Here It Comes -- QUICK!

The rush to check out for spring break has just this minute subsided. All day long I've helped students find -- you guessed it -- another fantasy series. An article I read long ago examined the reading preferences of children during various decades, and children's librarians can all attest that fantasy fiction is firmly established as the current preferred genre. It of course speaks to the hearts of many children, especially in uncertain times when evil forces seem to lurk behind all the headlines.

But the pendulum may be swinging. In the 1950s and 1960s, survival/adventure and historical fiction titles prevailed as the most popular. I've got lots of anecdotal evidence that children who read historical fiction avidly develop a deep sense of history and occasionally ace the SAT II. For some fabulous lists from our library catalog, click here and here and here. Several books on the horizon are looking mighty compelling, and the pick of the bunch will be coming to a library (and bookstore) near you in early May. Beware! (Move over, J.K.?) The Dagger Quick by Brian Eames will satisfy all those kids who crave a fast-paced, danger-filled drama laced with evil, deformed characters and a kid who outwits them all.

Set in 17th century England and the high seas beyond, The Dagger Quick follows 12 year old Christopher, a boy with a clubfoot who longs for the sea but is preparing, reluctantly, to follow in his father's footsteps and become a cooper. The arrival of his uncle, the infamous pirate William Quick, sets a chain of events in motion: with his father murdered, his stepmother and little brother (Duck) kidnapped, Kitto's dream of a life at sea is realized in a spectacular and deliciously gory way. I can't wait to share this one with my students.

Everyone is invited to our book release party in the elementary library. Get it on your calendars now: Tuesday, May 24 at 7 pm. Meet the author. Get his autograph. I've met him a few times and he's very approachable. (He also teaches downstairs from me.) This one's a page turner -- a QUICK read.

And if we ever get self-check out in our library, I want it to speak pirate: