Book Scavenger

Book Scavenger

By Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Imagine a scavenger hunt that involves deciphering secret codes and following clues that could take you all over the city – any city.  Now imagine that the prizes you are seeking are all books.  You can even hide your own books and leave clues for other players.  This is the game of Book Scavenger, and 12-year-old Emily is an avid player.

Emily’s family prides itself on moving to a new city and state every couple of years.  Never having established herself in one place, Emily doesn’t have any friends, but she loves to play Book Scavenger.  When she moves to San Francisco and meets James, a puzzle-loving computer guy, Emily feels she has met a kindred spirit.  

But cracking codes and tracking down books take on a kind of urgency after Garrison Griswold, creator of Book Scavenger, is mugged in a BART (subway) station.  When Emily and James find the book he left behind – The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allen Poe – they discover Griswold’s newly invented game.  Emily is more than excited to begin solving the mystery of The Gold-Bug, but she doesn’t expect to be followed by some very shady characters.  It seems Griswold’s game will lead to treasure, and some people will do anything to find it.

Book Scavenger is a child’s dream: mystery, adventure, codes and ciphers, secret treasure and friendship abound.  The love of books is what spurs Emily on in this can’t-put-it-down thrill-ride through San Francisco.  Any child who loves books will adore Book Scavenger as much as I did! 

Highly recommended. Grades 4-7.

Any Questions?

Any Questions?

By Marie-Louise Gay

A thought-provoking release from Marie-Louise Gay, this picturebook aims to not only answer questions but more importantly, encourage children to keep asking questions. Often children will express an interest in where stories come from and how a book is made, and Gay inspires children to capture their imaginations on paper. Through a creative tag-team approach, author and characters work together on writing and illustrating a story.

Marie-Louise Gay has doodled, collaged, and painted words and pictures including, but not limited to, her Stella and Sam characters, snails, penguins sledding, cats riding on paper airplanes, and mushroom-devouring beasts. The large format provides the audience with lots of space to appreciate the beasts, giants and elephants. Gay has made an enjoyable collection of illustrations. The different fonts, speech bubbles and energy make Any Questions? a truly fun book to read.