Interstellar Cinderella

by Deborah Underwood

Cinderella lives in space and she's a mechanic.  This book is cool, and even boys will sit still for it.  The twists on a familiar story are just enough to make everyone in the audience sit up and take notice.  My favorite part is how the heroine handles the inevitable offer from her galactic prince at the story's end.  Like any good Cinderella, she's gracious while showing readers she's got a mind of her own and solid goals she hopes to accomplish.  

Librarian on the Roof! by M.G. King

Rarely do librarians get to show our secret super powers with the world, but this awesome book shows just how powerful we can be if we set our minds to it.

When librarian RoseAleta Laurell arrived in Lockhart, Texas, she decided things needed to change: nobody visited their outdated library, and kids believed it wasn't any kind of place for them. Right off the bat, RoseAleta livened the place up with her oversized personality and new books and magazines. Then, she took to the roof in protest - and swore she wouldn't come down until they had enough money for a children's area.

Kids will love this book about a woman who took a stand; it's funny, colorful, and relevant to their experiences. It's also a great depiction of modern librarians - loud, fun, and edgy. RoseAleta is the kind of out-of-the-box thinker that we should all strive to become.

Emma's Poem by Linda Glaser

Meant for older kids, this poetry picture book tells about Emma Lazarus, the woman who wrote Lady Liberty's famous call to "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

I found the book fascinating, and Kristine said the prose gave her goosebumps. I didn't realize that the Statue of Liberty was never intended as the symbol of immigration that we see it today - it was Emma Lazarus' poem that did that. Her poem was written in response to a call for help fundraising for the immense pedestal needed for the statue (a friendship gift from France). Emma imagined and wrote about what the large lady might have been thinking ... and as a result changed our perspective on this icon.

This is the kind of book kids writing reports on American history love. It's simply and colorfully illustrated by Linda Glaser, and it gives a great amount of information in a fun, dynamic manner.

Emma Dilemma by Kristine O'Connell George

Jessica has a little sister, Emma. The two have a very typical sister relationship: close, friendly, antagonistic.

The book is really a series of brief poems that build into a larger story of the girls' relationship: the annoyance of a pesky little sister going through your stuff, the delight in sharing an old favorite book together, the challenge of splitting a piece of pie so it's really fair. But later in the book it's darker as Emma breaks her arm and Jessica worries she might have prevented the accident.

While the book is subtitled "Big Sister Poems," really they're simply sister poems. Whether you're the little or the big sister, you'll find something familiar here. I think kids will enjoy finding bits of themselves in both Emma and Jessica and revisiting the ups and downs of sibling love and rivalry.

Who Has What? by Robie H. Harris

This basic picture book offers a great starting place for parents - it deals with the difference between boys and girls, without going into the whole "where babies come from" section.

Mostly, the cartoon illustrations deal with all the body parts we have that are the same: legs, ears, noses, belly buttons, and nipples. Then it deals briefly (and again, with simple cartoon drawings) about the parts we have that are different: dogs have tails, boys have penis, and girls have vagina.

Every little girl with a brother knows this stuff - it isn't information we should hide or be embarrassed about. Yet it's hard if your family isn't gender-mixed to know how these things should be approached. Harris does a nice job of beginning the conversation for you.

Later, when kids want to know about sex ... there are other books and resources. This one's more for the basic, pre-kindergarten discussion.

The Goodbye Cancer Garden by Janna Matthies

Discussing cancer with kids is a tough topic too many families have to deal with at one time or another. This book does the job in a lovely, delicate manner through the eyes of a child whose mother is sick.

When the doctor says Mom should be feeling better "by pumpkin time," an idea sprouts - the family will cultivate a garden in the yard to help track the time until pumpkins - and Mom's recovery. The year is filled with many milestones: surgery, seed catalogs, planting, head shaving, harvest, and healing. The story deals equally with mom's limitations due to illness, the kids' every day enthusiam, and the cycle of growing a garden.

