Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 

Ah, Mercy Watson, a pig who adores buttered toast, lives in a 50’s styled world, and has adventures that will have everyone laughing along.  Her first two books were fabulous, and the third in the series continues with the same feel.  Mercy Watson hears something downstairs after she goes to bed.  It sounds like the toaster, so she is sure that someone is downstairs making toast without her!  Down she heads and discovers a robber in the kitchen.  The robber would have been just fine if he hadn’t had a buttery candy in his mouth. 

These books are perfect for new readers who want books with real chapters and plenty of words but also colored pictures and plenty of action.  They are also great read alouds for preschoolers through first graders.  The question is whether you can wait for kids to grow up enough to read the books themselves, or whether you are like me and simply must share them as bedtime stories before then! 

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller.

This is a book I discovered not from reviews in print journals, but from my fellow kidslit bloggers who simply raved about it.  And that is exactly what I am going to do too.  It is the story of Ananka Fishbein, who looks out her window one day to discover a giant sinkhole in the park across the street.  She decides to explore it and by doing so, changes her life.  Inside the sinkhole she finds a fully decorated room and a book that leads her to understand the dirtier and darker side of New York City, including the Shadow City, a warren of connected rooms deep beneath the ground.  After her adventure, she meets the strange Kiki Strike, a tiny girl who is dangerous and mysterious.  Ananka then finds herself on an adventure with the Irregulars, a group of preteen girls who all have different talents that will enable them to explore the Shadow City.  Author Miller has created a riveting book filled with twists and turns, betrayals and lifelong friendships, populated with preteen girls who have real adventures.  It is an amazing triumph to create female preteen characters who care about both style and explosives.  This is a girl book that rocks, that captures exactly what girls really want: to be dangerous and to have adventures, but not be boyish in the least.  The writing is witty, vivacious and pure fun just like the characters.  Miller has also added guides throughout the book on subjects like detecting a liar, snakebites, and following someone without being found out. 

Run and get this for any brave preteen girl who has spunk and a thirst for adventure.  It is books like this that make me sigh about the lack of real modern adventure books for girls.  Tamora Pierce is my hero for featuring girls in her stories that are just as tough and strong as the boys, but we have needed a modern story that features great female characters as well.  Kiki Strike fills that void, and does it with great style.

A Beautiful Girl by Amy Schwartz. 

Amy Schwartz is one of those authors who has created books that will live on forever, like Bea and Mr. Jones.  With A Beautiful Girl, she has created a simple story where Jenna encounters an elephant who says that she has a very funny trunk!  Jenna replies, “I am not an elephant.  I am a big girl and this is my NOSE.”  The elephant then explains what he uses his trunk for, and then Jenna tells the elephant what she uses her nose for.  Then they travel on together until they come to the next animal who asks her questions about another part of her face. 

This book is simply charming.  I enjoy that Jenna clarifies that she is BIG girl, because most children want that clarified as well.  There are so many opportunities for audience participation as well as discussion afterwards where children can list what they do with their senses.  The text is just the right length and the illustrations will work well with a crowd.

Share this for a preschool unit on the senses or just because it is a great book that children will enjoy.

An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Cathie Felstead.

Lovely, lovely, lovely.  This is a great volcano book for toddlers and preschoolers, many of whom are fascinated by volcanoes.  And to top the whole thing off, volcanoes are not portrayed as scary and destructive, but rather as the geological force that creates islands.  Schaefer’s text is inviting and easy to read, while Felstead’s paper-crafted illustrations are at once visually exciting and very child friendly. 

Perfect for a unit about the earth in preschool, a great read-aloud for a science storytime, or just the perfect book to read if you have a child interested in science.  I would recommend this one especially for those children who appreciate nonfiction more than story picture books.  It is a treat.