The Sands of Time
by Michael Hoeye

Hermux Tantamoq is a mouse, a very likeable and gentlemanly watchmaker in the town of Pinchester.

Fresh from his first adventure "Time Stops for No Mouse", mouse-about-town Hermux Tantamoq is in trouble. His artist friend Mirrin Stentrill is showing an exhibit of cat paintings at the Pinchester Museum and Pinchester's Mayor Pinkwiggin and a group of militant mice vow to shut it down. Long presumed to be mythical creatures by the urbane rodent population of Pinchester, cats are taboo. Birch Tentintrotter was run out of town decades ago when he deciphered an ancient map to the kingdom of cats.

Now Birch reappears unexpectedly with another old scroll, and mouse history may never be the same. "We're going to discover once and for all if cats actually existed or this has just been a horrible hoax," Mirrin exclaims.

Thus, Hermux, Birch and the lovely aviatrix Linka Perflinger (the mouse of Hermux's dreams) are off to find the ancient tomb of Ka-Narsh-Pah that lies buried in the Sands of Time. They're in for quite an adventure.

Michael Hoeye's stories are full of emotion and rolicking humor. You may want to read more about Hermux Tantamoq. If so,"Time Stops for No Mouse"," No Time Like Show Time" and " Time to Smell The Roses" are available. Many adults love these stories, so the age classification here should be "Middle Readers and up".

A Little History of The World
by E. H. Gombrich

This work is a republication of a work written in 1935 when E H. Gombrich was a young man studying in Vienna. A publisher asked him to edit a work on world history for children, and after reading it, Gombrich said he could write a better one himself. In six feverish weeks he produced this work which was a success in Europe, England and in 17 translations.

To their credit, Yale University Press has reissued the classic in a fine format with 41 excellent woodcut illustrations. Although the text is written for children it does not talk down to them, but emphasizes history as story (in fact, as Gombrich points out, that is exactly how history was first recorded). Short chapters cover the vast saga of mankind from prehistory through to the end of World War II (which Gombrich added later, of course).

The material gives a good perspective on the major civilizations, religions, events and personalities of the ancient world and in Europe, India, the Near and Far East and America since the Renaissance. "Once upon a time" is emphasized as to real time and real happenings.

This is an excellent book for sharing with children and/or among siblings or adults.

Kenny & the Dragon
by Toni DiTerlizzi

A King's chronicler records this tale of Kenny, a boy rabbitt, and his two best friends, Grahame and George. You will smile right from the first sentence. Grahame is a dragon, with a heart as big as his bulk. George is a retired book lover and bookseller, but before his retirement, George was the King's chief dragon-slayer.

How, reasons the King and most of his subjects, can Grahame, being a huge dragon, be anything but a deadly menace to the kingdom? And what is Kenny to do when the King calls George out of retirement to deal with Grahame via the St. George method, that is, by slaying him!?

Kenny composes a scheme to save both friends, but you, reader, are not told just what this plan is before the action starts. And the action doesn't neatly play out according to Kenny's plan, which demands from Kenny plenty of quick thinking and true grit. But Kenny does save the day, and is honored by the King.

The book is a retelling of "The Reluctant Dragon" by the English author Kenneth Grahame, a favorite of DiTerlizzi's. The title, text and illustrations also call to your attention other books by Kenneth Grahame and other children's classics.

Toni DiTerlizzi is co-author of the immensely popular Spiderwick Chronicles.

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (Puffin Classics)
by Roger Lancelyn Green

Roger Lancelyn Green was a colleague and friend of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien at Oxford University. He studied and discussed mythology with them through a discussion group called "The Inklings".

He published this rendition of the Arthur legends in 1953 with children in mind. It's suitable for middle readers and up. Many youngsters have first read these great stories through Green's book and adults love it too. The book is based mostly on Mallory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" but it contains added material from other sources, and it is easier to read than Mallory. You might call it a translation of Mallory for children.

The Arthur legends have enchanted readers for nearly a thousand years. Don't miss this wonderful rendition of them.

What-the-Dickens
by Gregory Macguire

This novel is about storytelling and imagination. It uses the time honored technique of a tale within a tale.

Three pre-teen siblings, Dinah, Zeke and Rebecca Ruth, together with one related young adult, Gage, are stranded in their house without parents when a devastating storm wipes out all power, heat, and means of communication or help.