I don't see this book as a general bedtime favorite, but it is a well done story for families who need a little encouragement during a difficult situation.

My only gripe: it should have been simply "cancer" that mom has, instead of specifying breast cancer. Why limit the situation, when so much is universal? Lots of kids have family members with lots of kinds of cancer, and they all deserve this kind of story.

Me ... Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Jane's the kind of girl who wants to know about animals and nature and how the world works. With her stuffed animal, she explores the backyard and grandma's chicken coop. She dreams of helping animals.

And then Jane the illustrated girl becomes real-life Jane Goodall in the end. The champion of chimpanzees and a grown up who got to live the life she dreamed of as a girl.

I loved this picture book for its cute, universal story that doesn't seem like a biography - until it is.

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah with Kelly DiPucchio

In this cute but kind of preachy picture book, two young girl friends have an explosive falling-out over their very different lunches, but learn to appreciate their differences once they open their minds to new experience.

The illustrations by Tricia Tusa are soft with lots of white space, and executed in a loose, sketchy style. They're gorgeous, but the pastel colors and dainty drawings are rather ineffective in setting the dramatic tone for an escalating, full-school argument (although the food fight page is funny).

I know that in preschool, disagreements happen fast and are forgotten even faster. But I was surprised by the lighting-fast conclusion and set-pat resolution. Can you still be friends if you TRY your friend's sandwich and STILL think it's icky?

It's a great message, but ultimately I think it could have been done better. I'll give Queen Rania credit for trying, but it seems like this book proposal needed more work.

The Truly Terribly Horrible Sweater ... That Grandma Knit by Debbie Macomber & Mary Lou Carney

For his birthday, Cameron's Grandma Susan made him a bright, colorful sweater with big buttons. That he will never, ever wear. So he spends a lot of time over the course of the year trying to hide it, get rid of it, ruin it, and otherwise ensure that he'll never be seen wearing it.

Until Grandma comes, and he finds out why the sweater is so special. Carter gets a wider view of the love and care that went into his birthday present, and maybe a wider view of the world.

Sometimes your gifts aren't received with the grace that was intended, and this is a cute book with a lovely ending. But the text is a bit awkward in places, and once I was even convinced that I must be missing a page because the transition was so abrupt. Overall, it's an interesting book, but could have used better editing.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Things About Me by Jenny Slate & Dean Fleischer-Camp

This goofy picture book is a random, run-on series of disjointed thoughts by a cute little shell. If you've seen the popular video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU), you'll recognize much of the story. But it's still worth revisiting. Seven million times. Because I still laugh every time.

As a stand-alone, the book is still funny. Little kids think and talk the same way Marcel does - in strings of tangentally related thoughts on their everyday life. Marcel's size offers a different perspective on everyday objects, and you'll probably never look at bread the same way again.

I bought the book, and donated it to the library for Christmas.

We're having a Tuesday

by DK Simoneau

Many children have two homes...one with Mom and one with Dad. This nicely done picture book addresses the issues from a kid's perspective. Each home has something wonderful, but each is also missing something wonderful. This book gives parents and caregivers an opportunity to start a conversation about why it is difficult to leave one home for the other. Simoneau nicely shows how each home can be a special place filled with love. The last few pages are a small journal so that children can think of things they miss about each parent when they are not around, ways to remember them, and things each parent remembers about the child.

My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

Do you ever look at really clever artwork and think, "Wow, how do people come up with stuff like this?" This is one of those times.

Every animal in the book is made of hearts: the one, single shape overlapped, stacked, and spun into a yak, a fox, a beaver, a clam, and much much more. Each animal is beautiful, and easily recognizable despite the simplicity. The bright, rhyming text is just the right amount of goofy.

(I think there's a quilt lurking in this book for me ... I just can't stop thinking about the basic shape and it's amazing results.)

The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson

Three cheers for a girl with outta-control hair! Hair that's so wild it actually has a mind of its own! Tame it? HA! Not a chance.

