Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall.

Return to the charming world of the Penderwick sisters as they return home to Gardam Street after their summer adventures.  Mr. Penderwick's sister delivers a letter from his dead wife, telling him to start dating again, and horribly he does!  Rosalind is terribly scared of having a stepmother and brings her sisters together to form the Save-Daddy plan.  Meanwhile, Jane and Skye do one another's homework which leads to a web of deceit, Batty tries to warn everyone of a stranger lurking around the neighborhood, and Hound develops a fondness for a new cat next door.  Just normal life around Gardam Street.

Birdsall certainly didn't suffer from the Sophomore Slump with this second novel.  In fact, I enjoyed it even more than the first.  The sisters are all unique and interesting characters facing normal life crises.  It is the writing itself that charms, creating a book filed with the warmth, confusion, love and mess of real life.  There is still that old-fashioned feel to the series, as if a book from your childhood has moved forward to modern day but maintained the same sense of safety and a rightness with the world.  Refreshing yet reminiscent.

If you enjoyed the first book, make sure to check out the second.  Another great read-aloud for classrooms and a must-purchase for libraries.  Highly recommended for ages 10-14.

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Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke, illustrated by Garry Parsons.

Early one morning, a hen notices that one of her chicks is stuck in the mud.  She pushes and shoves, but can't get the chick out and then finds herself stuck too!  One by one, more animals join them stuck all together in the mud.  All push and strain to get unstuck, but all are trapped.  All except one!  The little chick who started the mess!

The art here is so funny and inviting.  Done in a cartoon style that will make small children right at home, it is perfectly paired with the zany text that will have children even more at home.   The text is pitch perfect, reading aloud so easily that it fairly skips along.  This is the perfect book for a toddler story time where children will love to shout out the animal names and join in the straining to push and pull the animals out of the mud.

Highly recommended for ages 3-6.  Have a muddy good time!

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Forever Rose by Hilary McKay.

Return once again to the Casson family as they verge on disaster but always pull together as a family by the end of the story.  Rose is being left alone more and more as her sister Caddy has left, Saffy is busy with friends and school, Indigo is into his music, her father is away living in London, and her mother is in her shed feeling ill.  But maybe it's worse when one of Indigo's friends moves his drum set in and ruins her latest painting.  Certainly it is worse when she finally realizes what she has agreed to do with her friends at the zoo!  But it is far too late to back out by then.

McKay has such a deft hand with characters.  They are constantly surprising but true to themselves.  She is particularly wonderful at creating people with true flaws, but also making sure they are not only lovable but loved.  While one doesn't wish to move in with the family, one would love to know them and be part of their world. 

Once again, a Casson novel that triumphs.  Highly recommended for readers ages 10-14, but only if they have read the rest of the series!

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Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker.

Every time a new Clementine book comes out, my toes wiggle with glee.  I know that between those pages, I will find moments to laugh aloud, discover myself as a small child again, recognize my children, and simply sink into a wonderful book.  They never disappoint.

This third Clementine book has her bonding with her third grade teacher until he is nominated to go on a trip to Egypt.  Now Clementine has to cope with a new teacher who doesn't seem to have the same rules while desperately trying to keep her old teacher from winning the award and leaving.  Clementine also has to try to do something extra nice for her mother because she is writing a story with her father.  It's only fair to do things equally according to her friend Margaret. 

Once again I was charmed not only by the effervescent Clementine who walks her own walk and sees the world through her own special lens, but by her parents who love her simply for being herself.  Other adults are equally well drawn and complete as are the children around Clementine.  Add to that Frazee's line art which constantly shows the field of chaos around Clementine as she moves through life, and you have such a believable and vibrant book that it is hard to put down.  In fact, I recommend having all three at hand, because you are going to want to start the entire series once again just to spend some more time with them.

Highly recommended as a readaloud, or for parents of children who don't conform to what the world seems to expect, or for children themselves who have a good sense of humor and love to laugh.  Hey, it's great for everyone.  Enjoy!

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My Friend the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

Ready yourself for a true story that defies belief.  A girl meets am old man who tells her amazing stories.  He starts by telling her of seeing a star fall and then heading into the fields to where it landed.  He picked up the star and took it home.  Then there was the time he found himself at the end of a rainbow, doused in colors.  Readers at this point will think they are in the middle of a magical picture book story, but in the author's note, Lyon tells us that she knew this man.  What a perfect way for it all to end.  In truth.

Lyon's language here is gorgeous and often breathtaking.  She starts out with plain and simple wording that gets caught in the story and expands, filling the book with metaphor and wonder.  And to make it even more wonderful, she does it a second time and readers will feel just as captured and amazed as the first time.

Pair her deft language with Gammell's art and you get a book that fairly sings with color and story.  Gammell uses his loose art to perfectly capture the connections between people and the singular moments we find ourselves in. 

Highly recommended, this picture book is a welcome addition to any library collection.  It should be shared with children and then they should be given time to hear your stories of wonders that have happened to you and to share their own.  A chance to share and connect is the perfect ending to this book.

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Peeled by Joan Bauer.

