Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka.

This powerful picture book is a finalist in the Cybil Awards.  It is the story of two young girls living in a refugee camp in Peshawar on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Relief workers bring used clothes to the camp and Lina discovers a brand new sandal, bright yellow with a blue flower, but only one sandal, not a pair.  When Lina looks up, she sees another girl wearing the other half of the sandal pair.  The girls eventually speak together and start sharing the sandals, each wearing the pair for a day.  The sharing brings the girls closer together and they become friends.  Then one of the girls is lucky enough to leave for America, and the sharing of the sandals serves as a symbol of their friendship in the future.

The writing here is direct, simple and therefore powerful.  The destitution of the refugee camps is obvious in both the words and the illustrations, but neither are afraid to also show the humanity, the connections and the strange beauty of them as well.  At times the message of the book is a bit too strong, I think some of it could have been done with a gentler touch.  But the message is also an important one to have children understand the state of refugees in the world.

A good book to start discussions about war and its impact on children, it is appropriate for ages 7-11.

Out of the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst.

Due out in June 2008.

I was fortunate enough to serve on the Cybils Committee nominating a final slate of science fiction/fantasy books to the judges.  Into the Wild by Durst was one of our selected books for younger readers.  And then I was lucky enough to nab an ARC of this new book from someone who attended ALA Midwinter (thanks Marge!)

Out of the Wild is one of those incredibly rare sequels that is even better than the first book.  The green hungry mass of the Wild has returned to hiding in Julie’s bedroom, but her community still feels the effects of having once been swallowed by the Wild.  When the Wild swallows one of the Three Blind Mice, Julie and her mother are astonished to see that her father is spit out, returned to her mother after 500 years apart.  Her father is confused by this new world, but continues to act as a prince in a fairy tale.   He can’t be stopped from trying to rescue Sleeping Beauty despite the fact that his beloved is also in some danger.  Julie chases after her father on his quest, desperate to continue protecting the secret of the fairy tale characters living in the real world.  But her father is impossible to stop even when they realize that they are walking into a trap.

Durst’s writing continues to be the same high quality as the original book.  Her tone is completely consistent between the books, two halves of a whole story.  After the first story, I never expected a sequel.  It had been a completely satisfying and complete tale.  But now having read the second book, I realize that half of the story was missing though I didn’t know it at the time.  What an accomplishment – to create a complete tale and then create another book that makes the first even more complete and powerful.

Durst’s books are very friendly, filled with humor, and will be enjoyed by many types of readers.  This is fantasy that has an ease about it and should be recommended to readers who enjoy fantasy but also to any child who enjoys a great read.  Highly recommended for ages 9-12.

Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox, illustrated by Lydia Monks.

See the bright pink cover?  What you can’t see is the glitter on the title too.  Looks like quite a book for little girls, doesn’t it?  But I am here to tell you that this is one version of Sleeping Beauty that will have the little boys clamoring for another reading! 

When Prince Charming approaches the castle covered in vines, he hears a horrible noise that he thinks is a dragon.  He draws his sword, prepared to do battle, but to his dismay finds a snoring princess fast asleep.  Three fairies appear and offer advice to the prince, but he refuses to listen.  He tries many ways to get Beauty to wake up.  He shouts, jumps on the bed, dumps water on her, and finally resorts to firing her out of a cannon.  But nothing will wake Beauty up except a kiss, which is something that completely terrifies the brave prince.  Will he be willing to wake her?

A great rhyming story, you will get delighted responses from both boys and girls to this story as they realize it is a real twist on the traditional tale.  The rhymes add to the jolly nature of the story and the pure fun of the twists.  Monks artwork is beautiful, graceful and lovely, but doesn’t shy away from the slapstick nature of the book either.  The art offers a bridge between the beauty of the traditional tale and the silliness of this version.

Highly recommended for 4-7 year olds, especially as a final book in a story time.  I always guaranteed good laughs in my final book at a preschool story time.  This one is a perfect candidate and definitely guarantees giggles.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Michael Austin.

This was one of this year’s honor books for the Belpre Award for the best Latino/Latina writer of the year. 

Martina is now 21 days old and ready to get married.  People in her family offer her things to make her even more lovely, but her Abuela gives her some strange advice instead, recommending the coffee test on each suitor to see how they respond when angry.  Martina doesn’t really think it will work, but her Cuban Abuela insists.  Martina is astonished to see how each person’s demeanor changes when she dumps a cup of coffee on their feet.  That is until she finds exactly the right suitor.

This book is beautifully written with prose that dances along, making it a great read aloud for slightly older children.  It is filled with puns that will be appreciated most by older elementary students.  The art of the book is digital and evocative of recent animated films, so children will immediately be drawn to it.  The art is often filled with movement and excitement that matches the tone of the story perfectly.  A wonderful collaboration.

Recommended as a read-aloud for ages 7-10, because of the great puns that deserve a good groan.  Children younger than that will enjoy the story, but may miss some of the humor in the tale.