High quality fiction for children and young adults and sophisticated picture books from here and abroad
Front Street's young adult fiction often deals with children in crisis or children at risk, offering hope and succor, however difficult the subject. Our picture books emphasize art and design. We strive to expose young readers to the best literature available in other countries, cultures, and languages.
Reviewer Hazel Rochman writes a review of Steven Herrick's Naked Bunyip Dancing in the April 15, 2008 issue of Booklist:
"The characters are fun, as are the angry insults and the emotional dramas. Decorated with occasional ink cartoons, including 24 small portraits of the kids, this book will be a good choice for readers’ theater and for creative-writing classes."
Reviewer John Peters writes of Kimberley Heuston's The Book of Jude in the April 15, 2008 issue of Booklist:
"Mental illness flares in a teenager transplanted from New York to Prague, and readers get the inside angle in this first-person historical novel from the author of The Shakeress(2002). ... Heuston constructs a solid cast and setting, against which her protagonist’s breakdown proceeds in a convincing way. Jude’s Mormon faith is a strong subsidiary element here, as well."
Voice of Youth Advocates took a look at Mirjam Pressler's Let Sleeping Dogs Lie in its April 2008 issue:
"This moving and important novel touches on a part of the Holocaust that is not often covered. ... This wonderful story portrays a part of Germany’s past about which very few Americans think. ...[I]t is a worthy purchase for any teen fiction collection."
The journal of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation, IGUANA: Conservation, Natural History, and Husbandry of Reptiles, reviewed Wendy Townsend's Lizard Love in the March 2008 issue:
"Townsend makes excellent use of her natural history knowledge to elaborate, yet not overwhelm this charming coming of age tale. ... Young readers, especially animal lovers, will empathize with the embattled Grace and her coping mechanisms. And older readers/animal lovers (who enjoy young adult fiction as I do) are liable to see their youthful selves reflected here."
On April 13, 2008, The New York Times Book Review reviewed Paula Fox's Traces:
"'Traces' is a kind of poem about the clues left behind by a world in motion — a turtle’s footprints in the sand, a frog’s air bubbles, a jet’s smoky trail. Fox’s words have a gentle repeating rhythm, as light-footed as the animal that has just left one scene: 'Something, someone was just here. Now there’s barely a trace of it.' Her observations are keen and evocative... The absence of rhyming verse is refreshing for a children’s poem and suits Fox’s quiet reflections."
Rits by Mariken Jongman, translated by Wanda Boeke, was reviewed in the April 15, 2008 issue of Booklist:
"This first novel, translated from the Dutch, takes the form of a diary, and though the format is too often exploited to keep plot details from the reader (Rits gets hand cramps at a number of convenient times), his voice transcends the awkwardness with its utter believability, making for a quietly funny and heartfelt story."
Reviewer Jeremy Rogers writes a review of Steven Herrick's Naked Bunyip Dancing in the April/May 2008 issue of Library Media Connection:
"This novel is a must-read for any young adult who seriously participates in poetic writing or merely expresses an interest in it. Students in upper elementary through middle school are likely to enjoy this novel the most. Recommended."