Bauer does it again with this engaging story of a young journalist who faces off against her own hometown paper.  Hildy Biddle knows how to stand up for the truth.  Her father was a newspaperman before he died and she has grown up to be very like him.  When a house in their community is declared one of the most haunted places in the state, all sorts of strange things start happening, all attributed to the ghosts.  Hildy and her friends on the high school paper refuse to accept the tales being told in the local newspaper and continue to ask questions.  But how will she reveal the truth once the high school paper is shut down?  Can the truth be heard?

Hildy is a grand female character, gutsy, funny, smart and determined.  Best of all, she is not the stereotypical smart-girl who lacks romance.  Instead Hildy has a string of ex-boyfriends and a boy she has her eye on.  This adds to her believability and strength as a character.  Additionally, the secondary characters are well-written and complete. 

Bauer also uses her ability as a writer to present readers with tough situations through clear language and a thoughtful approach.  As Hildy grabbles with the ethical dilemmas of revealing truth, so does the reader.  Bauer allows the reader to learn, question and think on their own.

Highly recommended for teens, this book contains no sexual content and could easily be used in classrooms with teens. 

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Saga by Conor Kostick.

This is the sequel to Epic, one of my favorite science fiction novels from last year.  While Erik and his character appear in the story, it is really much more about the cyberpunk world of Saga, a video game that has evolved from being a simple game to really being a world populated with living entities.   Ghost woke up six years ago with no memories of her previous life, now she lives outside of the world of colored cards and status that make up the society of Saga.  She is virtually invisible except that situations keep pushing her to the fore.  When people around her begin arriving and then disappearing, she and her friends begin to realize that they are living in a game.  The Dark Queen, ruler of Saga, begins to use the human visitors to her own ends, working against the changes that Ghost would like to see in the society and worsening the conditions of most of the population.  It may take working together with the unknown humans against her own kind to solve both the problems of Saga and the questions of her own identity.

Another thrilling ride of a book, taking on a genre of video games with the skill of a master.  Just as he captured the spirit of fantasy gaming in Epic, Kostick has created the feel of a vivid cyberpunk world here.  The writing is crisp and accessible, welcoming readers into the world.  The characterizations are multidimensional and fascinating.  The heroes have dark sides and the villains have softness.  Even in his Dark Queen, Kostick has created a true villain but someone with depth and logic. 

Readers who loved Epic will be jumping to read Saga.  It will not disappoint those video game players in your library.  In fact, if you circulate computer games or have gaming programs, I'd advise hand-selling these in those spots.  The kids will thank you.

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Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis.

First, let me just applaud this book for not being PINK and SPARKLY.  Instead it is red and sparkly and has a girl who is a spunky individual.  Lulu's parents are busy and her big brother is playing baseball with his friends, so that leaves her to find her own fun along with her dog Bingo.  Lulu spends the day outside in the backyard, running, saving ants from boulders, crossing puddles that could contain sharks, and building a fort of her own. 

Captured in the illustrations are her sense of self and freedom.  Lovely to see in a book for girls, Lulu is not squeamish and has a vivid imagination that keeps her more than busy enough while everyone is busy.  The illustrations are full of movement, breeze and joy.  They capture a day spent outside alone and the fun that can be found there. 

Highly recommended as an antidote to pink sparkly books.  This book could serve as a primer for modern children finding good old-fashioned fun in their own backyards.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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A pair of lovely board books crossed my desk and I just have to share them with you!

Subway by Anastasia Suen, illustrated by Karen Katz

Now available in board book format, this is the perfect type of picture book for a board book conversion.  With Katz's trademark round-faced people in all colors and a rhythmic text that invites bouncing and swaying, this is sure to be a hit on laps everywhere or in toddler classrooms and libraries.  Sturdy pages will stand up to the enthusiasm of the youngest readers.  Sure to be a hit even for those toddlers who don't know about subway systems.  Even better, it is all about a large vehicle so it invites small boys to enjoy!

Colors/Colores by Eric Carle

Coming out later this week is My Very First Bilingual Book in English and Spanish featuring colors and done by the wonderfully-popular Carle.  Each page features a sliding panel to expose either the English or Spanish word for the color.  Not only is this great fun for small toddlers but it will be of interest to those teaching Spanish in elementary school.  Kindergarteners and first graders are sure to enjoy it.

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How Big Is the World? by Britta Teckentrup.

From the author of Big Smelly Bear comes this book about a young mole who wants to know how big the world is.  As he travels, he asks different animals who all reveal the limitations of their own view of the world.  That is until he reaches the ocean and finds a whale who says that he has never yet reached the end of the world and carries mole and the readers to different lands.  When mole finally returns home to his father, he reports that the world is "as big as you want it to be."

This is a breathtaking book, with illustrations that are large, bold and inviting all at the same time.  Teckentrup's paintings will shout to an audience of preschoolers, draw them in, show them the world, and return them home with the same sense of adventure that little mole has.  Paired with the text that is purely child-friendly, this becomes a picture book worth adding to your collection and using in story times.

Simply lovely and highly recommended for reading to groups, appropriate for ages 3-6.

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The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato, illustrated by Delphine Durand.

Henrietta's two older sisters tease her mercilessly.  Even though she knows they often tease, Henrietta starts to believe them when they tell her she is really a chicken not a girl.  The feathers they leave in her room are especially convincing.  So Henrietta heads down the road to a nearby farm to find her real family and there on the farm in the chicken yard, she finds creatures who like her and enjoy being with her.  Maybe this is her real family after all?

