“Odetta: The Queen of Folk,” by Stephen Alcorn (Scholastic, $17.99)
This illustrated tribute tells the free-verse story of the African-American folk singer whose soulful and versatile voice created the soundtrack for the 1950s and ’60s civil rights movement.
When Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington arrived in town in 1964, the marchers listened to Odetta singing on the Lincoln Memorial’s steps. Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Joan Armatrading and Bob Dylan (whose songs she covered on “Odetta Sings Dylan”) all cited her as a powerful influence on their work.
Author Alcorn begins her story during the early years that Odetta Felious spent in the segregated deep South and follows her move to Los Angeles, where she first drew attention as a teenage cast member of “Finian’s Rainbow.” Odetta died at age 77 before realizing her final goal of singing at Barack Obama’s inauguration. Ages 7 and up.
“Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Summer of ’41,” by Phil Bildner, illustrated by S.D. Schindler (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99)
Even readers who aren’t die-hard baseball fans will be drawn in to the tale of these record-setting athletes. So far, nobody has bested DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, or Williams’ season batting average of over .400.
Those numbers are sacrosanct to the baseball devotees whose hearts are engraved with the significance of the three statistics — 60; 2,130 and 714 — mentioned on the story’s first page.
“Unforgettable Season” may not hold surprises for hard-core baseball fans, but it revisits stories that will warm their hearts. And readers less familiar with the most American sport will like the lively details, including an illustration of DiMaggio’s dependence on his own bat, and the story about the first athlete to congratulate Williams’ feat in the All-Star Game. Ages 5 and up.
“Betsy Who Cried Wolf!” and “Betsy Red Hoodie,” by Gail Carson Levine, illustrated by Scott Nash (Harper, $6.99 and $16.99)
Author Levine, who famously turned the Cinderella fairy tale on its head with “Ella Enchanted,” now has a heroine for younger readers. Betsy is an intrepid young shepherdess who cries “Wolf!” only when she actually spots Canis lupus.
But the townsfolk don’t believe her until she tames — or does she? — the threatening predator. The sequel to “Betsy Who Cried Wolf!” poses the question of a wolf’s true colors when presented with the temptation of a potentially toothsome grandmother. Ages 4 to 7.
“13 Words,” by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maira Kalman (Harper, $16.99)
The publisher promises “a word book like no other,” with the genius behind “A Series of Unfortunate Events” creating a tale about a despondent bird whose adventures begin with a box of cake.
Like the books that made the psuedonymous Snicket famous, a baby plays an important and improbable role, as does a mezzo-soprano, a word that here refers to a type of singer associated with opera. It is safe to say that this is the only early-vocabulary book that features both a mezzo-soprano and a haberdashery. All ages.
“Can We Save the Tiger?” by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Vicky White (Candlewick, $16.99)
The honest, simple text explains why so many animals are in trouble (it’s us) in a world where “we’ve turned forests into farmland, dammed rivers, and built towns and cities to live in.” Some animals can roll with that, but not others.
The latter includes the famous (dodo birds), the obscure (Steller’s sea cow, the broad-faced potoroo and others on the brink of extinction, including the sawfish and the golden arrow poison frog. Humans have rallied to save a handful of them, sometimes with enormous success (the American bison); others, not so much (the Australian kakapo, a flightless parrot, and the whooping crane).
The author makes a convincing, affecting case that’s underscored by artist White’s extraordinary illustrations. The pages combining a colored image of the endangered creature, especially the fantastic, luminous tiger on Page 15, and the unfortunate, lonely kakapo on Pages 43 and 47. All ages.
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com
