Toy Boat by Randall de Seve and Loren Long.

A boy had a boat he loved, every day they would sail together down at the lake.  The boy held the boat by a string and sometimes the toy boat would long to be free and out on the lake with the larger boats.  Then one afternoon, the boy dropped the string and the little boat floated out onto the lake.  The tiny boat found itself out with the huge boats, who zoom past him, each warning him to “Move along!”  The toy boat was left almost sunken floating alone in the night on the lake.  It wasn’t until a slow-moving fishing boat circles the toy boat that his sails fill with wind and he really starts to sail.

The illustrations here are wonderful, deep and dramatic paintings filled with water, movement and weather.  They range from close ups of the boy with his boat to wide panoramic views of the lake and the sky.  All done with  an attention to small details.  The prose is invitingly simple, yet obviously speaking of wider things.  It is a book that children can enjoy as a sweet story of a boat but also can be enjoyed by older children and adults about letting loose of strings and allowing freedom.

Highly recommended as a read-aloud for elementary age children who may understand the real depth of the story.

A Friendship for Today by Patricia C. McKissack.

This novel is based on McKissack’s own experience in the 50s as one of the only African-American children at her elementary school.  It is her obvious appreciation for the era that makes this book shine.  Rosemary can run faster than anyone in her school, she gets good grades and has a lot of friends.  The town is going to close the colored school and integrate the children in a new school.  Rosemary’s year is filled with the worry of a new school, prejudice and bullying, family difficulties and a friend getting polio.  It is a vivid snapshot of a year where Rosemary manages to stay true to herself and build a new community.

McKissack’s writing is accessible and friendly.  I appreciated a story featuring an African-American family better off than the white families around them.  The strength of people in the community, their values and the way they are instilled in  Rosemary really resonates throughout the novel.  Rosemary is a girl with spunk, plenty of spirit and a drive to excel.  At the same time, the novel does not shirk away from describing the era, the prejudice and the lack of tolerance.  The opinions of white people in the community are painted with complexity as are the reactions of the children of both races. 

In such a slim volume, it is a treat to find a complex yet warm look at this difficult period in our history.  Very accessible for children, I could see this book being used to start discussions on tolerance and prejudice in schools.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.

This final book in the astounding Gemma Doyle trilogy nicely completes the series.  Gemma finds herself unable to access her magic and enter the realms at first, but finds a door to let her into the magical realms along with her two friends Ann and Felicity.  Gemma is under immense pressure both in the realms and in her mortal world to share the magical power she holds with either the tribes in the realms or the Order.  Gemma hesitates, enjoying the reputation and respect she gains with the power, until it is almost too late for her world.

These books are complex and amazing.  Part of the wonder of the books is the way that their structure imitates the Victorian society they portray.  Readers are caught in a web of plot threads that move ahead at a stately pace.  Under all of it runs darkness and temptation that invite readers to dive in.  But one must read on with the corseted pace of the novel.  Until the end, where all thought of propriety is lost in a rush of action, explanation and beauty. 

Bray’s writing is exquisite as always and her pacing as mentioned above is exceptional.  Gemma as a character is wonderfully unreliable, trapped in seeing the world through her own lens.  The cast of characters are often surprising once one begins to understand them better.  That is another of the treats of the novel as the reader sheds the lens of Gemma and begins to really understand the world she is living in. 

Highly recommended, but make sure you read them in order!  Perfect reading for girls who enjoy romance and fantasy or either genre. 

We’re Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey through Egypt by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson.

This book has been waiting on my desk for a shamefully long time, but I am slowly starting to whittle down books that have piled up over the last year. 

This picture book takes you to Egypt on a colorful, fascinating journey that will work well for children interested in the wonder of the pyramids and mummies, but will also open their eyes to other parts of life in Egypt.  Though the illustrations are whimsical, it is nice to see a Cairo skyline and a modern depiction of Egypt.  Readers will also find a map of Egypt and the Nile as well as a fact page on the various places visited in the book.  Keep turning pages and you will find historical information, information on gods and goddesses, and even heiroglyphs covered.  By putting this detailed information at the back, the story part of the book can be shared with young children and older children who will also enjoy the poetic and rhythmic text can immerse themselves in more details.

Recommended for ages 4-9, thanks to the information in the back of the book.

NPR has a great piece on Max and Pinky author Maxwell Eaton III.  Make sure you listen to the radio piece to hear the reviewer laugh with glee at the books.  Charming to hear an adult respond so spontaneously to a children’s book.  Makes one feel so much less alone!

The second Adventures of Max and Pinky book, Superheroes, is very charming.  It continues the wonderful thick-lined and bright colored illustrations, the complex world of childhood friendship, and the obsession with marshmallows that were part of the first book.

One of my favorite spreads in the new book is where the friends are trying to decide on superhero outfits.  Pinky gets me laughing out loud with his plunger as a hat and his towering stack of marshmallows on his head.  The second book is just as wonderful as the first, so if you loved the first make sure you seek this one out!  If you haven’t read either, you really should check out this new friendship in children’s books.