What could have simply been a silly story becomes much more deep and thoughtful even with its brisk pace and wonderfully bug-eyed illustrations.  This is a great look at teasing in a family and at how children can see things in their own special way.  The entire family dynamic is believable and not overdone.  The pacing is quick, but allows for some reflection about what family is and what truth is. 

Lovely stuff, this is a great book for families to read together.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto.

Marjorie doesn't feel special.  Unlike the other cows on the farm, she can't ride a bike or do handstands.  So the chicken concoct a cunning plan to get Marjorie feeling better.  They give her one of their eggs, decorated with black spots.  Crowds and the press come to marvel at this cow who laid an egg.  But when the egg starts to hatch is the plot revealed?  You will just have to read it to find out.

Great fun from the first page, this book combines a silly story and zany illustrations into a package that will delight young readers.  The illustrations make this book with their marching chickens, jealous cows, and a befuddled main character.  They are done as collages with the use of photographs as well as drawings.  Great fun.

Highly recommended to share with a group of preschoolers.  This would make a great final book for story times about either cows or chickens.  For ages 4-6.

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Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

This was one book I was thrilled to get my hands on at PLA, and it was even better than my high expectations.

Valkyrie Cain continues to find adventure at the side of the living-dead skeleton Skulduggery Pleasant.  This time Baron Vengeous has escaped prison and is attempting to bring the Grotesquery to life in order to bring back the Faceless Ones.  The Grotesquery is a monster created from different pieces of beasts from legend, brought together into one horrific and powerful being.  As they try to stop Baron Vengeous, Valkyrie and Skulduggery run into a variety of strange beings who have incredible powers and who are always ready for a good fight.  Fans of the first book will also be happy to see many of their favorite characters appear again.

A wild ride of a book, the battles are gory, choreographed and often funny.  The book continues the strong sense of humor, laugh out-loud commentary, and vibrant relationship of the two main characters.  Plenty of banter and wit as well as some deeper questions about life make this a winner of a novel. 

This is not a stand-alone title.  Readers must have read the first in the series to really appreciate this one.  Highly recommended for fans of action films and science fiction ages 10-14.

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The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry.

Leave everything you know about Lowry and her type of book behind.  Now you are ready to enter the world of The Willoughbys.  The four Willoughby children are not adored by their parents.  In fact, their parents are desperate to escape.  Luckily, the children felt exactly the same way.  So when their parents head out on dangerous adventures, leaving them with a capable nanny, the children are overjoyed but worried that their parents may one day return.  Add into the mix an abandoned infant, a desperately depressed millionaire, and long-lost children and you have this novel.

Lowry has captured with great zest, fun and life a vintage feel, tipping her hat to great works of children's literature throughout.  Her tone is spot-on and at first child readers may wonder if it's OK to laugh, but it certainly is.  The book is light, quick and a blast to read.  Giggling is to be expected.

I am a huge fan of Lowry ever since The Giver and this is a new type of writing for her.  What a risk to take, but what a winner of a novel resulted!  This would make a great class read aloud for older elementary students or will happily be curled up with by anyone with a sense of humor.  Fans of Lemony Snicket will enjoy it immensely.

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The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry.

Leave everything you know about Lowry and her type of book behind.  Now you are ready to enter the world of The Willoughbys.  The four Willoughby children are not adored by their parents.  In fact, their parents are desperate to escape.  Luckily, the children felt exactly the same way.  So when their parents head out on dangerous adventures, leaving them with a capable nanny, the children are overjoyed but worried that their parents may one day return.  Add into the mix an abandoned infant, a desperately depressed millionaire, and long-lost children and you have this novel.

Lowry has captured with great zest, fun and life a vintage feel, tipping her hat to great works of children's literature throughout.  Her tone is spot-on and at first child readers may wonder if it's OK to laugh, but it certainly is.  The book is light, quick and a blast to read.  Giggling is to be expected.

I am a huge fan of Lowry ever since The Giver and this is a new type of writing for her.  What a risk to take, but what a winner of a novel resulted!  This would make a great class read aloud for older elementary students or will happily be curled up with by anyone with a sense of humor.  Fans of Lemony Snicket will enjoy it immensely.

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Big Bad Bunny by Franny Billingsley, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

There are some picture books designed to be great fun to read aloud and this is definitely one of them.   Mama Mouse is sweetly tucking her little baby mice into bed.  Kisses and sweetness reign supreme.  But turn the page and discover the horror of BIG BAD BUNNY stomping and rampaging no matter what is in her way.  Mama Mouse discovers that Baby Boo Boo is missing!  And then readers discover that Big Bad Bunny is what Baby Boo Boo turns into when she is angry, especially about being called a baby!

Moving between the loud anger of Big Bad Bunny and the tooth-achingly sweet mothering of Mama Mouse is great fun.  And the text is written perfectly to move between them.  Karas' art is as vibrant as ever, skillfully telling more of the story than the words do alone. 

Small children everywhere will love this story and will relate with relish to the anger of Baby Boo Boo.  So here we have a picture book that parents will love to read, children will love to listen to, and which has a great message.  What immense fun!  Recommended for small children (not babies) everywhere, especially those ages 4-6.

