The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt.

Holling Hoodhood starts 7th grade in 1967 and quickly realizes that his teacher, Mrs. Baker doesn’t like him at all.  Because he is the only Presbyterian in his class, he finds himself alone with her on Wednesday afternoons.  At first, Mrs. Baker has him doing menial classroom tasks, but after a mishap, they move on to Shakespeare.  Breaking thoroughly with the strong tradition of teens disliking the Bard, Holling enjoys the great stories, learns new curses, and becomes a fan.  He even manages to turn his knowledge of Shakespeare into a way to get enough creampuffs for his class.  Though it will mean appearing on stage in tights and feathers. 

This book offers hysterically funny scenes filled with mishaps, embarrassment, great costumes, and lots of wonderful cursing.  But it also offers a look at a young man who discovers that being the odd one out doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with him.  I really enjoyed this smart-mouthed, intelligent teen protagonist and equally loved the character of Mrs. Baker who is anything but cardboard.

There is a depth to this novel, that really takes it a step beyond other teen novels.  It may be the Shakespeare, but I believe it is also the fact that a complicated time and relationship is portrayed in such a vibrant way.  Holling’s reactions to situations ring completely true as do those of other characters.  There is no need to suspend belief here, just enjoy the romp.

Right now this is my vote for the Newbery or Printz Awards.  I think that Gary D. Schmidt has created a real winner of a novel that will be welcomed by not only teens but also by middle school English teachers.  Recommend this one to any smart-mouthed, intelligent teens or tweens you know.  They will relate immediately.

The Tale of Pip & Squeak by Kate Duke. 

Pip and Squeak are brother mice who simply do not get along.  Squeak’s singing hurts Pip’s ears and Pip’s paint fumes give Squeak a headache.   The live together in the same house, but each in a different tower.  Once a year, the two brothers give a party where Squeak sings in his tower and Pip displays his paintings in his.  Now the party is approaching, but Squeak has written a very long song to sing and decides to build a large stage in the middle of the main floor of the house.  Pip responds by painting huge pictures that will be displayed there as well.  A huge fight breaks out between them, and everything is destroyed.  Can they put aside their differences in time to have a party tomorrow?

This book is filled with charming details in both the writing and the illustrations.  Duke’s writing is clear and simple, but not babyish.  She feels free to use longer words that really work in the story.  It is a joy to see words that stretch vocabulary as a part of a picture book.  Her illustrations are equally deft.  At the opening of the book, the reader sees an entire village of mice living in an attic.  Far in the back of the attic is an amazing home built from a shoebox that attaches two towers, one made of play-doh buckets and the other from a Tinkertoy box.  Just charming.

Recommended for mice or sibling storytimes, or just when you need a great book to read to kindergarteners or first graders.  They will enjoy the conflict, the humor, the charm and the resolution.  I enjoy that the story has a beginning, middle and end, all tied neatly together with clarity and grace.

The Wonderful Thing about Hiccups by Cece Meng, illustrated by Janet Pederson.

If you want a wonderfully silly book about libraries, you have found it.  The story starts with very loud hiccups in the middle of a quiet library.  Of course you have to hand upside down and drink water to get rid of them, so you go hang in a tree outside.  But when you find a big surprise, a hippo, in the tree you get so surprised that your hiccups vanish.  Each new part of the story starts with “The wonderful thing about…” and goes ahead from there.  The book usually has a negative part of the wonderful thing, making the story full of giggles. 

This would make a great book to read for elementary class visits to the library, whether public or school.  The humor is filled with slapstick falls, messes, and pure silliness.  The illustrations are equally as silly as the story, especially make sure you read aloud the Library Book Rules to Remember as well as the title of the book the librarian is reading at the end of the story. 

The wonderful thing about this book is that it pairs hilarity and libraries, and as anyone who works in a library can tell you, that happens quite often in real life.

Big Bad Wolves at School by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Brad Sneed. 

Rufus is a wild wolf who loves to run and howl at the moon.  His parents worry that he won’t be able to survive in the real world, so he is sent off to school to learn how to be a “big bad wolf.”  But Rufus doesn’t take to school life.  He would much rather blow on dandelions than practice blowing down houses.  He doesn’t want to learn to speak sheep.  And his howling bothers his classmates when they are trying to sleep.  Then hunters come to the school looking to kill some wolves.  The well-trained wolves head out, but their blowing and disguises don’t work well against the hunters.  Rufus’ howling on the other hand, works quite well.

The cover is so classic and will entice children to pick the book up and take it home.  The story is funny, the illustrations add to the humor, and the everyone can relate to a story of school life where they just are not in the same mode as everyone else. 

Recommended as a read aloud for elementary age classrooms where children will understand the school setting better.  The humor and sight gags will also be appreciated more by slightly older children than preschoolers. 

Un-brella by Scott E. Franson.

This wordless picture book is pure imagination.  It features a little girl who has a magical umbrella that changes the season.  So when she sees it is snowing out, she puts on her sunglasses, swimsuit and flippers.  She heads into the snow, opens her umbrella and suddenly grass is green, flowers are blooming and the sun is bright in a small area around her.  The book then shows her in the hot summer sun wearing all of her winter clothing and holding her umbrella, creating winter all around her.

The appeal of this book is in both the content and the illustrations.  The concept of being able to create your own season will be appealing to children and to have it connected to an umbrella is marvelous, because that is what umbrellas do to a smaller extent.  The illustrations feature sharp, computer graphics.  My favorite spreads are the pictures from above showing the path she has taken carving green grass out of the snow or snow out of the green grass. 

This is a charming book.  Being wordless, I would recommend it as a lap read rather than one to use with a group.  It’s friendly cover will get it snatched off of library shelves.

Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready.

Claudine has been her alcoholic mother’s support and keeper since she was a small child.   Her mother had been clean for almost a year when she left Claudine.  Claudine builds a story around her mother going to rehab in one of the most prestigious clinics in the area, making it seem as if everything is fine and under control.  But they aren’t.  Claudine begins to forget things, agonizing over stains in the carpet and clean cupboards.  Her school work suffers, and she keeps waking up covered in dirt.  The novel is a grippingly slow look at a girl trapped in a situation where she cannot admit the truth.

The author has created a novel of suspense and mystery wrapped in the guise of a teen situational novel.  Teen readers of both genres will appreciate the skillful storytelling, detailed and complete characterizations, and Claudine as the perfect flawed lens through which to view her own life. 

I don’t want to give many details here because the book has such an intense and agonizing story.  No spoilers here!  Just know that it will keep you reading almost straight through just so you can know how it all turns out.  What more could you ask for in a novel?