The View from Monday: New titles available in April

Hooray for Monday! We’re back to share some of our favorite new books that will be available at your favorite bookstore or library in April. Happy reading!

Picture Books

The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer, illustrated Chris Sheban

This story will appeal equally to 4-6 year olds and their parents. If you’ve ever rediscovered a beloved book from your childhood, or seen a children’s book at a used bookstore or rummage sale and wondered how it ended up there, this book will warm your heart. A little girl loves a library book, which over time is checked out less and less, and is eventually lost to basement storage. The book remains in her heart and memory, though, and she finds it to read once again. This charming book celebrates the love of books in a sweet, sentimental way that is reminiscent of The Giving Tree. –Erin

How to Babysit a Grandpa by Lee Wildish, Illustrated by Jean Reagan

Written as a “how-to” this adorable book is packed with tips on the best way to care for Grandpa when left in charge.  My favorite tip involves snack time – anything dipped in ketchup! – grandkids and grandparents will enjoy reading this title together. –Nic

It’s Milking Time by Phyllis Alsdurf, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher

Where does milk come from? This lovely and lyrical picture book answers that question. Spend the day on the farm with a young girl and her father as they go through all of the jobs involved in getting the milk from cow to the market. Gentle and informative and a lovely daughter and daddy experience. –Kate

Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccario

Boy and Bot are friends, they play together and when it gets late they go home and have a sleepover. A sweet and funny story about friendship and caring with a couple of misunderstandings about how Boy and Bot each function is a lovely read aloud for anyone age 3 and up. –Kate

Middle Grade

Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shanks

This is an affecting debut novel set in the Appalachian coal mining towns that dot West Virginia. Although not strictly autobiographical, the story is set in 1953, the same year the author was born and drawn from family lore and her own research.Young Lydia Hawkins has known nothing but loss in her young life. As she narrates her family’s story, we learn that (in short order), her father, baby brother and grandmother had died. Her mother was sent to prison accused of murdering her brother BJ who was crippled with cystic fibrosis and for whom her mother vainly sought out doctors who could treat him. With mother in prison, Lydia is sent off to her Uncle William and Aunt Mae who live in a coal mining camp. In her native dialect, she chronicles her daily life, her uneasy role in her new home and tough transition at her new school where she is teased and bullied for being the daughter of a “child killer”. Through it all, Lydia maintains a mature outlook well beyond her years and iron-willed determination to prove her mom’s innocence.This story really stuck with me and reminded me a bit of other powerful coming –of-age stories such as HEART OF A SHEPHERD and LOVE, AUBREY.- Tim

Invasion of the Dognappers by Patrick Jennings

From the best-selling and well-reviewed author of Guinea Dog and Lucky Cap (coming in paperback April 24) comes this new tale of dognapping and aliens! When adults don’t believe what’s happening, it’s up to Logan and his friends to save the day. Another winner for the young/reluctant reader/middle grade boy.-Deanna

The Resisters 2: Sterling Squadron by Eric Nylund

Eric Nylund, author of the Halo series, started off the first installment of this new series with a past-paced, action filled story of an alien species taking over the minds of almost everyone on earth. Only children and a small group of adult Resisters remain unaffected. Twelve year old Ethan Blackwood was identified as a perfect candidate to join their ranks and in the second book,  it’s Ethan’s job to recruit even more kids to the cause. Where can he find them? Reform school of course! Straight-on science fiction complete with flying bug ships, this is the perfect series to get a video game addict to read.-Deanna

 Young Adult

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Thrilling historical fiction!  Readers will appreciate the quick wit and smarts of our heroine, Nora, who, along with her friends Max, Chris and Adrienne are translating an ancient text.  A gruesome murder, a chase through Prague and a religious sect on the hunt will have you gasping for air. –Nic

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks 

If you’re addicted to shows like Gossip Girl and maybe even NCIS (what a combo!) then you going to LOVE, LOVE, Mariah Fredericks The Girl in the Park, which takes whodunits and the setting of an elite, NYC private school, and combines them to create a suspenseful, literary murder mystery that’ll have you ripping through the pages to the very end. The story, based loosely on the 1986 murder in Central Park, centers around the murder of Wendy Geller, a teenage party girl, whose body is found in the park the morning after a rager. The story is narrated by Wendy’s former best friend, Rain, who knows that there was a lot more to Wendy than the “party girl,” as she takes on the task of weaving her way through  tangled headlines and vicious gossip in order to figure out who Wendy’s killer is. But for the introverted, Rain, the task expands beyond the discovery of the killer, and discovery of the “true Wendy”, to a more substantial discovering of her own abilities. At once riveting, prolific, and delicately handled, The Girl in the Park is a fast-paced, hold-your-breath read with a huge twist, about an exclusive world and the characters that occupy it. I enjoyed in immensely. –Bobbie

Thanks for joining us at RAoR today, we hope you’ve enjoyed a look at the new April titles. Please share your thoughts in our comments section.