Boys are the protagonists in three fine new novels for young readers.
Young Nat Field, an American who has recently lost his parents, travels to London to join an acting company for children at the new Globe, a replica of the theater for which Shakespeare wrote plays 400 years before. Nat falls ill, then wakes up healthy, but as one of the original Globe actors in 1599. In present- day London, another Nat lies ill, inexplicably suffering from bubonic plague. She pulls it off, creating an unusual story that especially will appeal to youngsters who love history, literature and fantasy. It's left to Toby, his friend Cal and other Antler residents to get groceries to the huge kid and, in their own way, befriend him.