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Hardcover Books

Musty and Mustier

We stumbled across another illustrated book for young readers, from a couple of years ago. It’s simply titled Skunk and Badger. Easy to remember! “Wallace and Gromit meets Winnie-the-Pooh in a fresh take on a classic odd-couple friendship, from Newbery Honor author Amy Timberlake with full-color and black-and-white illustrations throughout by Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. No one wants a skunk. They are unwelcome on front stoops. They should not linger in Important Rock Rooms. Skunks should never, ever be allowed to move in. But Skunk is Badger’s new roommate, and there is nothing Badger can do about it. When Skunk plows into Badger’s life, everything Badger knows is upended. Tails are flipped. The wrong animal is sprayed. And why-oh-why are there so many chickens?” Find out when you look for it in hardcover from Algonquin.

image c. 2022 Algonquin Books

Little Mouse, Big Heart

Disney is always doing so much; it probably makes sense that some of it would slip by us. Include in that category Delphine and the Silver Needle, a fantasy novel for young readers written by Alyssa Moon. It came out last year in hardcover. “When Delphine, a young orphaned dressmaker mouse living in the walls of Cinderella’s château, stumbles upon an enormous secret, it upends everything she thought she knew: The magical tailor mice of legend really existed. Racing to stay ahead of King Midnight, the fearsome leader of the rats who is bent on harnessing age-old magic, Delphine embarks on an epic quest to uncover the truth about the past. Joined by Alexander, the most pompous noblemouse in the royal court, she travels a perilous route, encountering strange enemies and unlikely allies along the way.” Silver Needle is available now, and the sequel book Delphine and the Dark Thread comes our way this August.

image c. 2022 Disney Press

The Wonderful Critters of Oz

More interesting discoveries for young readers. Kirkus Reviews described The Hedgehog of Oz by Cory Leonardo as “The Wizard of Oz meets The Wind in the Willows“. The publisher describes it like this: “Marcel the hedgehog used to live with his beloved owner Dorothy, but since getting hopelessly lost, he’s tried to forget the happy home he left behind. Now, Marcel lives a quiet life in the abandoned balcony of The Emerald City Theater where he subsists on dropped popcorn and the Saturday showings of The Wizard of Oz. But when he’s discovered, Marcel is taken far away from everything he knows and ends up lost once more. His quest to return to The Emerald City Theater leads him to Mousekinland, where he meets Scamp, a tiny mouse armed with enormous spirit (and a trusty sling-shooter). Before long, they’re joined by an old gray squirrel, Ingot, who suffers from bad memories and a broken heart, and Tuffy, a baby raccoon lost and afraid in the forest. And the travelers attract the attention of an owl named Wickedwing, who stalks them as they search for the old theater. From field to forest, glittering theater to the gutter, the animals’ road home is a dark and winding journey. But sometimes you need to get a little lost before you can be found.” The book is available now in hardcover from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2022 Simon & Schuster

Purr-fect Little Scamp

Well here’s something we should have been covering for… quite a while now! In 2005, no less, Nick Bruel created the first Bad Kitty book — featuring the adventures of “…a housecat who wreaks havoc around her owner’s home when she is in a bad mood, hence the name,” according to Wikipedia. Turns out there have been Bad Kitty books and graphic novels ever since — the most recent including Bad Kitty Gets A Phone and Bad Kitty For President. All coming your way from Roaring Brook Press. So you’d better look out!

image c. 2022 Roaring Brook Press

To Boldly Go Where No Cat Has Gone Before

Looks like we’ve been missing out on the really important parts of Star Trek: Discovery! To wit… “Sharper than a claw and more stunning than a phaser blast, The Book of Grudge’s Prime Directive features her take on everything from space travel to the proper care and training of an array of alien species, Star Trek-inspired quotes, and haiku meditations on Grudge’s most favorite things, including napping and people (as long as they’re far enough away). Make no mistake, Cleveland Booker’s massive – and massively cool – cat, Grudge is no mundane mouser. This taciturn tabby is, in fact, ‘a Queen’. She knows it, and everyone aboard the Discovery knows it, too… though some realize it just a bit too late!” Star Trek Discovery: The Book of Grudge by Robb Pearlman is available now in hardcover from Penguin Random House.

image c. 2022 Penguin Random House

Dreaming of a Furry Life

Jess E. Owen is an author who has written several fantasy novels for young readers. Her series The Summer King Chronicles features a whole new world of gryphon and wolf characters. But now, writing under the name of Jessica Kara, she is taking on a whole new kind of fantasy with her new young adult novel, A Furry Faux Paw. The story goes like this: “Online, MauveCat (a cool, confident, glittering pixie cat) has friends and a whole supportive furry community that appreciates her art. At home, Maeve Stephens has to tiptoe around her hoarder mother’s mood and mess. When her life is at its hardest, Maeve can always slip into Mauve, her fursona, and be ‘the happy one’, the bubbliest, friendliest artist in her community ― it’s even how she made her best friend, Jade. With graduation around the corner, Maeve is ready to put her lonely school days behind her and move on with her life. And while her father hasn’t been home since the divorce, he does offer her a dream come true: an all-expenses paid trip to the regional furry convention. Furlympia will have everything Maeve’s been missing ―  friends, art mentors, and other furries! So when her mother forbids her from going, Maeve decides to sneak out on her own.” And what happens then? Find out when A Furry Faux Paw comes out in hardcover this May.

image c. 2022 Page Street Kids

You Can’t Fight City Howl

Another new and interesting graphic novel for young folk, from Random House: Mayor Good Boy, by Dave Scheidt and Miranda Harmon. “The votes are in and the new mayor is… A dog?! This dog will do more than shake paws. Mayor Good Boy is here to help Greenwood become a town filled with kindness, starting with fetching help for the local zoo. With foes around every corner trying to put a stop to Mayor Good Boy’s campaign of fun, are there cheese snacks and belly rubs in his future? Or will the town suddenly have a flea problem?” Find out now.

image c. 2022 Random House

Those Other Pets Need Love Too

The campaign to legalize ferrets as pets in California (yes that’s a thing) recently let us know about My Name Is Musky, a picture book for young people written by Matty Giuliano and illustrated by Morgan Spicer. It’s rare to find a cute book about pets that actually focuses on ferrets! “Poor Musky! A small white ferret is abandoned and left by the side of the road. Things start to look up, though, when a nice lady named Stephanie shows up and saves the day. It’s off to the cozy, warm animal shelter for this little ferret—but will anyone want to adopt a different kind of furry animal friend?” Check out the official web site too.

image c. 2022 Humane Press

The Rabbit Has Magic

At a recent convention we came across The Secret of the Wind, the first volume in the new graphic novel series Cottons — written by Jim Pascoe and illustrated by Heidi Arnhold. “In Cottons, rabbits and foxes inhabit a world where magic, technology, and art are used as weapons of war… To her neighbors in the Vale of Industry, Bridgebelle is an ordinary rabbit. All day long, she toils at the carrot factory. After a hard day, she returns home to care for her ailing auntie. And whenever she’s out, she’s watchful of the murderous foxes who prey on her kind. But Bridgebelle is not ordinary—she’s a rabbit with talents beyond her own understanding. Using cha, the mysterious fuel that powers her world, she can change everyday objects into thokchas—magical, transforming works of art. Bridgebelle makes thokchas because they’re beautiful. But there are those in her world who want to harness her powers and turn her art into a weapon.” The book is available now in hardcover and paperback from First Second.

image c. 2022 First Second