New books for young readers
January 2021
By Glenn Dromgoole
New titles for young readers now available at Texas Star Trading Company:
The Book of Dares: 100 Ways for Boys to be Kind, Bold, and Brave ($14.99 hardcover)
Authors Ted Bunch and Anna Marie Johnson Teague offer some creative “dares” for boys, such as:
Dare to step up for someone who is being bullied.
Dare to teach a friend something you’re good at.
Dare to ask a girl what she thinks.
Dare to talk about the thing that worries you most.
Dare to get involved with a good cause.
Each “dare” includes a brief one-page discussion of the topic.
The Ambassador of Nowhere Texas ($16.99 hardcover)
Texas author Kimberly Willis Holt won a National Book Award for her middle grade novel, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
Her newest book is billed as a companion to that prize-winning story and a tribute to friendships old and new, as Rylee becomes friends with Joe, who moved to town from New York after 9/11.
Ranch Weather, the fourth book in Hank the Cowdog’s Ranch Life Series ($6.99 paperback)
John Erickson teamed up with the National Ranching Heritage Center to produce a series of non-fiction books — in Hank’s voice — telling about what it’s like to live on a ranch.
Earlier books in the series explored Ranching and Livestock, Cowboys and Horses, and Ranch Wildlife.
The new book is divided by season – fall, winter, spring, summer — plus other weather events and some suggested activities.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus ($6.99 paperback)
Lucille Colandro begins her tale with “There was an old lady who swallowed a cactus. I don’t know why she swallowed a cactus. But it took lots of practice.” The old lady goes on to swallow quite a few more astonishing things before the story ends. A fun read for younger children, delightfully illustrated by Jared Lee.
Welcome to Texas ($9.99 hardcover)
The publisher Doubleday Books for Young Readers is producing “Welcome to” picture books about all the states.
Welcome to Texas includes such Texas icons as longhorns, bluebonnets, armadillos, barbecue, tacos, chicken-fried steak, football, rodeos and, of course, the Alamo.