Working to avoid panic and to steady his own nerves, Gage begins and develops a story of What-the-Dickens, who is a being born totally alone in the aftermath of a great storm, and without any knowledge that he is a skibbereen ... that is ... a tooth fairy.

Gage takes What-the-Dickens through a rollicking kaleidoscope of situations which are fun, comic and farcical, but at the same time suspenseful, tender and thoughtful.

The story saves the day, but also the siblings have had their imaginations primed for the future. And so do we, the readers.

This is a fascinating work. Your attention will be highly rewarded.

Gregory Macguire is the author of "Wicked", from which came the hit musical, and the sequel novels "Son of Witch" and "A Lion Among Men".

Monster Blood Tattoo Book I, Foundling
by D. M. Cornish

In the first volume of this trilogy, "Foundling," D. M. Cornish introduces the world of Half-Continet with a wealth of detail that signals years of imaginative and creative thought, on the order of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Half-Continet's fantastic characteristics and inhabitants are introduced through the journey of the orphan hero Rossumund from his foundling home to the realm's city of Winstermill. The term "Monster Blood Tattoo" refers to a mark of achievement gained by one who has successfully slain any of the monsters that are threatening the realm.

Rossumund is to become an apprentice Lamplighter in Winstermill. During the jouney to Winstermill, he has plently of adventures and challenges while he (and the reader) learn about this amazing world.

Monster Blood Tattoo Book II, Lamplighter
by D. M. Cornish

In the second volume, "Lamplighter", Rossumund begins his apprenticeship and gains the friendship of a female apprentice named Threnody. These two interact with several new characters, and the relationship between Threnody and one of these, Mr. Numps, further hints at a mystery that is introduced in the first book and expanded on in this volume to great effect.

Rossumund and Threnody are prematurely sent to the most dangerous, monster ridden place in Half-Continet. They do survive and do return to Winstermill. Through these adventures, Rossumund is maturing, gaining confidence and beginning to wonder about his true place in the realm of Half-Continent.

Don't expect a quick skim through this work, but you can count on an very interesting journey and an intense read. If you survive to the end, you will be aching for the third and final book of "Monster Blood Tattoo".

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman

For all dark fantasy fans, Neil Gaiman writes of a toddler who is protected from a killer and then reared by ghosts in a cemetery. The hero has to elude the killer, meet the challenges of growing up, and eventually confront his would be nemesis.

Fans are head-over-heels in praise of this one and are clamoring for more. Indeed Gaimen, in being inspired by Kipling's The Jungle Book, is a wonder in imagination and style. But mum's the work on any sequels.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
by Scott McCloud

Here is a sample of comments about this book.

'If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. This was an excellent read - fascinating, enlightening, thought-provoking and, above all, fun.'

'McCloud's subtitle, "The Invisible Art" , is very apt - he succeeds brilliantly in unveiling what is right in front of your eyes, even if you have never understood the artistic tactics at work on the printed page.'

'Every panel of every page is jam-packed with information. I'd recommend this to anyone attempting to tell a story in any medium.'

'McCloud uses the very techniques he examines in order to achieve his expressive goals. And this is truly marvelous to observe, a tour de force.'

'Defines the relationship between reader and comic, and what the reader has to do to translate the comic. Comics are more complex than most people think them to be.'

'There are some emotions and experiences that the medium of comics conveys better than any other.'

'Understanding Comics is a great start to understand the nature of the beast and the ways comic book storytelling works.'

***

For those not familiar with comics but curious, many reviewers suggest:

Brooklyn Bridge
by Karen Hesse
audio CD narration by Fred Berman

This book offers a moving drama and an authentic piece of Americana. It captures life in Brooklyn in 1903 as experienced by a Russian immigrant family who invented the teddy bear.

With an authentic Brooklyn accent and Yiddish inflections, Fred Berman brings vividly to life this story of adventure, romance, comedy and family, and among the street children, even a ghost.

This CD narration is praised highly and is especially recommended for family or group listening.

The Library At Night
by Alberto Manguel

This advanced and subtle book was not written for children, but many pre-teens and young adults are fascinated with the idea of Information. "The Library At Night" is a perspective on information and ideas, whether from an ancient papyrus or from the world wide web.

The author started accumulating and absorbing books as a child. Over half a century later, he reflects on the meanings of books, libraries and the web. His musings are organized into fifteen catagories.

You might call this book "Fifteen Ways of Looking at a Library". What a source of information and ideas about ourselves - and humanity.