Visit the Franny Billingsley's homepage at http://www.frannybillingsley.com/, where you will discover her fantasy books for older children.

Visit G. Brian Karas' page at http://www.gbriankaras.com/ and enjoy his other picture books which are some of my all-time favorites like Muncha, Muncha, Muncha!

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Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Melanie Watt.

Scaredy returns in his third book that follows the same wonderful theme as the first two.  Though Scaredy would love to go to the beach there are so many wrong crowds that he could be surrounded by that he doesn't think it's wise.  So Scaredy creates a beach of his own using an inflatable pool and kitty litter.  But something is missing - the sounds are all wrong.  So Scaredy sets off to find a seashell at the beach to put to his ear.  He plans carefully but somehow doesn't factor in one little detail - people.

Watt's art is as always very fresh and fun.  The quirks of Scaredy's logic and thoughts are again thoroughly entertaining.  I love the touches of oven mitts, his middle name, and the care he puts into anything he does.  Very funny, unique and above all child-friendly.

Highly recommended where the first two were popular.  But if you don't have the first two, make sure you get those as well.  The cover art will get the books moving off of your shelves and the stories will keep them coming back for more.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr.

The sequel to the amazing Wicked Lovely tells the story of one of Aislinn's human friends who doesn't know anything about the faeries living around them or that Aislinn is now Queen of the Summer Court.  Leslie is a girl whose life has turned upside down, her mother left, her father turned inward, her brother deals drugs, and she was sold as a sexual favor to cover his debts.  She is damaged but not broken as she turns to a tattoo to restart her life, declaring her body her own again.  But it is not that simple, because Rabbit, her tattoo artist has ties to the Dark Court and Leslie finds herself slowly drawn into their fight for survival through the very tattoo she thought would mark a new beginning of freedom.

The world building here is exquisitely done.  Marr takes the world she built in Wicked Lovely and makes it deeper, darker and more intense.  Her writing is skillful, drawing you into the same web Leslie is trapped in.  By the end there is such a sense of claustrophobia and control that it is almost hard to breathe, but equally hard to put down.  Masterfully done.

I enjoyed Leslie as a heroine throughout the novel.  She is tough but still somehow vulnerable, wise but naive, and these qualities make her all the more intriguing and human.  Equally well portrayed are the two faeries Niall and Irial who struggle to not fall for Leslie but fail.  The Dark Court could have been chillingly callous and cruel, but Marr has managed to make them multi-dimensional and even allows readers to have some understanding of their motives and emotions.  It is a delicate balance that Marr achieves and that lies at the heart of the success of this novel.

Highly recommended for readers of the first novel, this book will fly off the shelves and into the hands of teens everywhere.

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I meant to do a full review of all of these, and they do deserve it, but right now I am completely swamped and want to get these back to the library shelves so others can enjoy them.  So I'll do a brief (even briefer than normal) snapshot of each title.  I consider them all must-reads.

One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke.

I had heard wonderful things about this book for months and months, but no local library purchased it until it was a Printz Honor Book.  It is the intimate but inherently funny story of a family with all of their ups and downs, strained relationships, new-found friends and lovers, and the meeting of strangers who then become part of your life.  Written with grace and beauty by Clarke, the book dips and dives through lives, allowing us to laugh at our own and see beauty where we may not have seen it before.  It also demonstrates without preaching or bullying that we are all interconnected beyond our small lives.  Simply wonderful and definitely a book that is purely teen but is not bleak or dark.  Lovely.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.

Salim boards the London Eye and goes up but never comes down.  Now his cousins Ted and Kat must figure out how and why Salim never came back down to earth.  A great mystery for middle-graders, this book has what seems to be an impossible situation, a moment where all of the evidence clicks into place neatly, and two great detectives in the young siblings who each have their own strengths.  Great characterization is the real center of the book here, despite the wonderful mystery.  Ted is a unique boy who has features of autism but is highly functioning.  His quirks make him the detective he is and allow his brain to see things from a different perspective.  What is best about the book is that Ted is never pitied or looked down upon, rather he is seen as special and interesting.  What a treat of a character!  Highly recommended for pre-teens, this would make a stellar book talk.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin.

From the author of Elsewhere, comes another winning teen novel.  Naomi falls down a set of stairs and hits her head at the bottom, losing her memory.  As she wakes up into a life she no longer remembers, she has to piece together why she is dating a tennis jock, why she has the friends she does, and what she wants to do with her life now.  It is a wonderful journey of self-discovery encapsulated by her lost memory.  Beautifully written and effortlessly plotted, the book is fresh and fast.  Zevin manages with both of her novels to create complex situations that envelope a truth.  This book is one that teens will flock to read, enjoy entirely, and pass on to their friends.

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What's So Bad About Being an Only Child? by Cari Best, illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

Rosemary Emma Angela Lynette Isabelle Iris Malone knows what it feels like to be an only child.  And to her, it feels horrible!  Smothering and lonely at the same time.  She begs for a sibling, sulks for a sibling, but her parents don't understand what's wrong with being an only child.  Rosemary struggles with her lack of brother or sisterhood until she meets a turtle at the pond and brings it home.  Soon other animals follow as well and she has a menagerie at home who play with her, argue, share secrets and generally are the family she never had.

