books for loan books to own
By Lisa Thalhimer

Kirsten Miller’s new Kiki Strike series pulses with subversive, dynamic characters. The first in the series, Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City (Bloomsbury, 2006) is 387 pages of intrigue and heroics. This year’s follow-up titled Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb continues the tale of the strange girl with pale skin and her group of exceptional friends called The Irregulars.
Ananka Fishbein, our narrator, invites readers inside the books to hear the story and to learn a few survival skills along the way.
Until the age of twelve, I led what most people would consider an unexceptional life. My activities on an average day could be boiled down to a flavorless mush. I went to school. I came home. I took a bath. I went to bed. Though I’m certain I didn’t realize it at the time, I must have been terribly bored.
Then, early one Sunday morning, I happened to glance out my bedroom window. Across the street from my apartment building, a little park had been sucked into an enormous hole….
Holes of this sort are rare in New York City, where the earth is sealed beneath a layer of asphalt, and one can go for years without catching sight of actual dirt.
Forget about Nancy Drew. The books contain teen theft, an incredible amount of truancy, bomb making, breaking and entering and lying to parents and teachers. That’s the bad news. The good news is that this unlikely group of female friends discovers an underground city and battles evil forces to save New York. In the process, they learn about themselves and about trust and friendship.
Both books are riveting and fast-paced. Ananka Fishbein gives readers mostly solid and often humorous advice on how to become detectives in occasional asides. Their titles include “How to Tell a Lie,” “How to Spot a Fake Diamond,” “Things You Can Learn by Going Through the Trash” and “How to Know When a Secret Should be Shared.”
“How to Foil a Kidnapping” lists seven practical pieces of advice, beginning with this introduction:
Anyone with half a brain can recognize many of the tricks that kidnappers play.
Strangers offering candy, puppies, or modeling advice should be avoided at all costs. No one’s that friendly.
But if someday you find yourself in trouble, keep your wits about you and think mean.
Forget all the lessons you learned in finishing school. When it comes to a kidnapping, the worst thing you can do is mind your manners.

Jean Craighead George, author of the classic children’s novel, “My Side of the Mountain,” continues the 40-year-old saga of Sam Gribley in a new picture book. Watercolor illustrations by Daniel San Souci accompany the text of Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel (Dutton, 2007).
Sam’s friend, Oksi the falcon (daughter of Frightful, the legendary peregrine falcon from three other books by George) has her own family of baby birds. The babies and their parents live in a high nest built by Sam. He’s even smoothed the pole to keep other animals away from the falcon babies.
Sam’s new friend, Baron Weasel, is full of personality and makes Sam laugh. But Baron Weasel has a family to feed and he tries and tries to steal a baby falcon from Oksi’s brood.
Baron Weasel easily climbs the pole, but is thwarted by the falcon parents. Oksi and her mate now know that Baron Weasel will not give up the hunt, so they begin to coax their babies to fly.
The race is on. Will the mammal outsmart the birds and gain supper for his babies? Or will the young falcons learn to fly just in time to escape Baron Weasel’s clutches?
George gives children ages four through seven an early understanding of the struggles of nature.

The gently rhyming or free verse poems in Susan Katz’s Oh, Theodore! Guinea Pig Poems (Clarion, 2007) are all about a boy’s new pet.

Pet Selection
I wanted a dog. Mom said, “Too loud.”
I wanted a snake. Mom said “Too scary.”
I wanted a horse. Mom said, “Too big.”
All I could get, was a guinea pig.

Theodore, the guinea pig, is shy and timid at first. But eventually he gets used to the boy and they become great friends. One day Theodore is missing.

All Day
Nobody squeaked.
Nobody scurried.
Nobody nibbled.
Nobody smiled.

The next entry is humorously hopeful.

Oh, Theodore!
Someone gnawed the wallpaper.
Someone chewed the chair.
I know it wasn’t me.

Young readers ages three to seven will enjoy this fun-to-read-aloud picture book. But beware! Even adults might be enticed to take a trip to the pet store.

Lisa Thalhimer recently unearthed a box of childhood favorites in her parents’ attic, including “The Secret Garden,” “Mary Jane” and “A Wrinkle in Time.” She’s busy dusting and re-reading in her Richmond home.

Archives:

Pick up your copy of Richmond Parents Monthly available at over 400 area locations!