The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
	The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based booklist available as an online-only Bulletin feature. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months.
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• Adler, C. S. The No Place Cat. Clarion, 2002 Gr. 4-7
  Running away from her father's stuffy household to live at her mother's more freewheeling abode, Tess encounters a stray cat. To her own surprise, she quickly feels bonded to the animal, and she hopes that her mother will be willing to take both of them in to her home. (BCCB 4/02)
  
• Bateman, Teresa. The Merbaby; illus. by Patience Brewster. Holiday House, 2001 6-9 yrs
  When two fisherman, Josh and Tarron, find a merbaby in their nets, one envisions exploiting the child to gain fame and fortunewhile the other secretly returns her to her merfamily in the sea. (BCCB 9/01)
• Graham, Bob. "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate; written and illus. by Bob Graham. Candlewick, 2001 5-8 yrs
  Kate convinces her family to make an outing to the shelter, where they meet Dave, a boisterous puppy, and Rosy, an old dog who "radiated 'Good Intention.'" They adopt Dave and leave Rosy behind, but, after sleeping on it, the whole family rushes back in the morning to bring Rosy home as well. (BCCB 9/01)
• Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl. Hansel and Gretel; illus. by Dorothee Duntze. North-South, 2001 5-8 yrs
  Hansel and Gretel has always been a frightening tale, and this version presents a particularly dark look at this classic story. "The precise text (translated by Anthea Bell) provides no refuge from the enormous, gut fear of abandonment, and Duntze's illustration evince a nightmare-like reality that reaches out from the very first full-page painting." (BCCB 5/01)
• Hobbs, Valerie. Tender. Foster/Farrar, 2001 Gr. 6-10
  "Gran's sudden death leaves fifteen-year-old Liv Trager with nowhere to go except California, where her estranged father makes a tenuous living diving for abalone." Liv becomes his tender, the person who tends the boat while her father dives, and the two begin to create the fragile framework for a life together as a family. (BCCB 10/01)
• Howard, Arthur. Hoodwinked; written and illus. by Arthur Howard. Harcourt, 2001 3-6 yrs
  Mitzi is a young witch who wants a pet, but all the pets she tries don't seem to suit her. A toad, a slimy bullfrog, and a pair of bats are all returned to the store, until at last she meets a kitten. (BCCB 9/01)
• Kehret, Peg. Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays; illus. with photographs by Greg Farrar. Whitman, 1999. Gr. 3-7
  The shining examples of canine companionship presented in this collection may encourage young dog lovers to take a second look at a potential pal in the pound. (BCCB 4/99)
• Lindenbaum, Pija. Bridget and the Gray Wolves; written and illus. by Pija Lindenbaum. R&S, 2001 5-8 yrs
  When Bridget strays from the path and loses her day-care group, she encounters a pack of gray wolves in the forest. Bridget's attempts to communicate with the wolves don't work ("I am a child who has lost her day care!"), until she learns their bedtime rituals ("The wolves obediently go to their pee trees. And soon it sounds as if it's raining in the forest") and Briget is able to relate to their wolfy world. (BCCB 9/01)
• Lu Chi Fa. Double Luck: Memoirs of a Chinese Orphan. Holiday House, 2001 Gr. 5-8
  Orphaned at an early age, Chi Fa moves from relative to relative and place to place, always striving to work hard and retain a sense of compassion for others and respect for his family. He moves to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally to the United States where he makes his fortune as a restaurant owner in California. (BCCB 10/01)
• Naidoo, Beverly. The Other Side of Truth. HarperCollins, 2001 Gr. 7-12
  When their mother is killed before their eyes (political revenge for their father's work as a journalist), Sade and her younger brother are sent hastily from their home in Lagos to London. Dishonest escorts abandon them in London, and they are quickly swept into the British child welfare system. (BCCB 9/01)
• Quattlebaum, Mary. Grover G. Graham and Me. Delacorte, 2001 Gr. 4-7
  Ben Watson is determined to stay unattached in his next (eighth) foster home, until he meets his fellow foster kids, including one-year-old Grover who quickly wins Ben's affection. Ben soon becomes so protective of Grover that when Grover is returned to the custody of his teenage mother, Ben kidnaps the baby and runs away. (BCCB 1/02)
• Schmidt, Gary D. Straw Into Gold. Clarion, 2001 Gr. 6-9
  When Tousle's good-hearted nature leads him to impulsively speak out to the king, he is nearly killed. Fortunately, the queen intervenes, and Tousle is given one chance to save his own life: he must find the answer to a riddle. Meanwhile, the king is very interested in Tousle's missing Da, "a little man with spindly fingers who has the gift of turning straw into gold." Fantasy and adventure fans will enjoy the many threads of this retelling of Rumplestiltskin. (BCCB 9/01)
• Simmons, Jane. Ebb & Flo and the Baby Seal; written and illus. by Jane Simmons. McElderry, 2002 4-6 yrs
  Ebb, a dog, finds a baby seal who has strayed from his mother. At first, the dog and the seal forget their troubles and enjoy a beach romp, but as the day wanes, Ebb realizes that the little seal may need help. Ebb bring his human owner Flo (along with Flo's grownup mother) to meet the seal, and they all row out to Seal Island to take the baby home. (BCCB 3/02)
• Wait, Lea. Stopping to Home. McElderry, 2001 Gr. 4-6
  "When Abigail's mother dies of smallpox, eleven-year-old Abigail is determined to keep her little brother, Seth, with her." Resourceful young Abigail finds a place for herself and her sibling with Mrs. Chase, whose household desperately needs someone like Abigail to pitch in with chores and caretaking. However, when Abigail realizes that Mrs. Chase is pregnant, she fears that she and Seth will be turned out to make room for the new baby. (BCCB 12/01)

This page was last updated on November 1, 2002.

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