Rosemary is a character written and illustrated with such verve and vinegar.  She's a refreshing change from other little girls in picture books who can be a bit too pink and frilly to read as real.  Rosemary is a true child from her pigtails to her crooked teeth to the glint of frustration in her eye.  The illustrations and the text work well together, creating the pitch-perfect tone here.

While reading the book, I feared that this little girl was going to find a way to have a baby enter her family in one way or another.  So I was happily surprised when she started collecting animals to be her family. 

Immensely fun to read aloud and a joy to share, this book will be loved by children with many brothers and sisters or those with none.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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Looking for Loons by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin.

Woken by the first morning sun, Patrick heads to the porch to watch for loons on the lake.  One by one, his family members join him, each awoken by a sound or smell to the beauty of the fall day.  It takes patience and willpower (to not succumb to the smell of a pancake breakfast) to watch for the loons.  By the end of the book, Patrick's patience is rewarded.

The prose in this book is poetic and beautiful.  It perfectly captures the stillness of a morning broken only by the slightest of noises like slippers flopping, kettles whistling and skillets being placed on the stove.  The interludes where the text breaks away from the cabin and looks towards other creatures around the lake are wonderful as well, allowing readers to "see" birds, frogs, and beavers.

As you can see from the cover, the art of this book is done with realism and softness.  It dances between almost photographic realism and a blurriness of sunshine and dappling of leaves.  As the text moves to outside glimpses, so do the illustrations, revealing even more creatures than the text itself. 

Perfect reading for anyone who heads north to a cabin or wishes they could.  This book is not only about loons, but also about wilderness and patience and family.  It has a cozy warmth about it, perfectly capturing a sunny autumn morning.  Recommended for ages 5-8.

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The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

Released March 25th, 2008.

Frankie is a sophomore at a private boarding school, Alabaster.  As a freshman she was invisible to the popular crowd, although her older sister had introduced her to everyone multiple times.  But now with a fuller figure, she gains the attention of Matthew, a very cute senior.  Frankie starts going out with Matthew but becomes more and more worried about what exactly he sees in her beyond her body.  When she discovers that Matthew and his friends are part of a secret all-male society on campus, she waits and waits for him to tell her about it.  But when he doesn't, Frankie takes matters into her own hands and makes the Loyal Order her own with a blend of modern technology and classic pranks.

Lockhart pays homage to Wodehouse with her writing style and delivery, offering a classic feel to the prose but also a broad sweep of caustic humor.  It is this humor and the sharp tongues and wit of the characters that bring the book to life.  The cleverness of the dialogue is marvelous to see as is Frankie's pride in her own intelligence.  Frankie is one of the brightest and unexpected of heroines.  Her inability to play by the rules is refreshing as is her refusal to be simply a girlfriend while the boys have all of the intrigue and fun.

Recommended for other smart teens who will enjoy the wordplay, humor and wit of the book.  You may see a run on Wodehouse after they read this!

Visit E. Lockhart's website and blog for information on her books, appearances and more.

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A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton.

Bear never has visitors, in fact he even has a sign on his door that says "NO visitors allowed."  When a small determined Mouse comes to the door, Bear turns him away.  But Mouse appears all over inside Bear's house as he prepares for breakfast.  After trying and trying to keep Mouse out of his house, Bear gives up and allows him to stay for tea.  And with that one snack together, Bear discovers that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't hate having visitors so very much.

This book is simply charming.  The soft-hued illustrations don't shy away from some great slapstick comedy routines.  They will delight young readers.  The repetition and rhythm in text makes this a perfect read-aloud and children will enjoy chorusing some of the repetition along with the reader.  Under all of this runs a story that is warm and filled with friendliness. 

A great choice for reading aloud to preschoolers and Kindergarten classes. 

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Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis.

Portis returns with a second book following her winning Not a Box.  This time readers experience the joy and play that a stick can create.  A piglet finds a stick and begins to play with it.  The adult voice cautions throughout how a stick should be handled, but the pig is just happily caught up in imaginative play. 

The illustrations here are thick line drawings that echo childhood and the text is short and wonderfully supports the spirit of the illustrations.  The sense of freedom and play here is captured to perfection, just as it was with the first book. 

Very toddler friendly, this book can be shared with a wide range of children from ages 3-6.

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Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by Valeria Petrone.

Red Truck is a hard-working tow truck, especially on a rainy, slushy day when the school bus is stuck on a slippery hill.  Red Truck zooms, pulls, and roars its way through the puddles and ice to save the day.

A perfect book for toddlers and young preschoolers, this book reads aloud like a dream.  So many truck books for small children are just a list of parts and noises, but this book has a story, action and will be popular from the moment it gets into children's hands.  It is the red truck on the cover and the bright vehicles that pop on the grey background that will have small hands reaching for it.  The pictures are very child-friendly and marvelously bold and simple.  Perfection for reading to a large group.

Zooooom over and pick this one out.  It's a guaranteed hit with the preschool set.  Recommended for ages 2-4.

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A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

Drawn in immediately by the cover image, I found myself captured by the intricate world I entered and the strength of the characterizations.

