie learns more about the brothers and the production draws nearer, a new world of boys and adolescent uncertainty rears its head. Callie is determined to create the best Spring show the school has ever put on. Will she make all of the props in time? Can she figure out how to create the showstopping moment she can see clearly in her mind? Will she find love on and/or off stage? Check this book out, see what you think, and let us know!

 Smile (2010)
An autobiographical tale of (almost unimaginable) dental escapades. As Telgelmeier herself says in her author's note, "I've been telling people about what happened to my teeth ever since I knocked them out in sixth grade...and I found myself saying 'Wait, it gets worse!' a lot." This book traces the four-and-a-half years from when young Raina first goes to the orthodontist during sixth grade, to her final dental adjustment during her freshman year of high school.

One night while heading home from a Girl Scout meeting, Raina trips on the sidewalk, falls, and knocks out two of her teeth. As though the transition into teenager-hood wasn't enough to deal with, Raina also needs a lot of work done on her mouth. What was going to be a routine set of braces turns into a dental adventure of epic proportions. Will her teeth ever be normal again? Will the braces ever come off? Will Raina make friends when she has to go to high school? See what you think, and let us know!

NOTE: Both of these books (and the rest of our graphic novels) can be found in the non fiction section under 741.5973.

Duck, Death and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch

Following Jack's quirky selection from last week, I present to you the very quirky Duck, Death and the Tulip, by Wolf Erlbruch.

This book tackles a profound topic: death (especially bold for a picture book!).  It is the story of Duck's friendship with Death, a companion he's only recently discovered.  What transpires is a series of conversations about life, death, mourning, and loss.

The illustrations work particularly well with the subject matter.  Death as a smiling, walking skull is both friendly and creepy.  The spareness of the pages reflects the starkness of the reality: Death comes to us all, it is part of Life.




When we first acquired Death, Duck and the Tulip, it elicited a lot of discussion among staff members.  Some found it frightening, some found it comforting, many didn't know quite what to make of it.  Whatever your reaction, it's bound to be a conversation starter.

Duck, Death and the Tulip, by Wolf Erlbruch can be found in our J/PIC section ("Picture Books for Sophisticated Readers").  Give it a look and let us know what you think of it.

That Night's Train by Ahmad Akbarpour

This curious little book tells the story of a young girl and the teacher she meets one fateful night on a train. The little girl is in search of a mother and the teacher, who is also a children's book author, is in search of a story. After their chance meeting, the teacher vows to contact the girl. When she fails to do so, the girl becomes sad and angry. Many stories are told, and many endings are imagined before fate, chance, and circumstance prevail. Fact, fiction, storytelling, and reality all blend together to create this one-of-a-kind tale.

I enjoyed the twisting, turning though elegantly simple story of this book. The writing is almost dream-like, and time moves fluidly as the parallel stories progress. The simplicity of the writing is such that this book could be for ages 9 and up, but I tend to agree with the Kirkus review that younger readers might be put off by the unconventional narrative. Either way, audiences who engage with this book will learn a great deal about writing, writers, and the nature of stories.

A more extensive review from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose

Every once in a while, a book comes along that sheds an entirely new light on something you thought you already knew all about.  Such is the case with the remarkable story of Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. 

You may have heard of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56 that was a pivotal episode in the struggle for Civil Rights for black Americans.  You may have even heard of Rosa Parks, the black seamstress who sparked the boycott by refusing to give up her seat on the bus for a white man.  (At the time, black people where required to sit at the back of the bus and to give up their seat if a white person wanted it.)

But you probably never heard of Claudette Colvin, and she did the exact same thing several months before Rosa Parks did!  While Rosa Parks' acts of civil disobedience had actually been planned in advance (another historical fact I didn't know before reading this book!), Claudette - sixteen-years-old at the time - spontaneously decided that she was just as American as any white person, and she wasn't going to move.  And, unlike Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin went to jail for it!

So how come most of us have never heard of Claudette Colvin?  Part of the answer I just revealed to you: she was sixteen-years-old.  Have you ever not been taken seriously because of your age?  Have you been told you're "too young to understand?"  That's part of what Claudette faced.  Additionally, Claudette was the unmarried mother of an infant boy - not the image Civil Rights attorneys wanted to present to the nation.  Although Claudette's testimony was key in the court case that ultimately ended segregation on Alabama's buses, her name is all but lost to history.

Fortunately, Phillip Hoose has  helped to correct that situation.  In a fascinating look at life in America in the 1950s, and the politics of social change, the amazing and unsung Claudette Colvin finally gets her due.  An inspirational story of a true American hero.

With lots of archival photos and well-organized information, Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice would be a great pick for any history buff!