Thelonius Monster’s Sky-High Fly Pie by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Edward Koren.
Released May 9th, 2006.
This book had my four-year-old talking for days, which is exactly what you want a book to do for a child.  Thelonius Monster ate a fly and decided that flies would make a great pie.  So he created a crust and covered it in goo.  Then he went all around to likely spots gathering flies.  He then dumped them into the goo where they all stuck.  He invited his friends to come and share in the delicious fly pie.  But in the end, the monsters do not get to devour the pie after all.
The book is grand fun.  Disgusting, icky, messy, and pure child heaven.  I occasionally do a gross storytime for preschoolers and kindergarteners.  This one will fit right in.  It has a great storyline throughout with a surprise ending that will have kids giggling in glee.  Share this with any child who loves bugs, dirt, and monsters.  This is a winner!

Once Upon a Tide by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Selina Young.
Released May 9th, 2006.
What appears to be a beach tale of two children with buckets and shovels, really is an adventure story.  It is the story of Bess and a boy who build their own sailboat on the beach.  They then take the boat out to sea where they meet a whale, discover an island, and dig up a treasure chest.  Then they return to the beach and create a beach house from the boat where they live “forevermore.”  The text is rhyming and lilting, suiting the rhythm of the book.  The illustrations are filled with beach details, active and will project well for a storytime.  My only quibble with the illustrations is that the two characters are portrayed as children throughout the story until the final spread.  Then they are adults with children of their own, but wear the same clothes and retain their childlike features.  It is jarring enough to make you turn back to the beginning of the book to see if they were supposed to be adults all along. 
Because the text on each page is brief and there is lots of action in the book, it is a good choice to share with toddlers and preschoolers.  

Bebe Goes Shopping by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Steven Salerno.
This is a wonderful bilingual picture book where the Spanish portion of the text is used almost effortlessly.  Somehow the author has also managed to make it trip off even the most hopeless tongue.  It is the story of Bebe who goes to the market with his Mama.  It is a normal trip to the store where the little one grabs things off the shelves and is finally settled down with some animal crackers.  The illustrations are a retro/modern style that suit the story perfectly.  They add pizzazz and color to the book.  There is a glossary at the end with a pronunciation guide and English translations of the Spanish.  This is great fun and can be shared at any storytime about food, shopping, or animals.  This is definitely one to be read aloud with gusto.

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck.
Peck does it again!  He has created a rollicking, fun, fast book that is welcoming to both boys and girls.  Peewee lives with her brother Jake in rural Indiana where they are trying to make a living at running a garage.  But it is 1914, and the automobile is just starting out.  To add to their troubles, their competitors who live in town are willing to damage people’s cars for business and to rob others.  Everything changes when a tornado rips through the community, damaging the library that has been closed for years.  Four female library students who also drive cars arrive in town to be the librarians.  Peewee has suddenly found role models for being a lady.  But sometimes Peewee finds herself sitting on the sidelines when she would rather be in the race.  Can a young lady do both?
This is a great book to share aloud.  Peck’s language begs to be read to others so that his humor and jokes will shine.  He returns us to a moment in time that we are able to relive through an amazing heroine.   Share this with others in classrooms and sell it to kids looking for a funny book that is definitely fast moving.