As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(4)
4-6
Illustrated by
Brett Helquist.
Nadya (Nadya Skylung and the Cloudship Rescue) is back, along with her diverse crewmates on the cloudship Orion. Fans of the first book will likely enjoy this sequel, in which Nadya navigates life as a new amputee and takes on a gang of kidnappers led by the mysterious Silvermask. However, an overabundance of secondary characters makes for an occasionally confusing read.
(3)
4-6
Translated by Anne Smith and Owen Smith. Following the events of The Space Race of 1869, this second steampunk graphic novel (translated from the French) finds our heroes hurtling away from political intrigue toward the moon, their ship a marvel of Victorian invention and their journey worthy of Jules Verne. The lush, skillful watercolors convey the mysterious aether and dazzling moonscape. Small panels within large trim allow for rich detail and continued character-building in the epic story.
(3)
4-6
Molly Stout Adventures series.
Since the events of Dominion, Molly and her family have been freeing enslaved spirits. With danger mounting and people and spirits getting hurt, Molly starts to wonder if she's making good choices or recklessly endangering those around her. The action and adventure continues in this steampunk sequel, but it's Molly's struggle to learn to live with consequences that drives this story.
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Sara Palacios.
In this slightly fictionalized account (with brief invented dialogue), Engle and Palacios introduce readers to Latina air-and-space pioneer Aída de Acosta (1884–1962), who defied the sexist attitudes of her era to learn to pilot dirigibles. Lilting, intermittently rhyming text highlights the difficulties de Acosta faced. Mixed-media illustrations capture the giant scale of the dirigibles without sacrificing detail in scenes of people on the ground.
352 pp.
| Algonquin
| April, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-1-61620-664-2$17.95
(3)
4-6
Carmer and Grit series.
Mechanical genius Carmer and his fairy friend Grit encounter a dirigible-type airshow with circus entertainment enhanced by magic from the Free Folk faeries. The Unseelie faerie court, however, is trying to sabotage the works. The strong main characters follow clues, uncover changelings, and finesse the politics of the faerie court in an enchanting steampunk setting that combines turn-of-the-twentieth-century technological advances with faerie magic.
(3)
YA
Adventures of Arabella Ashby series.
In the conclusion to this steampunk/alternate-history trilogy, England has defeated Napoleon on Venus and now intends to conquer Mars. Heroine Arabella is of English descent but was raised on Mars, so even though her new husband is leading England's mission, she allies herself with the native Martians. Levine once again successfully injects commentary on colonialism into an action-packed science-fiction tale.
305 pp.
| Putnam
| May, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-1-5247-3865-5$16.99
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Brett Helquist.
When pirates capture the adults of the cloudship Orion, it's up to plucky Nadya (who tends to the cloud garden that powers the ship) and her fellow orphan crew-members to rescue them. Helquist's dreamy black-and-white illustrations further bring Seymour's well-built world-in-the-clouds to life. The airy fantasy leaves some plot threads dangling--including one involving a civilization-destroying shadow--suggesting a sequel will follow.
(3)
4-6
Thirteen-year-old orphan Bert has accidentally bonded with a magical spirit, but cruel Prince Voss wants the spirit's power for himself. Bert joins an airship pirate and his metal-legged daughter to prevent Voss from capturing the spirit and claiming dominion over the world's magic. Enhanced by its likable heroes, this fast-paced adventure is a satisfying blend of steampunk, magic, and intrigue.
(3)
4-6
Translated by Anne Smith.
This steampunk graphic novel (first published in France) combines Victorian invention, family tragedy, and political intrigue. In 1869, Seraphin and his engineer father follow a clue to his missing mother's whereabouts to Bavaria, where they help King Ludwig build an aethership. Small panels within large trim allow for rich detail in this well-plotted, intricate first installment. The deft watercolors convey lush settings and sweeping drama.
(3)
4-6
Molly Stout Adventures series.
Teenage engineer Molly knows elemental spirits are dangerous but useful; they power machines like her alcoholic father's airship, which she works on with her older twin brothers. But when she catches a spirit that can speak, she realizes everything she knows about them--and her family's past--is wrong. The steampunk adventure has surprising depth as Molly realizes that even doing the right thing can have deadly consequences.
(3)
4-6
When her scientist parents join an expedition, Stella Glass stows away in their airship. She didn't expect to discover another stowaway, but she'll have to work with Cyrus to protect the ship from a saboteur. Though this rich steampunk adventure wraps up neatly, the pair's gentle romance and Stella's resourcefulness and determination should resonate with middle-grade readers.
