Lissy’s Friends by Grace Lin.

I am a great fan of Lin’s.  She manages to do short, friendly picture books with a uniquely Asian perspective and universal appeal.

In this book, Lissy has moved to a new school.  No one is friendly with her at all.  She begins to build her own friends out of origami so she will never be alone again.  Her mother continues to push her to play with the other children, and Lissy heads out to the playground with all of her origami friends.  But when she pushes them on the merry-go-round, they fly away in the breeze.  Lissy is heart-broken until she finds that her paper friends have led her to some real ones.

The book is filled with Lin’s characteristic illustrations where the sky is filled with swirls, and patterns cover the world.  It creates a vivid and inviting setting for her characters.  The language is accessible for children and they will recognize the struggle to make new friends and be thrilled with the use of origami as a bridge to friendship. 

Recommended for classes doing origami or as a read aloud when new students join a class.  But families should not save it until then.  It is a very nice book to share with children who are preschoolers through Kindergarten. 

And the Train Goes…  by William Bee.

This picture book is filled with the noises of a train station, from the ticking of the station clock to the call of the station master to the whistle of the train.  The entire text works together with a subtle rhythm of life and action combined with a style both vintage and quirky.  Turning the pages takes readers down the length of the train, seeing soldiers on parade, school children, businessmen, and chefs.  Each group of people matches the style of the train car they are on, creating a vibrant tableau of color and faces. 

Add this to the large collection of books on trains, but realize that this is a real winner of a read aloud.  It would be my first choice for train read aloud due to its large and bright art and the evocative text. 

Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Dylan is the only boy in the Welsh village where his family owns the garage.  There is no chance to play football anymore now that his last male classmate has left.  The only claim to fame the village has is that it has the lowest crime rate in Britain, and that is attributed to the fact that it also has the highest rainfall.  But things are about to change in the quiet village, because of the secret at the top of the mountain.  Who would have thought that a single secret could change people entirely, create color where there was none, inspire new endeavors, and rock the comfortable but dull world that Dylan lives in?

This book is pure magic, just as Cottrell Boyce’s first book, Millions was.  The entire book has a warmth, a coziness, but also has plenty of mystery and magic.  The language of the book welcomes readers in, shares a laugh, and moves gently onward.  The characterizations of everyone is deep and meaningful, down to even the people of the village who play very secondary roles.  Everyone has an aspect of their personality that is surprising but rings very true. 

I loved the inclusion of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the cusp of the story. But best of all was the message that art really does change lives, in ways that those who love it most may not understand.  The inspiration characters took from art is what makes this book sing.  Gloriously.

I listened to the book on CD, and the narrator, Jason Hughes, is extraordinary.  I would never have been able to read the book with a Welsh accent in my head, and it was a treat to listen to it.  Some narrators simply read the book, but Hughes has added a bit of himself into it and brought the entire story to life.  Lovely.

Highly recommended for children ages 10-13, this book will welcome them to a world they have never been before but will recognize immediately.

Adventures of Cow, Too by Lori Korchek, photographs by Marshall Taylor.

If you read and enjoyed Adventures of Cow, you will certainly enjoy this one. 

Cow is the clueless protagonist of the story where he is sent to the grocery store.  On the way and at the store, he misnames all sorts of things.  Calling a school bus, a train, and limes apples.  Each page has just one sentence on it, and preschoolers will enjoy the pure silliness of the stories as well as the quick pace.  There is no waiting around for the jokes in this little book, they happen on almost every page. 

Looking for a book that will keep restless little bodies seated?  Well, this is it.  I would recommend having it on hand to be the final book in a story time.  Even better, it is short enough that you could make it a closing tradition for a class story time.  Children will appreciate the humor more each reading.

Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer.

I have seen this book on several people’s favorites of the year.  And you can add my name to theirs.  This book is a real treasure of a read.

It is the story, told in verse, of Josie.  She is a teen with cerebral palsy who knows that she is different than the other children.  She has no friends until a boy, Jordan, moves in nearby.  He isn’t like the other kids at school.  He listens to her thoughts and never thinks that she is mentally slow.  He is her first real friend.  Their friendship is beautifully captured in the poetry.  It offers an especially tender medium for their fragile first moves to being friends that magnifies it, creating a lovely taut feeling in the book.

