New kids fiction!

Booklist (03/15/2010): Preschool-G *Starred Review* The book begins in spring. City Dog comes to the country, thrilled to run without a leash. Something stops him--Country Frog. Frogs waiting for a friend: But youll do. After that the duo plays together, and Frog teaches Dog about splashing and croaking. In the summer, City Dog returns and runs to see Frog. Now its his turn to teach Frog games, replete with sniffing, fetching, and barking. In the fall, Country Frog is tired. Maybe we can play remembering games. And thats what they do, remembering jumping and splashing, sniffing and barking. In the winter, snow is everywhere, but Frog is gone. When spring returns, a chipmunk comes across City Dog. What are you doing? she asks. City Dog replies sadly, Waiting for a friend. Then he smiles a froggy smile and adds, But youll do. Its hard to imagine a picture book that more consistently (and touchingly) hits all the right notes. Willems, never one to overwrite, is gracefully spare here, making every word count. That leaves room for Muths watercolors, richly seasonal, which fill each page. The pictures are imbued with hope and happiness, leaving and longing. This wonderful collaboration makes a significant impact with subtlety and wit. Adults and children will each take away something of their own. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

He's got genuine deep-fried breading! And swift, nuggety hands! He's the most powerful crime fighter in Gordonville-- He's Super Chicken Nugget Boy! When Fern Goldberg arrived at his new school, he was just an average kid: near-sighted, a touch on the skinny side. Then he fell into the pool of radioactive green goo behind Bogie's Burger Barn. Now, whenever his skin comes into contact with condiments, he transforms into a bona fide, deep-fried superhero who's not afraid to take on villains great and small, from the class bully, to the giant, mutated French fry who threatens to crush the whole school beneath his massive, starchy feet... Villainous vegetables beware! Here comes the most formidable food fighter in history! This is author Josh Lewis's first book for young readers--aimed squarely at boys who still think girls are gross and slime is awesome.

School Library Journal (05/01/2010): Gr 6-8 Readers still lamenting the conclusion of Meg Cabot's "Princess Diaries" (HarperCollins) will eagerly embrace this first volume in the adventures of Desi Bascomb. The 15-year-old is stuck in Sproutsville, ID, where she is tormented by her ex-best friend, Celeste, and is working a miserable job at Pets Charming, where she is forced to dress up as a groundhog. Then she spies an ad for a princess sub and meets agent Meredith, who informs Desi that she has a rare magical gift that will allow her to apply royal rouge and stand in for any princess in need of a break. Desi is sent on three missions for three very different young women, and though she is told not to interfere, at last she sees her chance to make an impact. Though the plot is predictable and concepts such as royal rouge and getting from job to job in a bubble are silly and contrived, overall the novel is frothy fun. Desi is constantly comparing herself to seemingly perfect Celeste, and it is only through her new job that she begins to discover her own worth. This is a fast-paced and humorous read with a dash of romance. It's sure to leave readers longing for the next installment. "Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI" Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Have you seen this series? It's got a small but devoted following. When Disney Imagineers installed hologram guides for the Magic Kingdom, using teenage models they had no idea the technology might backfire. But backfire it did: some nights when the kids go to sleep, they wake up in one of the Disney parks as a hologram. With the adventures set forth in the first books now behind them, "Kingdom Keepers 3: Disney In Shadow" follows the five teens, Finn, Philby, Willa, Charlene, and Maybeck as they search to find Wayne, their mentor and head Imagineer who has mysteriously gone missing. Concerned Wayne has been abducted by the Overtakers -- Disney villains, who along with other Disney characters, take over the parks when the turnstiles stop spinning, and want desperately to steer the parks to a far darker place --the five kids pick up a major clue from a close friend, Jez, whose dreams (nightmares, really) often accurately predict the future. The very few clues from Jez's dream lead the kids into Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot--through imaginary worlds that become real, by imaginary kids who are real. Each clue seems tied to the last, and with the stakes growing ever higher, what starts out as a puzzle ends up as a fight for their lives. Through a transparent paper box, a quest for a sword, rides on Soarin' and Maelstrom, life-and-death encounters with giant snakes, and a devious Maleficent, the Kingdom Keepers not only begin to decipher deeper meanings to the clues, but discover new truths about themselves and their ever-growing friendships.

A companion book to the bestselling Blue Bloods series: Lavish parties. Passionate meetings in the night. Bone-chilling murders. Midterms. The day-to-day life of Schuyler Van Alen and her Blue Bloods friends (and enemies) is never boring. But there's oh-so-much more to know about these beautiful and powerful teens. Below the streets of Manhattan, within the walls of the Repository, exists a wealth of revealing information about the vampire elite that dates back before the Mayflower. In a series of short stories, journal entries, and never-before-seen letters, New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz gives her hungry fans the keys to the Repository and an even more in-depth look into the secret world of the Blue Bloods. Won't you come inside?