Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix is the third book in the Keys to the Kingdom series. Arthur is a human who has been drawn into the bizarre world of the House and has beaten Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday. Now he is taken back into the House with a broken leg where he finds himself among pirates and ships and lots and lots of water. Drowned Wednesday has turned into a whale due to her insatiable appetite. She asks Arthur for his help and he finds himself being chased by Feverfew the pirate, dealing with talking rats, exploring a world contained in a whale’s stomach and much more. This series continues to be amazingly inventive, fun to read, and a joy to share with kids. Recommend it to those who like the Artemis Fowl series and other fantasy.

In the Snow by Sharon Phillips Denslow, illustrated by Nancy Tafuri combines a gentle rhyming text with Tafuri’s glorious pictures. The book shows the joys of feeding animals seeds in the winter. Children will get to see the range of animals hiding in the white landscape until they are tempted out by the seeds. Because the text is brief and rhythmic and the pictures are clear, this is a great choice for toddlers. It will lead to discussions about feeding animals and birds and other things that the children enjoy doing in the snow. Add this one to your snowy story times.

A Truck Goes Rattley-Bumpa by Jonathan London, illustrated by Denis Roche is a perfect book to share with truck-mad toddlers. Unlike many truck picture books, this one has a rhythm and a flair as well as an underlying story of a family building a new house and moving into it. The colorful illustrations are clear and bold enough to project easily to large groups of children. Combine that with the popular subject and lots of truck noises for the group to make, and you have a winner for story times and lap reading.