THE OWLSTONE CROWN
By X. J. Kennedy
A novel for ages 8 to 12
Front Street / A division of Boyds Mills, 2005
ISBN 1-932425-35-7
Paperback, 176 pages
$8.95
A new reprint of a fantasy first published in 1983, full of laughs and high suspense. When twins Tim and Verity set out to rescue their missing grandparents, their adventures take them to another world, where they must combat sinister Raoul Owlstone and his army of stone owls. Luckily, they have friends: Lew Ladybug, a tiny detective, powerful Fardels Bear, and prophetic Shelley Snail. Under option to be a movie. Some libraries report a run on this title when kids ask for more books like Harry Potter!
KNEE-DEEP IN BLAZING SNOW: Growing up in Vermont
Poems by James Hayford
Chosen by X. J. Kennedy & Dorothy M. Kennedy
Illustrated by Michael McCurdy
Wordsong / a division of Boyds Mills, 2005
ISBN 1-59078-338-7
Hardcover only, 62 pages
$17.95
Nobody wrote better poems of Vermont life than the late James Hayford, beloved in his home state and too little known elsewhere. "Distilled genius," says J. Patrick Lewis. This book collects the ones we think children will go for, arranged by the four seasons: about such things as nighttime milking, swims in a secret pond, the bliss of putting on snow-soaked socks warmed on a radiator. Michael McCurdy, widely acclaimed for his wood engravings and scratchboard work, supplies 27 black-and-white illustrations of starkly detailed beauty. Photograph of Hayford, biographical sketch, and introduction by the Kennedys.
EXPLODING GRAVY: Poems to Make You Laugh
Poems by X. J. Kennedy,
Illustrated by Joy Allen
Little, Brown, April 1st 2002
For ages 6 to 106
ISBN 0-316-38423-2
Hardcover only, 128 pages
$16.95, in Canada $23.95
At last: a big fat collection of Kennedy's nonsense poems for kids, the cream of a quarter-century crop. Included are all the favorites from the earlier collections One Winter's Night in August, The Phantom Ice Cream Man, Did Adam Name the Vinegarroon? and Ghastlies Goops & Pincushions, with new stuff besides. Joy Allen supplies nutty pictures throughout.
ELYMPICS
Poems by X. J. Kennedy,
Pictures by Graham Percy
Philomel Books (a division of
Penguin Putnam), 1999
For ages 4 to 8 (or higher)
ISBN 0-399-23249-4
Hardcover, 32 pages in full color, 9 x 11"
$15.99, in Canada $22.99
Competing in an elephant version of the Olympic games, Tristram, Trixie, Big Elmo, and other pachyderms try their skill at bobsledding, high diving, and other sports -- with various degrees of success.
KNOCK AT A STAR: A Child's Introduction to Poetry
Revised Edition
By X. J. and Dorothy M. Kennedy,
Illustrated by Karen Lee Baker
Little, Brown, 1999
For ages 8 to 12
ISBN 0-316-48436-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-316-48800-3 (paperback)
xi + 180 pages
Hardcover $17.95, in Canada $23.95;
paperback $10.95, in Canada $14.95
An update of a much-honored book first published in 1982 and continuously in print ever since. It's written for kids to read for themselves, introducing them in friendly fashion to the elements of poetry and different kinds of poems (limericks, parodies, graphic poems, found poems, haiku, and songs). Illustrated with 179 short and engaging poems, both funny and serious. "If any book can win young readers to poetry, this one can." - School Library Journal.
TALKING LIKE THE RAIN: A Read-to-me Book of Poems
Selected by X. J. and Dorothy M. Kennedy,
Illustrated by Jane Dyer.
Ages 2 to 6 (but older kids like it too)
Little, Brown, 1992
ISBN 0-316-48889-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-316-38491-7 (paperback)
Hardcover, 96 pages, 9 x 12"
$19.95, in Canada $26.95
Paperback $9.95, in Canada $13.95
Poems to read aloud to small fry, sorted into categories such as Families, Just for Fun, Birds Bugs & Beasts, Rhymes & Songs, Magic & Wonder. Most of the favorite children's poets are represented, and some poets you might not expect (e.g., Wallace Stevens). Copiously illustrated with beautifully old-fashioned-looking watercolors. An ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year. "A perfect follow-up to Mother Goose." - Booklist.