Josie is portrayed flawlessly in the poems, remaining true to herself even while she grows and changes.  That is a feat that many authors don’t achieve, the ability to have their characters change but remain real and true to who they started out as.  Again, the medium works extremely well here, allowing Josie the space and language to express herself.

I am often reluctant to start a verse novel.  If they are well done, they can be some of the most moving books in the world.  But poorly done, they are nothing more than prose forced into stanzas.  Luckily, this is one of the winners.  In the truest test of a verse novel, you could pull virtually any of the chapters from the book and they could stand on their own as individual poems.  Each poem was obviously separately crafted with care to make it a real verse, bearing no resemblance to prose storytelling.  Instead the verse, the medium strengthens the book into something it could never have become without the poetry of the language and power of the word choice. 

Lovely stuff.  Recommended for middle school readers who will enjoy the poetry here.  This would be a great first verse novel for anyone, because the poetry is accessible as most good poetry is.  Even better, the cover itself will reach out and grab the right sort of readers.  This is one that you just have to try.

Shells! Shells! Shells! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. 
So many children are fascinated by shells that this book is an easy sell to kids.  In her signature paper art style, Wallace has created a book that allows children to see real shells through the eyes of her paper bears.  It is the perfect combination of whimsy and welcome with reality, allowing curious children to take a close look at actual shells.   The text tells the story of Buddy who goes to the seashore with his mother.  They find shell after shell and learn about how they are made, what the different parts of shells are called, and the names of the various types.  The book is more scientific information that story at times, but it still works well. 
A perfect book for hot summer days, share this one while sipping lemonade at the shore or dabbling your toes in a pool.  It is also a welcome science picture book that really looks at the details of shells in a friendly package.  A nice addition to science classes for early elementary students.

Shape Me a Rhyme: Nature’s Forms in Poetry by Jane Yolen, photographs by Jason Stemple.

Following in the tradition of their first two books of poetry and photos (Color Me a Rhyme and Count Me a Rhyme), Jane Yolen and her son focus this time on shapes.  Each poem focuses on a specific shape with the corresponding photograph.  As always, Yolen’s poetry manages to be both simple and deep.  Her words are accessible, but each poem will have children thinking more deeply than they may have expected.  What a testimony to her gift as a poet.  Stemple’s photographs offer a real visual treat.  From the fiery ball of the sun with grassy silhouettes before it to the arch of a sand dollar half hidden in the sand, his photographs add another dimension to the poems. 

My favorite poem is that of the rectangle where readers will find rectangles reflected in the strands of a spider web.  Made me want to immediately head outdoors and find shapes in my local spider webs.  Just lovely.

Recommended to add a little poetry to a mathematics class looking at shapes.  It will also be a welcome addition to kindergarten classrooms where it may inspire an outdoor expedition for shapes in nature. 

Sophie’s Big Bed by Tina Burke.

This book in the Toddler Tales series is a warm look at a toddler moving into her own large bed.  Sophie loves her crib.  It has her banana blankie and stuffed star.  But now it is time for her to move to her big bed where she doesn’t feel cozy at all.  Sophie tries night after night but finds herself only able to sleep back in her crib.  It isn’t until all of her favorite items move to the big bed with her that she can fall asleep there.

This book is a winner with its bright illustrations that show Sophie’s worry and joy so clearly.  The text is perfect for toddlers.  It is clear and brief.  I enjoyed the fact that Sophie does not burst into tears about it and there are no parents forcing her to stay in a bed she doesn’t want to sleep in.  Instead it is a gentle tale of patient but unseen parents who work with Sophie so that she can be happy at night.  Lovely.

This is a lap book, which should be read curled together in either a big or small bed.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Prepare yourself for a wild lawnmower ride!  Our 12-year-old protagonist is flat broke, until his grandmother gives him his grandfather’s old rider lawnmower.  He uses it to start a very small lawnmowing business, but demand is high and the business grows faster than anyone can understand.  Soon he finds himself with employees, a financial manager, and his summer has become far more busy and profitable than he could ever imagine. 

Paulsen does a wonderful job of fusing humor, great eccentric characters and finance into a perfectly short story.  The writing is tight, funny and a joy to read. 

This book is a quick and short 88 pages.  It is ideal for reluctant readers who will enjoy the pacing, the topic and the length.  Also recommended for willing readers who will enjoy it as well.