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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.