Readers have many choices of modern fantasy and science fiction books. Here we review just a few of the recently published books that take readers into the future and worlds of fantasies and the unanswerable question, what if.

Ages 4–8

Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep. Robin Newman. Ill. Chris Ewald. 2016. Creston.

Hildie Bitterpickles is a sleep-deprived young witch. Her giant neighbor’s beanstalk elevator keeps her awake with its loud clunking, and an old woman has moved in next door with a gazillion noisy children who play loudly all night. When a wolf blows the roof off a nearby brick house in the middle of the night, Hildie decides it is time to move and seeks help from Monty the Rat, a local realtor, who sends her off to houses with their own issues: blind mice that tinker all night and black sheep that want to sleep with her. She returns home with her own creative solutions for her sleeping problems (such as inviting the blind mice to fix the noisy elevator) until, at last, when she turns out the lights, she hears “Nothing!” Discerning young readers are sure to scour the humorous illustrations for clues to familiar tales and nursery rhymes.
—NB

Ollie’s Odyssey. William Joyce. 2016. Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

In the world of toys, the highest honor is to be a favorite of a human child. Ollie, a homemade plush stuffed toy, has been 6-year-old Billy’s “fave” since Billy’s birth. When Ollie is toy-napped by the Creeps, who work for the evil Zozo (the Clown King of the Dark Carnival), the odyssey begins: Billy to find Ollie, and Ollie to escape from Zozo to return home. Through a wild series of “A-ventures,” Billy and Ollie are finally reunited at the Dark Carnival, where they confront Zozo, who retaliates by destroying the crumbling carnival and bringing it down on them. Through a magical turn of events, Zozo loses the hate in his heart for faves and sacrifices himself to save them. his is an excellent read-aloud with eerie,epia-toned illustrations that will have readers clutching their own faves while they shiver with anticipation of what will happen next. 
—NB

Ages 9–11

Girl in the Tower. Lisa Schroeder. Ill. Nicoletta Ceccoli. 2016. Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt.

Queen Bogdana, an ugly witch who has bewitched a kingdom to become ruler, has everything she wants except beauty. According to her ancient spell book, she needs a feather from a living hummingbird and a strand of black hair from the head of an 11-year-old girl with lavender eyes to cast a spell that will make her beautiful. To acquire these items, Queen Bogdana has imported hummingbirds for her garden and kept Violet and her mother locked in a tower since the lavender-eyed girl’s birth 10 years ago. As Violet’s 11th birthday approaches, the queen plans to make her a princess. Bogdana frees Violet’s mother, but bars her from the castle and contact with her daughter. Violet, who is as clever as she is beautiful, outwits Queen Bogdana, breaks all the queen’s spells, and is reunited with her family in a perfect happily-ever-after fairy tale ending.
—CA

Grayling’s Song. Karen Cushman. 2016. Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The cottage where Grayling lives with her mother, Hannah, who is a healer and wise woman, has burned. Hannah is rooted to the ground and turning into a tree, and her grimoire, a book of magic spells, has disappeared. The same thing has happened to others with magical powers. With only t magical songs learned from her mother and a basket of herbs and potions, shy Grayling sets out to find the grimoire, hoping it will reveal how to undo the malevolent magic. Along the way, Grayling is joined by a mouse, who, as a result of eating the contents of her basket, can talk and shapeshift. Grayling’s songs gather around her Auld Nancy, a weather witch, and Pansy, her pouty great-niece, as well as a self-centered enchantress and a wizard who tells the future with cheeses. Grayling is determined to thwart the evil force at work and is surprised to find she’s become a leader as the group survives numerous misadventures. Master storyteller Cushman gives readers a lively-paced tale of magic and adventure with an engaging heroine and a host of intriguing secondary characters. 
—CA

Greenling. Levi Pinfold. 2016. Templar/Candlewick.

When Farmer Barleycorn finds a strange baby Greenling growing near his farm, he takes it home only to have bizarre things happen overnight: Melons grow out of the kitchen floor, red peppers sprout from the cupboards, and apple trees bloom in the living room. When a train on a nearby track is brought to a stop by wild vines and the branches of mango and plum trees, there’s nothing that can be done except for the passengers to eat their way out.  In the fall, the youngster suddenly disappears, leaving a bounty of fruits and vegetables for winter behind and fallow fields—and the wonder of what the next year might bring. Told in a rhyming, folktale style, this picture book, with its ecological fable and haunting illustrations, is sure to stir discussion among readers young and old.
—NB

Princess Between Worlds (A Tale of the Wide-Awake Princess #5). E. D. Baker. 2016. Bloomsbury.

