New Book Tuesday

Wolf Cub has three very important jobs: she must find Little Mouse, Floppy Rabbit, and a sack of prickle brushes and bring them back to Big Wolf’s den. Wolf Cub carries each in her mouth (even though it tickles) and delivers all three to Big Wolf as promised. Good job, Wolf Cub! But what happens when Big Wolf, with her big sharp teeth, invites everyone into her den with the promise that no one will feel a thing?

This picture book features wordplay, subverted expectations, lots of giggles, and a wolf cub who takes her job very seriously indeed. Observant readers will be delighted with the twist ending—Big Wolf is a dentist, Wolf Cub is her able assistant, Little Mouse and Floppy Rabbit are the patients, and the prickle brushes are their new toothbrushes.

With a rhythmic text and winsome illustrations, Three Important Jobs is ideal for emerging readers and for anyone feeling apprehensive about a new experience.

Eleven-year-old Cinzia is a printer’s apprentice. She adores Mestra Aronne for taking her in—most guilds don’t have room for apprentices with a crippled leg—and she loves life in the raggedy workshop that smells of paper and printing, where secrets and stories are always circulating. So when Mestra Aronne is imprisoned for publishing accusations against the ruling family, Cinzia will do anything to prove that Mestra Aronne only told the truth.

Elena is the exact same age as Cinzia, but she’s forced to keep to her rooms and garden. To protect her, according to her mother. To protect the city, according to her uncle. Because Elena is not the charming, powerful noble her family wants her to be. According to them, she doesn’t communicate well. She’s too gullible and literal and struggles to understand other people.

After unexpectedly meeting face-to-face, the girls follow a trail of clues through their golden city, drawing supporters and learning more about their home and each other than they ever could have imagined. If one person—no matter how young—can change the course of history, just imagine what a whole flock of them could do.

Bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp and debut illustrator Sylvia Bi have crafted an indelible, vibrant story about finding and using your voice, perfect for fans of Lightfall, Tidesong, and The Prince and the Dressmaker.

Corazon Tagubio is an outcast at the Catholic school she attends on scholarship. Her crush on her teacher, Ms. Holden, doesn’t help. At home, Cory worries that less-than-perfect grades aren’t good enough for her parents, who already work overtime to support her distant half-brother in the Philippines.

After an accident leaves her dad comatose, Cory feels like Ms. Holden is the only person who really understands her. But when a crush turns into something more and the secret gets out, Cory is sent to her relatives in Manila. She’s not prepared to face strangers in an unfamiliar place, but she discovers how the country that shaped her past might also redefine her future.

This novel takes readers on a journey across the world as Cory comes to understand her family, her relationships, and ultimately, herself.