Boy’s town
These books all have male protagonists but will appeal to girls, too
ALL ABOUT ALFIE
Written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes Bodley Head, 32 pages, $22.95 Ages 2-4 Thirty years after the classic Alfie Gets in First, Alfie and Shirley Hughes, queen of the British picture book, are still going strong in this compendium of new Alfie stories and poems. As ever, Hughes’ storytelling seems simplicity itself, but hones in perfectly on preschooler excitement. In “A Very Special Birthday” Alfie and his friend Bernard are enchanted when Alfie’s greatgrandmother shares her first-hand knowledge of the old-fashioned planes that are Bernard’s obsession. In “Alfie’s Big Adventure,” Alfie and his mother are surprised by an owl in the cottage where they’re staying for a weekend. Hughes’ illustrations range from lovingly observed preschooler and family life to atmospheric outdoor scenes — and like the stories themselves, unfold their delights and complexities with multiple readings.
THE PRISONER OF SNOWFLAKE FALLS
By John Lekich, Orca, 266 pages, $12.95 Ages 11 and up Dry humour, a slightly insane imagination and a highly personable hero make Lekich’s new novel wholly refreshing. Henry Holloway is a gifted thief — having been trained by his guardian, Uncle Andy. When Uncle Andy’s serving time for a while, Henry has to shift from “recreational theft” to survival theft — and despite his giftedness, ends up in a rehab program. Suddenly he’s transported to Snowflake Falls, Vancouver Island, and is trying to survive the weirdness of his foster family, the Wingates — including a baby with “astounding nocturnal word power” and a Wall Street Journal reading, scissor-happy girl with ambitions to be a hair-stylist. But it looks like even the Wingates can’t make Henry completely honest. . . This crime comedy is made all the more entertaining by its cast of eccentric characters, but none is more winsome than Henry — who steals cars only so he can organize his thoughts; tidies the houses of those he robs; and brings a clever, comical bemusement to his own story. Delightful.
CHOMP
By Carl Hiassen, Knopf, 290 pages, $18.99 Ages 10-14 Wahoo is caught up in strange, then frightening, shenanigans in the Everglades when his father, an animal wrangler, provides the gators, snakes and turtles for an episode of a realityTV show. When the show’s capricious star is bitten by a bat and goes berserk, it’s only the first in a series of improbable adventures. Hiassen’s mystery is on the wacky side — at times a happily outrageous parody of vampire fantasy and at times a suspenseful, fast-paced drama, but with a realistic, knowledgeable portrayal of the natural world throughout.
GOOL
By Maurice Gee, Orca, 215 pages, $12.95 Ages 12 and up This sequel to Gee’s mesmerizing Salt is now available in paperback. Xantee and Duro must rid their jungly, dystopic land of destructive, jellyfish-like gools, but although they’re at last able to figure out how to defeat them, it takes Xantee’s empathetic, peaceable nature to muster the final blow. Gee’s quick, forceful prose makes this read almost as an extended poem of action and dialogue, and the silent speech natural to the characters gives it fast, back-and-forth bounce and plenty of momentum. Gool and the earlier Salt offer danger, adventure and quickly paced storytelling.
LOWER THE TRAP
By Jessica Scott Kerrin, Kids Can, 125 pages, $16.95 Ages 6-10 Graeme’s lobster fisherman father has caught an ancient, gargantuan lobster, and Graeme’s hoping it will get the highest bid in the auction at the annual lobster festival in their Nova Scotia fishing village. That way, he will get his dream prize — a trip to the marine research aquarium. But it looks like Norris, the spoiled son of a wealthy cannery owner, is maneuvering to undermine Graeme’s chances. School social relations and an accessible plot combine with regional issues in this story, the first in a trilogy that examines the same event from three perspectives.