In kindergarten, Zoe's teacher let her wild red hair help out around the classroom, erasing the board and preparing snacks. Now, in first grade, Ms. Trisk is an enforcer - and Zoe's hair MUST BE TAMED. But no hat, scrunchie or braid can contain this amazing mane.

Know a kid with uncontrollable hair? They'll love this book (I know this rambunctiously curly-haired adult did!). Some people just don't understand that you can't always make your hair behave - but Zoe does.

Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

I'm always interested to see authors, illustrators, artists and other creators discuss their process and inspiration, so about a month ago I went to see this pair discuss their collaboration at a local library. Henkes is famous and celebrated for his self-illustrated works, but it was interesting to see how he partnered with his wife, a painter, for this book.

The text is spare - a dozen or fewer words per page - and the artwork is comparably restrained, with bright blocks of color and many white backgrounds. It's a book to talk about, to savor and to create your own spaces between the lines. Different, and poetic.

Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka and David Shannon

What a power couple! We bought this book sight-unseen, based solely on the the authors, and we weren't disappointed in the least.

Zot is an alien, who comes to conquer the Earth Army. But he's a little confused. And small.

After battling a whole kitchen's worth of inanimate appliances, he conquers the TV ... then falls madly in love with the Queen of all Earth (a toy cell phone).

Zot's awkward dialog is hilarious, and his alien misconceptions about how earth households run will be giggle-worthy for everyone.

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

Reclaiming wasted spaces is big on my mind these days, and that's the real heart of this incredibly illustrated new picture book.

One day Liam finds stairs leading up to the abandoned railroad tracks and just can't help himself - he has to explore. His imagination is captured by the weeds and plants growing wild there, and he decides to give them a boost. His project grows and grows (literally!) until the whole city is blooming.

Brown's illustration style has a sci-fi surrealistic 1960s look to me, and the pictures are so detailed that kids and adults will find things to look at on each re-read.

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton

Nonfiction can be tough - how to express what really happened without getting bogged down, and still be interesting? Well, authors take note: 1) find interesting subject matter.

This tale of Bob & Joe Switzer's invention of glow-in-the-dark and then glow-in-the-LIGHT colors is a catchy idea with a fantastic implementation. It's a story told pretty simply - the brothers aren't really alike, they fall on hardships, they work together (even though it's usually apart) and eventually they have success they could hardly have expected.

The book's artwork is retro - it looks kind of like the funky, old Disney educational videos - and is rendered in predominantly black and white. Color is only introduced to the tale as the brothers develop it.

Let's do nothing

by Tony Fucile

Who could resist a picture book created by one of the animators for many well loved Disney movies? So often parents are faced with kids who say they are bored. Before you even get to the title page in this engaging book, it is obvious that the two boys have run out of ideas for fun things to do. Suddenly, one decides to do "nothing". Follow along as the pair tries valiantly to accomplish this new task. As any one who has ever tried knows, doing nothing is a daunting challenge. Laugh along with the engaging illustrations as one thing after another distracts the boys from the task at hand.

Snowballs

by Lois Ehlert

This is a fun, interactive story time book. Ehlert is well known for her collage art in picture books. This makes story time a lot of fun. Kids enjoy hunting through a picture of a snowman for the location of a pencil or even a strawberry.

If you give a pig a party

by Laura Joffe Numeroff

I've read so much of Numeroff's work for story times, that I was really excited to go out and get the Kohls Cares for Kids animals (Numeroff's mouse, moose, pig and cat) this season. In fact, I made the theme for the first week of December's story times all about Laura Numeroff's books. We had a lot of fun.

Somehow, I'd missed this title in the past. It was fun to see characters from previous books come back as the friends invited to the party. As usual, Numeroff has a series of crazy requests that come from the title animal and the all cycle back to the first thing the child offered, in this case a party. I have to say, one child was scandalized, as only a giggling three-year-old can be, by the "naked" moose before the pajama party began.