(Updated Nov. 27, 2009)

Murder in the Thumb by Richard W. Carson --A teenager uses a Ouija board to foretell her death; a "psychic" leads police to witnesses and a crime scene; and a Roman Catholic priest/lawyer for the defense all add up to a stranger but true murder trial in the Thumb of Michigan. A history making investigation became the first instance in Michigan where prosecutors charged murder on circumstantial evidence, without a body, and the first time state police ever used a forensic anthropologist and a forensic archaeologist to assist in the crime lab.

Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown
Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs
Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman
Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury
Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Home for Christmas by Andrew Greeley
Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell
Southern Lights by Danielle Steel
Christmas Promise by Anne Perry
Professional by Robert by Parker
True Blue by David Baldacci
Ninety Two Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber
Deadly Deals by Fern Michaels
Black Friday by Alex Kava
Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor
Miracle on the Hudson by Laura Parker (nonfiction)
Rough Country by John Sandford
Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan
Ford County Stories by John Grisham
Rainwater by Sandra Brown
Wish for Christmas by Thomas Kinkade
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini
Vanishing Act by Fern Michaels
Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Lords of Avalon: Knight of Darkness by Sherrilyn Kenyon
End the Fed by Ron Paul
Missing by Beverly Lewis
Arguing with Idiots by Glenn Beck (nonfiction)
Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith
Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (nonfiction)
Capitol Offense by William Bernhardt
Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods
Intervention by Terri Blackstock
13 1/2 by Nevada Barr
True Compass by Edward Kennedy (nonfiction)

New Children's Books

Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dancy (Book 6) by Annie Barrows, ill. by Sophie Blackell--Finally! After begging their parents for ballet lessons, Ivy and Bean finally get what they want...well, not exactly. Much to their surprise, it turns out ballet lessons do not include karate chops and roundhouse kicks to the villain's heart. The girls have no interest in learning how to dance gracefully, but they promised their parents they would finish the entire ballet course! When it comes time for Ivy and Bean to participate in the ocean-themed class recital, the girls must figure out a way to get out of it without breaking their promises.

Preschool-Kindergarten-1st
Marley Goes to School by John Grogan
Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library by Vicki Myron
The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor

Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart, Illustrated by: Constance R. Bergum
Woodchucks sleep soundly all winter long, while even on the coldest days red-spotted newts “dodge and dart, whiz and whirl” in ponds below the ice. Hidden from view, there is life under the snow. Full-color watercolors on rag watercolor paper.

Big Bear Hug written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland
There once was a bear who loved all living things so much he couldn’t resist giving them a squeeze. He hugged animals, but what he loved to hug most were the trees. However, when the bear finds a man chopping down a tree, he doesn’t feel like hugging. How will he stop the man? Full-color illustrations created in Photoshop.

Grades 1-3 (Easy Readers)

Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember
written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee
Whenever Mouse and Mole go bird watching, all the birds fly away. Perhaps “Mousebird” and “Molebird” will have better luck observing the feathered creatures. Full-color litho pencil and gouache illustrations.z

Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated)
by Florence Parry Heide, Illustrated by: Lane Smith
Poor Princess Hyacinth! If only she could run and play with the other children on the Palace Grounds. Why can’t she, you wonder? Well, because Princess Hyacinth has a problem—she floats! Characters created in brush and ink on watercolor paper; backgrounds painted in oil on board and then digitally combined on a computer.

Grades 2-4

Marsupials written and photographed by Nic Bishop
“[Marsupials] give birth to babies that are so small, they look like pink jelly beans with two little legs.” Striking photographs accompany informative text about familiar and lesser-known marsupials, from kangaroos and koalas to boodies and dunnarts. Author’s note. Glossary. Index. Gatefold. Full-color photographs.

Grades 3-5
Murder at Midnight by Avi
In this prequel to the best-selling Midnight Magic, the king has locked up Mangus the Magician for treason, a charge Mangus’s young servant Fabrizio knows is false. The boy resolves to exonerate his master, but before he can discover the real traitor, Fabrizio is arrested, too.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by: Brett Helquist
Winter won’t end, and the people in Midgard, Norway, are getting restless. A boy named Odd escapes to the woods and meets a bear, a fox, and an eagle that are actually gods, exiled from Asgard. When Odd discovers that a Frost Giant is the reason for all their troubles, the group travels to Asgard, and Odd faces the Giant—alone.

Teen Fiction and Non-Fiction

Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff
“. . . the plane soared up, reaching the clouds. . . . I swallowed. I was really on my way to America.” After her mother died, Lidie stayed in Brazil, while her father and brother came to America. Now, five years later, she finally is joining them on a horse farm outside New York City. Although Lidie loves being around the horses, it quickly becomes clear that everything else will be much harder than she expected.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
What a summer! Middle-grader Greg Heffley returns with more adventures in this fourth volume of the best-selling series.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Keith Thompson
In an alternate 1914 Europe, Prince Aleksandar, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run from his parents’ killers and unsure about whom he can trust. Deryn Sharp has disguised herself as a boy so she can serve in the British Air Service. The two will have to rely on each other when their paths cross in the midst of World War I.

Nightmare Academy series by Dean Lorey
A Luxe Novel series by Anna Godbersen
The Missing series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Immortals series by Noel Alyson
Wrath of Mulgarath (Spiderwick Chronciles Book 5) by Holly Black
Tempted (House of Night Book 6) by P.C. Cast
Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Vampire Academy series by Michelle Mead
Wake series by Lisa McMann
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
The Clique series by Lisi Harrison

To suggest a book, contact aitkinlibrary@sbcglobal.net