Grade 1-3-Truss's picture-book version of her adult bestseller tackles the topic of commas and what can go wrong when they are misused.The title is derived from an old joke in which a panda misunderstands correct panda behavior after reading a poorly punctuated wildlife guide.Versions of two identically worded sentences are presented side by side,demonstrating the difference in meaning achieved when a comma is added or subtracted.Timmons's humorous watercolor cartoons bring the point home.In one spread,the sentence on the left(Look at that huge hot dog!)is illustrated with a gigantic sausage,while that on the right(Look at that huge,hot dog!)shows a tall,sweltering canine.The author cleverly selects examples with the potential for comical(and grammatically correct)revisions.Endnotes elaborate on comma usage in more technical terms.While a title on grammar may need hand selling,both read-aloud audiences and independent readers will discover the potent possibilities of punctuation.More specific than Robin Pulve

For Seikei, the adopted son of the famous samurai Judge Ooka with a knack for solving mysteries, a trip home to see his real family isn’t cause to celebrate. His brother has become mixed up with local criminals who use the family’s tea shop as a front for a smuggling operation. His sister, meanwhile, has fallen in love with an apprentice to a puppet master who stands accused of murder. Somehow, Seikei senses the two are connected. His loyalties divided between his new family and his old, Seikei must find the real killer before it is too late. Set against the eerie backdrop of the old Japanese puppet theaters, where life-sized marionettes were controlled by black-cloaked men, Edgar Award-winners Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler render their most satisfying mystery to date.

Even with a 12-0 loss to start the ’88 season, Cal Ripken, Jr. had plenty of reasons to love being a Baltimore Oriole. He was playing alongside his brother Bill, and his father, Cal Sr., was managing the team. They’d win the next one. But the Orioles didn’t win their next game, or the next, and soon what was supposed to be a dream season for Cal slid into a nightmare of losses no one saw coming.

Grade 4–6—Benjamin lives in a horrible orphanage where he is punished by having to use a toothbrush to clean out the moldy cooking pots. He can still remember his parents and the life he used to lead before they died. When a social worker stops by with a birthday cake for him, his life is changed with a single wish come true—that he will have unlimited wishes. While this is good news for Benjamin, it's bad for the world as it upsets a natural balance and opens the door for Curseworks to put an evil plan in place that will make curses so strong that they cannot be stopped. The premise of the book is imaginative, but the characters are one-dimensional, leaving the story feeling flat. The de*ions of the Wishworks Factory are vivid and filled with details. Unfortunately, the orphanage itself seems old-fashioned, and readers will be jolted to find that they are actually in the modern world of video games and televisions rather than a world of Victorian orphans in top hats.—Tasha Saecker, Menasha Publ

Demons are all around us—most of them are relatively harmless, like the ones that go bump in the night or make you stub your toe. But some are dangerous—some can kill. Since he was orphaned as a boy, Nat has been trained by his aged mentor Daliwahl to be a demonkeeper, controlling a menagerie of demons in their old, rickety house in Seattle. But now Dahliwahl is gone and Nat is on his own. Keeping demons isn’t a very social activity, and when Nat goes on a date with Sandy, a junior librarian’s assistant, it’s a disaster in more ways that one—while Nat’s out, a very scary demon called the Beast escapes. Can Nat get the Beast back to the house and make things right with Sandy—and do it all by himself? With its fast-paced action, slapstick humor, and a winning, unlikely hero, Demonkeeper is a high-spirited romp that will keep readers glued to the page.

From acclaimed photographer and famed lover of dogs Elliott Erwitt comes Woof, the most unintentionally persuasive advertisement for dog ownership there ever was. Erwitt's eye is unfailing, and his love for dogs is captured in each and every photo. Digging a hole, barking at a cat, jauntily carrying a stick—Erwitt takes these ordinary moments and makes them extraordinary. The humorist P. G. Wodehouse once said of Erwitt, 'There’s not a sitter in his gallery that doesn't melt the heart, and no beastly class distinctions, either. Thoroughbreds and mutts, they are all there." Add to that the level of respect Mr. Erwitt shows for his subjects: whether it be a scruffy little terrier pausing for a quick pant or a herding dog intensely focused on her flock, with one click of the shutter the individuality of each and every dog is conveyed and memorialized. Mostly new photographs, with a couple of old favorites sprinkled in for good measure, Woof is a celebration of dogs at their finest.

When Martine’s home in England burns down, killing her parents, she must go to South Africa to live on a wildlife game preserve, called Sawubona, with the grandmother she didn’t know she had. Almost as soon as she arrives, Martine hears stories about a white giraffe living in the preserve. But her grandmother and others working at Sawubona insist that the giraffe is just a myth. Martine is not so sure, until one stormy night when she looks out her window and locks eyes with Jemmy, a young silvery-white giraffe. Why is everyone keeping Jemmy’s existence a secret? Does it have anything to do with the rash of poaching going on at Sawubona? Martine needs all of the courage and smarts she has, not to mention a little African magic, to find out. First-time children’s author Lauren St. John brings us deep into the African world, where myths become reality and a young girl with a healing gift has the power to save her home and her one true friend.

A delicious treat about America's favorite fruit is now available in a Spanish bilingual format. Ana grows and sells apples, and she makes cider and applesauce and muffins. A glossary helps kids learn the names of Ana's delicious ingredients in both languages. With tie-ins to math and science curricula and units on autumn, this book will be especially welcomed by teachers. Truly the pick of the crop!

Davy Bowman’s brother and their dad hung the moon.Dad looks forward to Halloween more than a kid,and Davy’s brother,Bill,flies B-17s.Davy adores these two heroes and tries his best to follow their lead,especially now. World War II has invaded Davy’s homefront boyhood.There’s an air raid drill in the classroom,and being a kid is an endless scrap drive.Bill has joined up,breaking their dad’s heart.It’s an intense,confusing time,and one that will invite Davy to grow up in a hurry. Still,Richard Peck is a master of comedy,and even in this novel of wartime uncertainty,he infuses his tale with humor:oddballs and rascals and boyhood misadventures alongside the poignant moments.This is one of Richard Peck’s very finest novels-a tender,unforgettable portrait of the World War II homefront and a family’s love.