Charlotte Miller's father has just died and she finds herself as a young woman with a younger sister caring for the family's woolen mill.  Without a male running the business, she fights for respect among the other millers and within the textile industry.  Threatened with ruin when a mortgage on the mill is discovered, she turns to a strange man who simply appears and offers to spin straw into golden thread in return for her deceased mother's ring.  Charlotte fights to ignore the strangeness of the mill, the string of deaths of boys in her family, and her own growing knowledge that something dark and horrible happened in her family's past. 

I am often not a fan of retellings of tales like Rumplestiltskin as teen novels, but this one really works, primarily because the setting of a woolen mill is so vibrant and moves the story along a different line.  Bunce has created not only one strong heroine, but the younger sister serves as a foil for Charlotte, allowing readers a second strong female character to enjoy.  But neither girl is a saint.  They both have their own problems, personality quirks, and their own responses to desperate times.  It is their humanity that breathes such life into them.

This book engulfs the reader, spinning such a tale of curses, death, courage, cunning and strength.  Bunce has created one of the best fantasies of the year with her first book.  I look forward to seeing what her next one will bring us.

Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy and dark tales.  Don't sell this as a retelling of Rumplestiltskin, rather let the cover speak for the treats that await inside.

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Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost and Leonid Gore.

I know that you probably have read many books about monarchs and have plenty on your library shelves, but you must make room for this one. 

This book about the intertwined lives of monarch butterflies and the milkweed plant is simply marvelous.  It follows the growth of the milkweed plant in spring and the monarchs' flight northward through to the fall when the monarchs return south and the milkweed pods burst open and the flying seeds emerge.

Both the illustrations and text work in partnership here.  Frost's words are poetic and simply lovely.  Her vocabulary is very child-friendly, but the result will have children reaching higher to understand the way she frames her thoughts and creates images with words alone.  Adding to the grace and poetry of the book are the illustrations which are at the same time ethereal and yet realistic.  They shine with an inner light and the colors draw readers in.  This is a glorious marriage that creates a book far beyond what either could be alone.

Highly recommended for all libraries and for parents looking for a great nonfiction book that offers amazing writing.  For ages 6-9.

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Little Boy with a Big Horn by Jack Bechdolt, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino.

Ollie was learning to play a enormous bass horn.  But no one wants to hear his playing of the only song he knew, "Asleep in the Deep" with its great deep notes.  He tries different places all over town to play, but every time he ends up bothering people.  Finally, he heads to the harbor to play in a little boat, and there he learns that all noises have their usefulness and place.

Yaccarino's art is wonderful here, vibrating with his signature style and bold colors.  Bechdolt's words are filled with sounds, music and also colors.  It is a very successful pairing.

Recommended for children age 5-7, this picture book is great fun.

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Peanut by Linas Alsenas.

Mildred is lonely until one day she finds a stray digging in the garbage.  She tries to give him bones, take him to the dog park, and other things you would do for a dog, but Peanut is different than other dogs.  But Mildred loves him anyway, despite his differences.  When a man from the circus comes to take his lost elephant back from Mildred, she is left alone again.  Until she finds a lost... kitten.

Alsenas' tone in the text is perfectly pitched, allowing readers and listeners simply ride the gag of the book along to the end.  The art is equally successful, not over-the-top funny but allowing the joke of the book to really shine through. 

Preschoolers adore books where they immediately get the joke and this is one of those.  Read it deadpan and sincerely and you will add to their glee.  Recommended to share with a group of preschoolers, age 4-6.

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Twilight Hunt by Narelle Oliver.

A screech owl heads out on a hunt to bring her babies food.  But every time she's about to catch something it manages to evade her by camouflaging itself in the environment.  Sharp eyes will see not only the one animal hiding but many animals in each image blending gracefully into the surroundings. 

The marriage of great language and wonderful images is perfection here.  The language contains those great words that will expand small readers' vocabulary without them even realizing it.  Lizards scuttle, moths skim and wingbeats are noiseless.  The brief but powerful text leads from one picture to the next where children will lean closer to see the hidden creatures and by the end they too will be noiseless and even breathless.

A powerful book about an intriguing subject, this book is better used with a very small group or one-on-one because of the delicacy and details of the illustrations.  Simply elegant and lovely.

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The Getaway by Ed Vere.

Looking for a breakneck-paced picture book that will immediately grab small boys and keep them enthralled?  Have I got a book for you!  Fingers McGraw is an infamous cheese thief and the reader is immediately enlisted to help him escape with his stolen cheeses.  Jumbo Wayne Jr. is hot on his trail and all the reader needs to do is keep their eyes open and whistle when they see an elephant approaching.  How hard could that be? 

Great dialogue for adults features classic movie quotes and lines that will have you putting on your wildest vintage PI voice ever.  The book is just plain wild fun to share with kids.  Vere's words make the book flow, but his art is just as wild and wonderful, helping to increase the pace of the text.  Fingers always has his ears blowing back in the breeze as he tears past a background of real photographs.  Yes, the art is evocative of Knuffle Bunny's style, but is done with more close up photos so it also has a feel all its own.

A sure-fire hit with kids, save this one for a short school day or a Friday afternoon when the wigglies set in.  Recommended for ages 4-7.