32 pp.
| Random
| May, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-0-399-55448-3$16.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-399-55449-0$19.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-399-55450-6
(4)
PS
Illustrated by
Christian Slade.
A series of rhyming questions ponder how different air transportation (from helicopters to hot-air balloons) prepare for bed, seemingly just like humans. "Where do jet planes sleep at night after a day of engines roaring? / Do dads share bedtime tales of their transatlantic soaring?" Soft pastel-like illustrations with (occasionally creepy-looking) anthropomorphized vehicles should set the sleepy mood for transportation fans.
64 pp.
| Capstone/Compass Point
| August, 2016
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-7565-5441-5$34.65
|
PaperISBN 978-0-7565-5443-9$8.95
|
EbookISBN 978-0-7565-5445-3
(3)
4-6
Captured World History series.
This fascinating volume examines the iconic photograph of the Hindenburg explosion in 1937. With engaging detail, Burgan walks us through the events leading up to the moment of the explosion, the preceding history of airship travel, and the aftermath of the disaster. The photographer's experience and the legacy of the photo are also considered. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.
32 pp.
| Lerner/Hungry Tomato
| April, 2016
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-4677-9359-9$26.65
|
PaperISBN 978-1-4677-9591-3$7.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4677-9592-0
(4)
4-6
Stickmen's Guides to How Everything Works series.
Illustrated by
John Paul de Quay.
With appeal for future engineers, this series looks at the history of selected machines and how they work, from basic design and function to inner workings. Technical drawings, including cross-sections and diagrams, and simple explanatory texts (in tiny font) illustrate, for example, how pistons are used to power engines. Stick figures throughout the books add unneeded but benign-enough novelty. Timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Stickmen's Guide to How Everything Works titles: Stickmen's Guide to Aircraft, Stickmen's Guide to Gigantic Machines, Stickmen's Guide to Trains and Automobiles, and Stickmen's Guide to Watercraft.
(3)
YA
Former acrobat and thief Rémy Brunel and love interest Thaddeaus Rec return (The Diamond Thief; The Ruby Airship), here on an airship into colonial India's forests. While an unjust raja and a sinister cult threaten to wake a slumbering terror, fate grants Rémy an unexpected chance to find her long-lost twin brother. The energetic plot recalls classic action stories with a magical steampunk twist.
311 pp.
| HarperCollins/Harper
| October, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-232055-1$17.99
(4)
YA
Aza is happily back on Earth with the people she loves, but she can't stop thinking about the magical world in the sky she discovered she's from (Magonia). When disaster strikes, she has no choice but to return to Magonia. Aza's snarky teenage voice is a refreshing counterpoint to the book's soaring fantasy elements, but the hurried pace may leave readers breathless.
(4)
4-6
In the future world of Solace, junior apprentice archivist Lina dreams of bringing the airship she discovered to life, but she can't do it on her own. She recruits war refugee Ozben to help her, but he has his own dangerous secrets. Although the story's villains are two-dimensional stereotypes, Lina and Ozben's gripping emotional saga as they learn to trust others is realistic.
350 pp.
| Tor
| July, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7653-8281-8$25.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4668-8949-1
(3)
YA
Adventures of Arabella Ashby series.
In 1813, disguised as a boy, Arabella sails to Mars to save the family estate from a conniving relative. A shipboard mutiny and war between the colonists and native Martians complicate her task (and blow her cover). Steampunk mixes with a critique of colonialism as Levine simultaneously pays tribute to and updates the science fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne.
(3)
4-6
Chess and his fellow airship scavengers (The Fog Diver) set out to find the Compass, an ancient device that can eliminate the lethal fog that has covered the earth, before evil Lord Kodoc gets control of it for his own sinister goals. The offbeat future setting, airship battles, and clockwork monsters provide colorful sci-fi flavor, while goofy banter highlights the strong friendships among the crew.
108 pp.
| Scholastic
| February, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-545-86860-0$16.99
(4)
4-6
I Survived series.
Illustrated by
Scott Dawson.
Hugo is excited to travel back to America with his family on the German zeppelin Hindenburg. He survives not only the airship's fateful explosion and fire but also maybe-witnesses a spy mission involving Nazis. Short, plot-driven chapters with cliffhanger endings tell a thrilling, if contrived, historical survival story. Black-and-white illustrations add atmosphere. Historical background and Hindenburg facts are appended. Reading list. Bib.