Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Feb 6, 2007

"Looking for X," "Beauty Shop for Rent"

by Payal Kapadia

“Looking for X,” Deborah Ellis, OUP; 2006; 138 pp. ‘Mom used to be a stripper.” How’s that for an opener that grabs you? In chapter one of Deborah Ellis’ bewitching new novel, 11-year-old Khyber takes the opportunity to introduce her family. And as the ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Dec 5, 2006

"Bad Kitty," "Junie B. Jones ... is on Her Way!"

by Payal Kapadia

“Bad Kitty,” Michele Jaffe, Puffin Books; 2006; 294 pp. It’s ha-ha-hard being a teenager, particularly if you’re Jas Callihan, all of 17, half-Jamaican half-Irish, with a height to rival King Kong’s and a nonexistent chest. In author Michele Jaffe’s hands, nothing could be more ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Nov 7, 2006

'When Santa Fell to Earth,' 'Brooklyn Rose'

by Payal Kapadia

‘When Santa Fell To Earth,’ Cornelia Funke, Chicken House; 2006; 173 pp. Timeless. That’s the word for fiction of this sort. How else can a story originally published in German in 1994 Eand now translated into English for the first time Emake for such ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Oct 3, 2006

"Each Little Bird That Sings," "The Girl With the Broken Wing"

by Payal Kapadia

“Each Little Bird That Sings,” Deborah Wiles, Harcourt; 2006; 247 pp. If you’ve ever lost anyone — or anything — that you loved, let Comfort Snowberger show you how to make it through. Author Deborah Wiles selects perhaps the hardest issue for children — ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Sep 5, 2006

"The Monstrous Memories of a Mighty McFearless," "The Year the Gypsies Came"

by Payal Kapadia

“The Monstrous Memories of a Mighty McFearless,” Ahmed Zappa, Puffin; 2006; 215pp. So you know something your parents don’t — that monsters exist. Of course they do, but you can breathe easy: The world is about to become a safer place with author Ahmet ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Jul 4, 2006

"The Possum Always Rings Twice: A Chet Gecko Mystery," "Strange Happiness"

by Payal Kapadia

“The Possum Always Rings Twice: A Chet Gecko Mystery,” Bruce Hale, Harcourt; 2006; 112pp. If you haven’t read Chet Gecko before, you have my sympathies. It is certainly a terrible deprivation to go without meeting Emerson Hicky Elementary School’s best lizard detective. He cuts ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL May 2, 2006

"Cyrano," "Small Steps"

by Payal Kapadia

“Cyrano,” Geraldine McCaughrean, OUP; 2006; 167pp. So you’ve been struck by Cupid’s arrow, and it hurts, right? Well, for company during your lovesick blues, you could do no better than read about the poet-hero of Edmond Rostand’s 19th-century play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” which is ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Feb 7, 2006

"Firebird," "Thor's Wedding Day"

by Payal Kapadia

“Firebird,” Susan Gates, Puffin; 2005; 212pp. Truth is a double-edged sword — that’s what author Susan Gates cautions young readers in this coming-of-age novel about a young girl called Firebird who opens a Pandora’s box of family secrets that bring great pain and yet ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Dec 6, 2005

"The Fish in Room 11," "In my World"

by Payal Kapadia

“The Fish in Room 11,” Heather Dyer, Chicken House; 2005;160 pp. The goings-on at The Grand are just plain fishy and this isn’t because the hotel sits slap-bang upon the ocean front. It has more to do with the new guests in Room 11. ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Nov 1, 2005

"Chasing Vermeer," "How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare"

by Payal Kapadia

“Chasing Vermeer,” Blue Ballietta, Chicken House; 2005; 272 pp. Blue Ballietta’s debut novel, “Chasing Vermeer” has been called a ” ‘Da Vinci Code’ for tweens” and with good reason. “Chasing Vermeer” isn’t your typical whodunit about an art heist. True, a famous painting, “A ...

Lifestyle | ON THE BOOK TRAIL Oct 4, 2005

"Barkbelly," "The Sign of the Black Dagger"

by Payal Kapadia

“Barkbelly,” Cat Weatherill, Puffin; 2005; 352 pp. Courtesy of canny marketing and the J.K. Rowling Effect, too many children’s books are being lauded as “magical” even when they’re short on the magic. Cat Weatherill’s debut novel, “Barkbelly,” is one of them. Barkbelly is a ...