Princess Annie of Treecrest and Prince Liam, future King of Dorinocco, are ready to begin their honeymoon, a Grand Tour, when a wood witch gives them a special wedding gift: a collection of postcards from the Magic Marketplace that will literally send them to different places in the world. Touching one of the cards by accident, they are transported to the frozen outpost of Delaroo Pass, where they are forced to leave in a hurry as trolls attack. Aided by the magic cards, the couple travels from kingdom to kingdom in search of a way home and discovers their arrivals are always preceded by lies and warnings about them from an evil wizard. After facing near-fatal encounters with hostile beings, including yetis, dragons, and monsters, they are more determined than ever to return home. Readers will be eager to find out if there will really be a happily-ever-after for Princess Annie and Prince Liam.
—NB

Ages 12–14

Black River Falls. Jeff Hirsch. 2016. Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

On October 16, the town of Black River is devastated by a mysterious virus that causes the loss of memory. Months later, the town is now a heavily guarded Quarantine Zone. Seventeen-year-old Cardinal Cassidy has avoided being infected by wearing a mask and gloves and living in the mountains above the town with limited contact with “infected.” With no memories, infected individuals begin to make new lives. Cardinal, however, cannot escape memories of his family and what happened to them when the virus struck. Perhaps allowing himself to become infected would be a blessing. When Cardinal learns he is immune to the virus, he is faced with some difficult choices, choices that will affect not only his future but that of Black River. Told as a letter written by Cardinal to his brother, a form that provides flashbacks about family relationships, this is a complex and thought-provoking story of survival and identity. 
—CA

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle. Janet Fox. 2016. Viking/Penguin Random House.

When 12-year-old Kat Bateson and her two younger siblings are sent to Rookskill Castle Children’s Academy in Scotland to escape the London Blitz, Great-Aunt Margaret gives Kat a precious family heirloom, a chatelaine she says is magical. Kat is soon aware that all is not right at Rookskill Castle. The castle is full of bewildering passages and secret rooms, ghostlike children are seen on the grounds, and the students, locked in their rooms at night, hear frightening noises. Strangest of all is the behavior of Lady Eleanor, the headmistress, who also has a chatelaine, one with unusual charms that disappear one by one as students disappear. In this complex thriller/historical fantasy involving ancient magic and mystery, readers become aware of what is actually happening at Rookskill Castle before Kat does through the author’s use of flashbacks to earlier times as far back as 200 years.
—CA

Ages 15+

Flawed. Cecelia Ahern. 2016. Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan.

In a futuristic society where perfection is valued above all else, Celestine North is a model daughter, sister, student, and citizen until she makes a spontaneous decision that changes everything: She helps a “flawed” person in a society where it is against the code of conduct to aid the flawed in any way. Her boyfriend’s father, Bosco Crevan, is head committee judge for the Guild, which oversees the inquisition and punishment of those accused of moral or ethical mistakes. When Celestine goes before his committee, she is sentenced to five brands, the most ever administered to a guilty recipient (and she also receives an illegal sixth brand during the marking process). Released back to her family, she has to live with the punishments that accompany her brands. A rebellious faction wants Celestine to become their spokesperson, but she is not willing to become their hero. The upcoming sequel, Perfect, follows Celestine as she seeks the truth about the sacrifices she is asked to make.
—NB

Truthwitch (Witchlands #1). Susan Dennard. 2016. Tor Teen/Tom Doherty.

Witchlands is in the 19th year of The Truce, but war is afoot and deadly politics abound. All that Safiyand Iseult, threadsisters (individuals who are closer than family), want is to live freely. Safi, a Truthwitch, can tell when someone lies, and her powerful magic makes her a pawn for her enemies if captured. Iseult, a Threadwitch, uses logic to balance Safi’s fiery personality and sees the invisible relationships of those around her. When they are involved in a holdup that goes wrong, they find the revenge-bound Bloodwitch Aeduan hot on their trail. Shortly after, Safi escapes from an unexpected betrothal with the aid of reluctant Prince Merik, a Windwitch, and the young women are separated from each other. This novel, the first of four books in a new fantasy series that provides non-stop action with an unforgettable cast of characters  as these two ferocious females fight emperors, mercenaries, and witches to find each other and work together to prevent the eruption of war.
—NB

Nancy Brashear is Professor Emeritus of English from Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, CA. Carolyn Angus is former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, CA.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.