Bone: Tall Tales

Bone: Tall Tales by Jeff Smith, 108 pages

In this companion to his epic graphic novel series Bone, Smith offers up a handful of campfire stories that goofy Smiley Bone tells to his troop of Bone Scouts. They're fantastic stories, beautifully told, as one would expect from Smith. I particularly liked the story about Fone Bone and Phoney Bone following the treasure map — without giving the story away, I'll simply say that I may have to try this out on my kids someday. A wonderful quick read.

Babe Conquers the World

Babe Conquers the World: the Legendary Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Rich Wallace  272 pp.

When he was a teenager, my father used to caddy at the local courses in and around Normandy. He frequently talked about the celebrity golfers he caddied for and/or saw play including Babe Didrikson. I remember him saying that she hit the golf ball harder than anyone he ever saw. (He also said baseball player Leo Durocher was the worst golfer he'd ever seen, but that's another story.)

This book is a very good juvenile biography of the great woman athlete, her determination, and the controversies around her. While she helped to fight against those who believed women should not participate in sports like basketball and track, her personality and "I'm in it to win" attitude was frequently off-putting. After making her name in amateur basketball, Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson trained in track and field events and went on to be the first winner of the Olympic gold medals in women's javelin and 80m hurdles.  Her real fame came as a golfer, winning 10 major championships. She even met her husband, wrestler George Zaharias, on a golf course and they later owned a course together. After cancer surgery left her with a colostomy, she was told she would never play golf again but made a brief comeback before dying at the age of 45. This book is packed with photos, illustrations, and sidebars with commentary from fellow athletes and coaches. It's an interesting read and packed with plenty of facts to make it useful for kids doing reports for school.

The Unwanteds

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, 416 pgs.

A 2013 Mark Twain nominee, The Unwanteds has been described by Kirkus reviews as “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.”  When Alex finds out he is Unwanted, he expects to die. That is the way of the people of Quill. Each year, all the thirteen-year-olds are labeled as Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted. Wanteds get more schooling and train to join the Quillitary. Necessaries keep the farms running. Unwanteds are set for elimination. 
It’s hard for Alex to leave behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted, but he makes peace with his fate—until he discovers that instead of a “death farm,” what awaits him is a magical place called Artimé. There, Alex and his fellow Unwanteds are encouraged to cultivate their creative abilities and use them magically. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it’s a wondrous transformation. 

Central to the story is the unique occurrence that twins have been divided between Wanted and Unwanted.  As Alex and Aaron’s bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artimé that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate magical battle.