The Elevator Ghost by Glen Huser

A new tenant in a bustling, ancient apartment building adds drama to all the residents' lives with her dramatic flair and fantastic stories.

Carolina Giddle attracts all the kids' attention right from the start - she's got a trinket-decorated art car, a pet tarantula in a cage, and an endless bag full of homemade snacks. She quickly becomes everybody's favorite babysitter, able to calm savage tantrums and coax reluctant bedtimes with her ghost stories and impeccable timing.

This is a great, not-too-scary Halloween story with fresh ghost stories to be enjoyed by all ages.

Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder

Penelope Grey is a rather lonely child. She lives in a mansion, has a cook and private tutor, and has two parents who love her. But at 10 years old, she's learned all the adventure in books isn't enough to fill the only-child, bored hole in Penelope.

But after throwing a wish in a well, thing change - they get exciting, frightening, and all together less boring. Her father quits his job, a long-lost relative leaves them an inheritance, and they pickup and move halfway across the country.

It's Penelope's chance to change her name, make friends, try out the fun things she's only read about, and learn about community.  And things don't go exactly like the plan - because real life is messier and less tied-up in the end than a book would be.

It's a cute book, and the story moves quickly. There is a mystical element (real, or imagined?) and as a reader you don't know if this will be a straight-ahead real life book or a fantasy where there's Action! Drama! Bad Guys! etc. It keeps you guessing, which is a fun way to read.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

In this quick, engaging who-done-it mystery for kids, a 12-year-old boy investigates the suspicious death of a theme park zoo's mascot, Henry the Hippo.

Teddy lives in a trailer at FunJungle because both his parents work there - his mom is a primate specialist, and his dad is a wildlife photographer. He's the only kid around, and he's usually in trouble for pulling pranks because he's bored. But something's not right about the giant hippo's death, and nobody else seems to want to find the truth.

It's a fun mystery, and I'll highly recommend it for animal-loving kids. Teddy's not quite a normal kid (he's wise beyond his years because he's had an unusual childhood around animals in the Congo) but he's got appropriately kid-size curiosity and impulse control problems. His investigation is dangerous and unwise, but he just can't stand to see an animal harmed without recourse.

There's a minor romance element when he crushes hard on the park owner's daughter, but it's innocent (she's a celebrity - who wouldn't be a bit tongue tied?) Also, there's a high ick factor that's really quite funny (dead smelly hippo, lots of exotic poop).

Planet Tad by Tim Carvelle

If your kids like Wimpy Kid or Fly Guy books, they'll like this one too.

Illustrations pepper the text, which is broken down into diary-like entries like they'd be posted on Tad's new blog. Sometimes it's a log of events in Tad's life, sometimes they're just the random thoughts and ponders of a 12-year-old boy. But in a word: hilarious.

Cold Cereal by Adam Rex

In this book full of people with crazy names, a bunch of unpopular kids band together to thwart world domination by a mean fairy queen. Through breakfast cereal. Seriously!


It's hilarious, and totally preposterous: There's a secret society, experimentation on unsuspecting kids, more magic than you can shake a stick at, and a rabbit-headed man. You really can't go wrong with an Adam Rex book!

FarmKid: Tales of Growing Up in Rural America by Justin Isherwood

Justin Isherwood's got a kind of chewy way with words - I want to read everything out loud, just to hear how it sounds and get a better handle on the prose. But I don't mean that to sound too snooty, because he's mostly writing about cows and jackknife, chores and climbing trees.

I picked this up because author Michael Perry referred to Isherwood in a blog post, and you usually don't do too badly when a favorite writer recommends another writer. There's a lot to compare and contrast between the two: animals, ethics, simple living, and an educated way with words to describe some pretty basic things. Not to say they're the same - Perry's probably more accessible, but he'd be the one to tell you Isherwood's more authentic.

In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault

I'm not even sure what to say, other than I wasted a lot of my life lately with this book. I didn't like it, but I kept reading because I wanted to know who killed the damn babysitter.

I should have skipped ahead.

Life-Size Zoo by Teruyuki Komiya

I'm always looking for good kids books to give as gifts, and I hit the mother-lode here.

This oversize book presents every animal in its 100% zoom actual size - meaning that you see the whole body of both the prairie dog and meekat across a single 2-page spread ... and you see only the elephant's eye across a 4-page gatefold!

Each animal is presented with plain background to highlight the animal. Facts about the critters (with lots of poop info) are presented in little sketch drawings on the same page as the 100% photo. It's really fun and you learn lots, almost by accident.

Also in this series: More Life-Size Zoo, and Life-Size Aquarium.

Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

Benway has had it. He's the unappreciated, under-duress butler for a crazy family of eccentrics. The Benway family's 200-year old contract of indentured servitude to the Bellweathers is about to expire, and he can't wait to get away. Benway is counting down the minutes.

In the mean time, though, there are messes to clean up, lunches to pack, an albino alligator to avoid, groceries to gather, holes in the yard to sidestep, a family of circus performers hiding in one bedroom ... and a tell-all memoir to write, in order to afford a quaint, quiet cottage somewhere far, far away.

Benway won't miss the Bellweathers at all! They probably won't even notice he's gone! And good luck to the next poor sap who has to try to meet this family's needs!

Cul de Sac: This Exit by Richard Thompson

In my opinion, Cul de Sac is one of the smartest comics in the newspapers today. Filled with familiar, quirky characters you recognize as your own friends and neighbors, it's consistently funny without being mean or overly political.

Alice is the youngest in the family (preschool/kindergarten aged) and her observations, thoughts, and attitude frequently remind me of our own library Storytime regulars. Dad tries hard to be the voice of reason, often frustrated when everyone disregards his information in favor of their own realities. And the gags about his teeny, tiny car make me laugh everytime. Big bother Petey is the 14th pickiest eater in the world (as he monitors through an online barometer of eating habits). Mom? Well, she may be the world's most patient mother.

This is the only Cul de Sac book in our library system - I'm surprised, and wishing for more. My personal collection may have to expand to include a couple.

Scumble

by Ingrid Law

This sequel to Newbery Honor Book Savvy, continues the adventures of a family with extraordinary powers. It is now cousin Ledger's thirteenth birthday when he receives a savvy of his own. In the beginning, it seems that his savvy is to make things fall apart. From toasters to motorcycles, nothing is safe when Ledge is around. Can he learn to scumble his savvy before all the family secrets are told to the world by one blabbermouth girl he meets? Law has written another fun story chronicling the effects of turning thirteen in such an extraordinary family.

Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton

I don't read a lot of parenting books (natch - I don't have kids!), but this is a funny, interesting, and educational book that applies to anyone who eats.

Amster-Burton decided before his daughter was born that he didn't want to give up his enjoyment of food and cooking just because there was a tot in the house. This book is about his journey with Iris - cooking, eating, and exploring food with a baby (and eventually a toddler).

Her whole life, Iris eats whatever everybody else is eating. Not that she isn't picky ... for a while, Iris loved spicy food. Then, no longer. And maybe someday she'll come around again. In the mean time, Iris eats around the peppers. Sauces go on the side. But she still eats the same thing that's served to everyone else. And she helps cook everything - sometimes most enjoying the preparation of foods she ultimately doesn't enjoy.

This isn't a stuffy, food-geek kind of book. It's a book about exploring food and learning more about cooking - with your kids, or with your friends. It's a practical cookbook full of things you can actually do (and not an english-muffin-pizza in sight!), with amusing stories and dwellings on eating. I'd recommend it for anyone who's trying to be more adventurous in the kitchen.