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Season of Ice by Diane Les Becquets.

Genesis' father is a logger and gets extra work repairing docks on the lake.  But one day he heads out to repair a dock and disappears.  His truck is left on the shore, his boat is found floating in the lake with the life preservers still inside, and all Genesis is left with is questions and no answers.  When the lake freezes over for the winter, the search is called off and answers are very hard to find.  There are rumors that her father faked his death to leave her stepmother behind so Genesis begins the process of tracking down the people in her father's life from the logging camp.   She will find answers on the way, but what answers will they be?

This gripping book of loss, grief, anger and confusion takes a very strong heroine and turns her world completely inside out.  She finds herself doubting everything her life before her father's disappearance had been based on.  Everything that she loves, enjoys and plans is now suspect.  There is such tension in this novel, such anguish and loss that is channeled into places beyond grief.

Les Becquets has a way with imagery that captures the setting within it:

My father was sitting on the sofa in front of the pellet stove, his body sunken into the cushions as if he was all banked in for the night.

And in this passage from later in the book, you can see her skill with powerful emotions:

Her hug wasn't tentative this time.  She grabbed me like she might have five years ago.  Grabbed me and held me to her like I was the best friend she'd always had, and in that embrace, I felt more than just the shoulders and back of my friend.  I felt everything -- past, present, future, all bundled up, concentrated into one small space.  I wasn't just holding on to Annie.  I was holding on to a desire for some sort of promise, for some piece of higher ground in my life, for a place I might imagine.

The lake itself, the cold, the winter, nature all become a large part of the story of the book.  Far beyond being a vivid setting, the Maine lake becomes the answer, the key.  It is a powerful contribution to the story's tension and depth.

Highly recommended for teen readers, this book will be popular for readers of general fiction as well as mystery readers.

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Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color by Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Floyd Cooper.

Told in poems, this book chronicles the story of Miss Crandall and her students, many the daughters of freed Canterbury, Connecticut was the target of racist attacks.  Only open for less than two years during the 1830s, the girls and their teacher faced poisoned water, arson and general hatred from the white affluent community.  Miss Crandall went on to teach both white and black children in another community in New England.  But the wonder of her work as a teacher and the vehemence of the hatred they faced as a school is not to be forgotten.  Captured in poems, the book is a series of glimpses into the lives of the students and the conditions they faced. 

The poetry here is rich and beautifully restrained in its sonnet format.  Held in by the structure of the poetry, the emotions are raw and the situations daunting.  But equally held up by the structure is the faith, strength and unity of these young girls.

These poems sing and tell, reveal truths and speak volumes in a few words.  They capture the essence of learning, the pain of leaving home, and the horrors of hate.  They echo in our modern lives, allow us to realize that though much has changed, so much stays the same.

I must also mention the illustrations by Cooper.  They are soft and ethereal at exactly the right times and at others offer faces and captured moments that support the poems themselves.  The ebb and flow is done with such skill it seems effortless.

Highly recommended for classes learning about the history of this time.  The poems will be enjoyed by older elementary students, teens and adults who have some understanding of the struggle being described so vividly.

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Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers.

Johnny lives an edgy life filled with Goth outfits, lots of drinking, and plenty of music.  When he discovers Debbie Harry, he finds someone who inspires him with her toughness and beauty.  Someone he would love to be like.  Johnny isn't gay, but he's not sure what he is exactly.  As Johnny copes with other issues in his life, including an overdose, he finds himself grappling with labels, love and sobriety.

Brothers has created a book that embodies the quest of teens who are different than those around them.  Johnny's search for himself is told not only in his sexuality but through his struggles with addiction and his troubles with his mother.  The book has a deft coolness and an addictive readability.  It will be devoured by teens who are outsiders in any way.

The characterizations are wonderfully done as well.  Johnny is a believable teen grappling with many issues as is his girlfriend Maria.  The adults in the story are also multidimensional and honestly portrayed.  It is refreshing to find an adult character who can handle sexuality issues with such grace as Johnny's Uncle Sam. 

Highly recommended for any outsider.  This book takes on issues that I haven't seen handled in teen fiction before.  It is groundbreaking yes, but written so naturally and easily that it doesn't read that way.  Just as it should be.

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No! That's Wrong! by Zhaohua Ji and Cui Xu.

When the wind snatches a pair of red lacy underpants off of a clothes line, a rabbit discovers them.  He immediately decides that the underpants are a hat with perfect holes for his ears.  He then heads through the woods and other animals try on the underpants as a hat.  It isn't until he meets a donkey who proves that they are underpants and should be worn on the other end that the rabbit wears them correctly, but his tail doesn't really fit into them and the other animals ask him why he's wearing a hat that way.  So he returns to his original way of wearing the underpants as a hat.  The endpapers feature animals wearing all sorts of people clothes in unique ways.

How can you go wrong with a book about underpants being worn wrong?!  You can't!  It is universal child humor, as proven by the Chinese author and illustrator.  One aspect of the book that I love is that there is a grownup, sensible voice at the end of each two-page spread that speaks in vain.  The illustrations are great fun, enhancing the tone of the words.  In fact, I dare you not to giggle at the crocodile wearing the underpants.

