EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR by E.  K. Johnston.  Penguin Random House Books, 2016.  245p.  ISBN 978-10199458-0 $17.99 hc.    Gr. 9-12    TN FIC


It's the summer before senior year.  Hermoine is the captain of her cheerleading team, and this is her last summer at cheerleading camp.  She wants it to be perfect.  It is.....until the Friday night party when she's drugged and raped.  As her friends grapple with academics, college applications, relationships, and their own emerging sexuality, Hermoine has the additional responsibility of seeing a psychiatrist to try to remember the sexual attack.  Her life is now full of decisions.  What if she's pregnant?  What if she remembers?  Should she prosecute the attacker and relive the whole incident?  There's a lot to think about for high school readers.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

GRUMPY PANTS by Claire Messer.  Chicago, IL:  Albert Whitman & Co., 2016. 32p.  ISBN 978-08075-30757 hc. $16.99    Preschool-K   E PIC

Penguin was in a bad mood and "didn't know why."  He tried to shake off his mood by removing every layer of his clothing, including his grumpy boots and grumpy socks.  He took a bath to wash off his gumpriness and got ready for bed, following all his favorite routines.  These self-soothing activities seemed to work because Penguin is shown on the last page, fast asleep and ready for a new day.  What a great way to show young children how to work through their emotions and make every day better than the one before.  Messer also provided the linoleum print illustrations that feature Penguin on a stark background, keeping him the center of the story.  One little eyebrow, along with body posture, does the trick to convey Penguin's mood perfectly.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

THE GREAT WHITE SHARK SCIENTIST by Sy Montgomery.  Photographs by Keith Ellenbogen.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2016. 70p.  ISBN 978-0544-352988 hc. $18.99   Gr. 3-6   JNF
The animal scientist series continues with a study of the great white shark, led by Greg Skomal, a shark biologist from Massachusetts.  The study, written like a journal, is supplemented with color photos of sharks in their ocean environment, the science boat, the tagging process, and some of the animals on the food chain.  Easy to read and packed with shark information, this book includes a bibliography and web resources for further research, along with a complete index.  Visit the new Scientists in the Field website at www.sciencemeets adventure.com for more info on spiders, cheetahs, seahorses, whales, snakes, and elephants, to name just a few.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

CLARK IN THE DEEP SEA by R.W. Alley.  New York: Clarion Books, 2016.  32p. ISBN 978-0547-906928 hc. $14.99   PreS - Gr. 2   E PIC

Clark and his friends happily play together on the front porch because it's too rainy to go further.  Suddenly a stuffed bear, the star of a pretend circus routine, falls off the porch into the wetness and the world of imagination kicks in, as the porch becomes an ocean liner surrounded by water.  Clark dashes from the porch to complete a deep sea rescue of the bear as the author/illustrator turns common objects from the yard into an ocean environment.  The transformation is accomplished with soft watercolors, accented with pencil and acrylics for well-defined, eye-catching illustrations that stretch from one page to the next.  If you enjoy this imaginary adventure, read more in this delightful series featuring Clark's friends:  GRETCHEN OVER THE BEACH, MITCHELL ON THE MOON, and ANNABELLE AT THE SOUTH POLE.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI