The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold

What happens to imaginary friends when children lose their imagination? Unfortunately, Rudger is about to find out, but it's not just a case his "real" friend Emily growing up - there are evil things afoot for imaginaries.

This juvenile novel was illustrated by the amazingly talented Emily Gravett, whose moody art allows just the right amount of menace. It's a great book for kids just old enough to be abandoning their own imaginary friends, but still young enough to believe in the fantastical.

Personally, I adored the idea that abandoned imaginaries go to the library to hang out until they get a new assignment - it really is a place MADE of imagination, as one character explains to Rudger.

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.

The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois

After being rescued at sea from the debris of a hot air balloon craft half a world away from where he started only three weeks before, Professor William Waterman Sherman becomes a reluctant celebrity. But despite the media hounding him to tell his story, the drama builds because Sherman says he won't explain what happened until he gets to San Francisco to reveal the tale first before the Western American Explorers' Club. Despite the speculation and rumors that run rampant on the street and in the media, the fantastical story he tells in San Francisco is even wilder and way more curious than anyone had dreamed.

This book was originally published in 1947, and it won the 1948 Newbery Award. I picked it up recently upon the recommendation of a local family who had just read it together.

Some children's books don't age well, but this novel's storyline was never "fresh" so it hasn't grown stale; the storyline occurs in 1883 when ballooning was at its zenith of popularity, so even in the 1940s it was a historical tale. Neither of us at our library had heard of the book before, and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this forgotten classic.

Soup by Robert Newton Peck

In this classic children's tale, a pair of boys growing up in small town America find "innocent" trouble and make mischief. Actually, it's more like a collection of short stories - vignettes of days gone by (the stories take place in the 1930s).

I'd never read any of the Soup series of books, and picked up this audiobook for some car time. Narrated by Norman Dietz, the book felt like your favorite grandpa telling you about his childhood: rolling down the hill in an apple barrel, getting in trouble at school, having a crush on that one cute girl.

For those who haven't read this series, "Soup" is the narrator's best friend (who doesn't like his real name and at threat of violence, no one calls him Luther), and the narrator is Rob. Soup's the mastermind behind all kinds of hijinks, and Rob's usually the action man. I'd say the series is on par as a boy-oriented alternative to the Little House on the Prairie books.

Kiss Kids by Chris Ryall, Tom Waltz and Jose Holder

The band KISS' marketing is a strange and diverse thing - the latest example is the new comics series Kiss Kids; they're juvenile bubblegum versions of the stage characters familiar to the KISS Army.

They're a little cheesy - but that's OK, because so is Archie and he's done alright for himself. They're a little cool, because the band is too. Each character has his own brand of swagger, true to the "characters" they become in makeup ... and they're ALWAYS in makeup in the comics. This is an all-ages read, with kid-size conundrums yet lot of in-jokes for fans in-the-know. The art is excellent.

I can see super-fans introducing their kids to KISS with this, and I think it certainly could work.

The Wise Fool by Shahrukh Husain & Micha Archer

While most of the fairy tales and morality stories in America are based on European folk tales, the rest of the world also is rich with these type of stories. This bright, vivid book tells a series of Mulla stories, as have been handed down all across the Middle East.

The stories all center on Mulla Nasruddin, a man of great wisdom and humor. In the stories he uses his brain to maneuver sticky social situations. It's a kind of manners or ethics lesson told through brief encounters, a trickster tale like Br'er Rabbit or Loki or even Bugs Bunny.

The artwork in this book is astounding, a colorful papercraft that truly brings the Islamic world to life on the pages. Each story is less than 2 pages long, which leaves plenty of room for large, bright illustrations.

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.

Echo and the Bat Pack series by Roberto Pavanello

These illustrated chapter books are much like Scooby-Doo mysteries: without adult cooperation, three kids and their animal (bat) friend blunder and quake through scary (but not really) mysteries until they eventually unmask the bad guy. Zoinks!

I had a devil of a time figuring out in which order to read this series - I eventually gave up and assumed it didn't matter. Each book makes references to the fact that Echo used to live in the graveyard, a cousin who's an acrobatic flier, and his Mom bat. "Treasure in the Graveyard" is the book that best explains how the bat came to live with the family, but even when I got to that story I mostly I felt like I was missing too much information.

They're breezy, transparent stories full of sorta lame jokes. Perhaps kids will think they're lovely, but I found it a bit tedious. They're targeted at third-graders, essentially, but there's an advanced vocabulary that seems a bit of a stretch.

I'm not planning to add them to our library collection - I think there's better for this reading level.

Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge

Have you ever read the old, non-Disney-fied versions of fairy tales? The dark, gothic ones the Grimm brothers actually collected from the oral tradition? This book of poetry is a spin on those horror-filled tales of morality.

Angsty, angry teen girls admit their attraction to the naughty, forbidden wolves and monsters. Minor characters in often-told narratives get their opportunity to tell the story from their perspective.

Many of the stories are a little naughty. Most are hilarious for the unexpected spin they put on familiar tales. Definitely not the kind of book for your toddlers - but teens and adults will enjoy revisting their nursery favorites!

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

Concerned for the welfare of a favorite library patron, a children's librarian bumbles into an unplanned cross-country roadtrip. But is she trying to save 10-year-old Ian, is she trying to save herself, or is he saving her?

The more you love libraries, librarians, and children's books the better you'll like this novel: Lucy the librarian is a story evangelist, spreading joy and discovery through the books she thinks are important. And without making you embarrassed about the books you haven't read, the author peppers the novel with children's books and characters that you DO know (or are almost certainly familiar enough with to understand).

I loved the way that Makkai keeps you guessing the whole book. What happens? Do they get caught? Do they go to Canada? Is she in jail? (Plus, she makes it hard to find out by sneaking a peek at the last page!)

The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Kids and adults in love with grammar, punctuation, puns, and poetry will get a giggle out of this silly collection.

Rosenthal compiled anagrams, wrote punny little pieces and amused herself with various silliness - then illustrator Paul Schmid ran wild to add simple yet detailed black and white doodles.

Better for slightly older kids who'll get the joke, but most fun to share and enjoy together!

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.

A Soup Opera

by Jim Gill

I actually read this in December, and thought it had already been blogged. This wonderful new picture book comes with a CD, so that readers can potentially enjoy the story in operatic form. I came across this book by accident and spontaneously added it to a story time. This is a very silly story that older readers will really love. Young children in story time thought the opera music was silly, and so were the pictures, but the adults and older siblings were really giggling over all the people trying to solve the drama centered around a bowl of soup. If you read this aloud, I suggest really hamming it up when you sing (yes, sing) the line, "I can't eat the soup!" over and over again. Enjoy the repetition, and remember that it helps to build a child's skills with prediction.

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.

I'm the biggest thing in the ocean

by Kevin Sherry

There are some books that I just have to read in performance mode. On my first pass with this one, I realized that I do an awesome squid voice (not as good as my moose voice, though). Have fun with this squid who thinks he's got it all, until someone bigger comes along.

The Very Cranky Bear

by Nick Bland

This new picture book was so much fun, that it is now in my personal collection. Several animal friends take refuge from a storm. Everything is great until they realize there's a bear trying to sleep in the same cave. While his friends think of reasons the bear is unhappy, the sheep finds a way to be selfless. His actions are the cure for what ails the bear.