Recommended for reading to only a few children at a time, so that you don't lose control of a larger group.  Some of the pages have more detailed drawings which will work best for small groups to giggle at.

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If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus by Jean M. Cochran, illustrated by Jennifer E. Morris.

This book is published by Pleasant Street Press, a new small press publishing children's books whose first books were released in December.   I wanted to point this out, because I think it is so important that we start looking beyond the large publishers for quality books.

This book is structured as a guide book for what you should do if the animals break out of the local zoo and start heading your way.  And what should you do?  If a hippo appears offer her pancakes and tea.  Let the lion drive the carpool.  And just get out of the elephant's way as he rounds the bases.  The book is filled with humor and situations that children will enjoy.  The juxtaposition of zoo animals and their everyday routines will get children engaged and laughing along.  To add to the fun, try to spot the monkey on each page.

Cochran's jaunty rhymes contribute to the spirit of fun and move the book along at a romping pace.  Morris' art is vivacious, colorful and very child-friendly.  The docile animals add to the fun without creating any worry at all for children, even the grinning alligator is friendly. 

Share this one for storytimes on any zoo animal, but especially monkeys.  The rhyming is fun to read aloud and the illustrations will project well to a group.

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Nature's Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Craig Orback.

Wowza.  This is a great book of poetry for children! 

The book moves as a single poem throughout the seasons, rhyming and rhythmic and capturing with clarity each season.  The book also combines an understanding of art with the verse, moving from medium to medium to evoke each season as pure and distinct from the others.  Winter is done in pen and ink, spring in pastels, summer in watercolors and autumn in oils.  And each illustration shows why that is true in the same way as the dazzling poetry does.  While I enjoyed the poetry throughout the book, I am filled with amazement and wonder at the autumn section where Thomas' verse gets as voluptuous and full as the season itself.  The book begins with spare verse about winter, slowly developing throughout the year until autumn arrives and the boundlessness of the season, the colors is almost overwhelming.  Colors are described as "redorangepurplebronzeindigogoldgreen."  And you know just what she means.  It is a joy to read, to dance along with these words and these illustrations through the year.

Highly recommended as a read aloud.  You won't be able to read it to yourself anyway when you reach those colorful words in autumn because they beg to be read aloud and come to life.  Add this one to your seasonal story times or units.  Plus it can be enjoyed by art classes looking at different media where children understanding the seasons already can relate.  Children aged 6-9 will enjoy this best of all.

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Apples and oranges:  going bananas with pairs by Sara Pinto.

Pure silliness in a very appealing package, this book will offer groans of delight.  Each page offers a pair of objects and asks how they are alike.  You then turn the page to find the strange reason they are alike.  And yes, there are always always obvious reasons, but those are never the ones given in the book.  So here's one for you:

How are a starfish and an octopus alike?  Give up?  They both don't knit.

The book goes on and on like that, much to the delight of children it is shared with.  In fact, they will begin to make their own outrageous guesses as to how the items are alike, creating a really interactive experience for them.  The cacophony when shared with a class will be joyous and fun.

The illustrations by Pinto are friendly, funny, and continue the silliness onto the page.  They are the perfect match of line drawings featuring nicely drawn animals and objects and also a silly vibe after the page is turned. 

Sure to be a hit with children, especially if you as a reader play it deadpan and serious.  Children have to be a certain age to get the joke, so I'd recommend sharing this one with ages 6-8.

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The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle.
Released in April 2008.

The author of The Poet Slave of Cuba returns with another historical verse novel about Cuba.  The book focuses on Rosa and her efforts to heal the sick and wounded throughout the many wars Cuba fought during the mid-to-late 19th century.  Rosa, once a slave but then illegally freed, learned to be a healer and then taught herself how to use the local fruits and fauna as remedies.  She hid in caves, huts and the jungle from many different people throughout the years.  Some people began as her enemies and then were healed by her and joined her side.  Others like Lieutenant Death continued to hunt her despite her kindness.  Most of the characters in the book are based on real people, but Engle had to extrapolate about their daily lives and their personal concerns.

Engle's poetry is just as powerful and intriguing as that in her first book.  Once again tackling one of the darkest and most awful parts of any country's history, her poetry offers a guiding light of beauty in the jungle-filled darkness.  Written in any other form, the bleakness of the subject could have been overwhelming, but Engle again succeeds in overcoming it into hope.

Another vital piece of Engle's powerful art is her ability to create single complete poems that work alone and yet together create a complete history and story.   Here is one of my favorite poems in the book:

Rosa

Gathering the green, heart-shaped leaves
of sheltering herbs in a gial forest,

I forget that I am grown now,
with daydreams of my own,

in this place where time
does not seem to exist
in the ordinary way,

and every leaf is a heart-shaped
moment of peace.

If you enjoyed Poet Slave, then you must try this one.  Highly recommended for ages 12-14.

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Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt (released on April 21st, 2008)

Schmidt has created another wonder of a work, completely different once again from his previous books but just as rich in language while remaining easy to read and devour.

Henry's father always told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.  But Trouble finds their family anyway when Henry's older brother is hit by a truck while out jogging.  The truck is driven by Chay Chouan, a Cambodian teen, sparking racial tensions that had been simmering for some time.  Henry is trapped between his deep admiration for his brother and the