Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale

Rapunzel’s tale gets on a new twist as she emerges as a take-charge personality. After her “mom” locks her in her ghastly tower, she realizes her long hair can be very useful. She uses it to escape (no need of prince charming here, in fact, he happens along after she’s freed herself and she tricks him in to continuing to the empty tower!) and teams up with an annoying boy named Jack (of the beanstalk fame!) to seek revenge on her fake mom and release her real mom from a life of slavery.

It’s lots of fun and a powerful female lead. The graphic nature adds to the adventure, more of the rough and tumble fights and stuff happen in the illustrations, not in the text. Easy to follow graphics with distinction between the narrative description (in beige background rectangles) and the dialog (in white bubbles).

The Lindbergh Child: The atrocious kidnapping and murder of the infant son of America’s hero Col. Charles A. Lindbergh by Rick Geary

One of several “crimes of the century,” the kidnapping of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s firstborn son on March 1, 1932, captivated the world and tugged at everyone’s heartstrings. Following the payment of a ransom, communication between the Lindbergh family’s go-between and the kidnappers ended. In May of that year, a sad discovery was made not far from the Lindbergh estate—the body of a child later identified as Charles, Jr. Police finally made an arrest more than a year later after carefully tracking ransom bills and linking the suspect, German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann, with forensic evidence and corroborating witness identifications. The circus-like atmosphere of Hauptmann’s trial in Flemington, New Jersey ended in a guilty verdict and his eventual execution. Rick Geary’s graphic illustrations quickly give us background information on Lindbergh and his historic flight and then intimately acquaint us with the layout of the Lindbergh estate and the crime’s major characters. While definitely not for the reluctant reader, Geary’s graphic technique and unique viewpoint will fascinate readers with their own artistic inclinations or an interest in crime stories.
This book is part of a series called A Treasury of XXth Century Murder.

Recommended grade levels: 6-12