Squirrelly Gray by James Kochalka.

Squirrelly Gray sits in his black and white and gray world watching static on TV.  He is so bored he starts to wiggle his two front teeth until they fall out!  He tucks them under his pillow and waits for the tooth fairy to come.  During the night he is awoken by calls for help, coming from the Tooth Fairy who is stuck in a spider web.  She rewards Squirrelly Gray by giving him  a magic acorn with a surprise inside.  But without his teeth, he can’t open it.  A Hungry Fox finds him and tries to whack him with a club, but instead opens the acorn up much and everyone can see the surprise hidden inside.

The artwork in the book is charming.  Squirrelly Gray is delightfully cute and the Hungry Fox is wonderfully scary.  I also enjoyed the way that comic book framing is used in some of the story.  It is a very child-friendly story with rhyming words that are not saccharine, but instead add to the pace of the adventure story.

Recommended as a book to share with a child one-on-one or in very small groups.  The art is wonderful but needs to be seen up close.

No English by Jacqueline Jules.

Blanca is a new girl in school who doesn’t speak English, but it doesn’t seem fair to Diane that she is allowed to draw pictures in class instead of doing spelling like the rest of the class.  Diane struggles to try to befriend Blanca, but time after time there are misunderstandings due to their different languages.  It is not until Diane and Blanca start to communicate via pictures that they manage to become friends.  They don’t do this at the best time though and the substitute teacher sends them to the office for drawing during spelling.  But the principal understands the situation and they find themselves being cautioned about drawing during class but also honored for making new friends.

The complexity of this story was a surprising find in a picture book.  The fact that Diane had to work so hard to become friends was an important feature of the book.  Their differences are not easy to overcome and the honesty about this is refreshing and vital.  The illustrations help to portray the emotions involved in each encounter between the girls and also show a diversity in the overall classroom.

Recommended for libraries and schools to aid in reaching across language barriers.  The English-speaking students will get the most out of it, but the English-learners will reap the benefits.  This could be used to start class discussions about diversity and could lead to discussions on all sorts of diversity within the school and community.  Always a good discussion to have!

The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

I am a finicky holiday book reader.  The book has to give me more than people merrily opening large presents or fretting that their gifts aren’t good enough.  There has to be depth, magic and that special holiday something that makes it a worthwhile holiday read.  This book has all of that.

Set in the middle of the Depression, this picture book features a family struggling to give everyone a wonderful holiday.  Nella and her family always have Christmas, but don’t always have presents.  But Nella is hoping and wishing for a Baby Betty doll.  Her sisters tell her that it will never happen, but on Christmas morning there it is!  All of the girls struggle to be the one who gets to play with Baby Betty.  Nella wins, but slowly realizes there is more to Christmas than just ending up with the best present.

With two such great talents working on a book together, you know this is going to be wonderful.  McKissack is as much an artist with words as Pinkney is with paint.  McKissack has created a book that looks frankly at a poor family struggling to get by.   I love her wording as she describes Baby Betty:

“There before us was a for-real, store-bought, brand-new Baby Betty doll, the color of chocolate, with rosy cheeks, black curly locks, and thick eyelashes.” 

One can almost smell the new toy, much less visualize it so clearly.  So much of the book reads with this clarity and style.  It draws readers into the story, and allows them to bask there in that place for awhile.  Add to that Pinkney’s signature illustrations, and you have a real wonder of a book.  Pinkney again captures children in mid-stride, mid-expression, so that readers finish the movement mentally, dancing their own images in their head along with the story. 

Highly recommended as a holiday story with all the right messages for the true spirit of the season without any preachiness.  This book will work well as an annual family read, or as the perfect companion to a sweet baby doll present.

Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore, illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Yes, this is written by the actress Julianne Moore, but don’t judge it harshly because of that.

There once was a seven-year-old girl who loved to ride bikes and had lots of friends, but she was ashamed of her freckles.  People mentioned them all the time, and they made her different than the other kids.  She tried to remove them, but nothing worked.  Then she covered her entire body and face and no one talked about her freckles!  But they didn’t talk to her either, because they didn’t recognize her.  Lonely, hot and sad, she finally finds that she likes living with her freckles better than being plain and alone.

Perhaps I like this book because I am head to toe freckles and moles.  My kids say I am polka-dotted.  I never tried the lemon juice route, because my equally freckled mother informed me that nothing she ever tried worked! 

The illustrations have a vintage feel with a lot of pizzazz and charm.  The opening page of Freckleface grinning out at the reader is a winning way for the book to begin.  I also love the fact that her freckles are not just charmingly dotted on her cheeks, but extend to her legs and arms.  This is a great way to talk to children about being different, because no matter how homogeneous a group you are dealing with, we are all different and have things we fret about.  Some of us are chubby, some tall, some short, etc. 

Recommended as a way to start discussions about being different, this book is appropriate for ages 4-6.