Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I wanted to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Books, 2011) from the moment I saw the cover (forgive me for judging), but those old photographs from the early 20th century captivatingly creepy to me ... luckily, the novel's innards are just as captivating.

What might tell you even more than I can about this original and spooky YA novel is that Tim Burton is said to be in talks to direct the movie. Seems like a good fit to me.

This is the story of 16-year-old Jacob who lives in Florida and is close to his grandfather, who shared a shoebox of bizarre pictures with Jake taken at the orphanage on the tiny island where he grew up after fleeing the Nazi's. The pictures show fascinating images of people doing seemingly impossible things -- defy gravity, hold fire in their hands, reanimate dead objects. Nothing strange there, nope.

After his grandfather's death, Jake becomes convinced the island really exists and convinces his father that they need to travel there to deal with the grief of losing their patriarch. Off the coast of Wales, the island is far from the paradise his grandfather described, and Jake finds the former orphanage in ruins -- apparently destroyed during the war. From here, as Alice might say, it just gets curiouser and curiouser.

This strange story grabs you by the eyeballs and won't let go until the last page (thankfully, Riggs says there will be a sequel). Inspired by real-life "found" photos, the author strives to preserve this interesting (and speculative) part of our photographic history. Truly original, completely fascinating, MISS PEREGRINE is a fantastic read. (for 13 and up)

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

As the 2012 Newbery winner will be announced tomorrow morning, I thought this was a good time to review one of last year's Newbery Honor books Turtle in Paradise (Random House, 2010).

Two-time Newbery Honor winner (the other was Penny from Heaven in 2007), Jennifer L. Holm taps into her family history for this honoree. It's 1935 and 11-year-old Turtle's mom is offered work as a live-in housekeeper. Unfortunately, her new employer can't stand children. With jobs scarce, Turtle's mom has no choice but to take the job and send Turtle to live with her sister in Key West, Florida.

Turtle is none to happy about this, less so when she discovers this means living with a bunch of boy cousins with strange names like Beans and Porkchop. Boys who call themselves The Diaper Gang and earn candy by watching neighborhood children. Boys who the live by the code NO GIRLS ALLOWED.

Slowly, Turtle finds her place in her mother's hometown, striking up an unlikely friendship with the grouchy Nana Philly, the local fishermen and artists (with a cameo appearance from Papa himself) and exploring the Keys with a treasure hunt that leads the Gang into a dangerous storm.

I found some of the similarities between Holms' book and the Newbery winner of the same year (Moon over Manifest) kind of odd (must have been a big year for kids-sent-to-live-in-their parents'-hometowns-during-the-Depression-books), but Turtle in Paradise is a delicious peek into Floridian life during a time when Little Orphan Annie ruled the funny papers and Shirley Temple was the darling of the silver screen. 

Written for grades 4 to 6, it shows us that everyone's definition of such a place is a little different and that family is a more important treasure, even than pirate gold.

Dear Cinderella by Marian Moore and Mary Jane Kensington (ill. by Julie Olson)

Entwining fairy tales (and fracturing them) is quite in vogue again (see ABC's delicious guilty pleasure Once Upon a Time and Wendy Mass's upcoming take on Beauty and the Beast and don't even get me started on Snow White and the Huntsman).  Orchard Books (an imprint of Scholastic) was nice enough to share with me their upcoming picture book, which entwines two princesses in one step-mother filled tale.

Told through letters written by Snow White and Cinderella to each other, Dear Cinderella follows the traditional stories with a cute twist on the happily ever after part.

Julie Olson's colorful and friendly illustrations are definitely kinder-friendly will help young readers make familiar connections in the two stories. Moore and Kensington keep the text simple and approachable, and the letter-writing is a great way to help children understand point of view.

Written for ages 3 to 7, Dear Cinderella will appeal to any child who is head-over-glass slippers for tiaras and taffeta. Look for it this February.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

For the last couple of years, it's taken me a while to get around to reading the Newbery books -- not sure why that is, or why I don't ever seem to read them before nom time. Maybe I have some baggage from childhood, I only LOVED two Newbery books back when I was a kid (The Witch of Blackbird Pond and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) so I tend to resist. However, the last few years I've adored all the winners and this year is no exception.

Moon Over Manifest is a sweet but intense story of 12 year old Abilene who has spent her childhood "riding the rails" with her father. When he sends her away to live in the small town of Manifest with the Pastor who raised him, Abilene is confused and hurt. The story takes place in the summer of 1936 during the Depression, as Abilene searches the memories of the townspeople -- especially the town diviner, Miss Sadie -- for information about her father.

To give any more details would reveal too much, but with elements of social hardships, prejudice, and social injustice, Vanderpool creates an emotional and telling glimpse into early 20th century life in the midwest. Abilene is real and likable, taking the reader with her on her investigation into the town's secrets in a way that makes the book hard to put down.