Where Is the Cake? by T. T. Khing.

This very clever wordless book is fun from the cover pages filled with cake all the way to the end.  In the book, you follow several different story lines from page to page.  Each group of characters has its own story that impact each other in various ways throughout.  On the first page, the rats steal the cake from the dogs, a soccer ball bounces down the road, a weasel leaves its hole with a green bag, a slow turtle starts on his walk, and it goes on and on.  By the end of the book, each story has resolved itself in some way and all of the characters end up interacting together.

This is not a group book.  The highly detailed art will have children crowing with delight when they discover something and pages will have to be rapidly turned backwards to find out how this happened and where that character first appeared.  It is a book to pore over, explore and adore. 

Recommended for everyone from kindergarteners through about 4th grade.  There is a strong sense of adventure and discovery when reading this book.  Enjoy!

Billy Tartle in Say Cheese! by Michael Townsend.

Very modern, graphically interesting and lots of fun, this picture book offers a lot of humor in a slim volume.  Billy is going to have his picture taken at school, but worries that all of his pictures have been boring.  So he designs a hairstyle for himself based on Supermonkey.  He has lots of ideas about how this new hairstyle will make him impressive and give him powers.  But he turns out looking exactly the same as before.  When he is given a lollipop after his haircut, he gets an idea that is certain to make sure that this class picture is far, far from dull.

The text is lovely to read aloud to a small group of kids, but this is really a book for elementary kids to read on their own or for a very small group of children to enjoy together.  The illustrations are such a large part of the story, and they have to be seen closely to be enjoyed to the fullest. 

Highly recommended for all boys.  Boys who don’t enjoy traditional books will like the comic book feel of this one.  Boys who read often and will will love the humor of the story.  A wonderful look at how comics can be mashed up with picture books and be super!

The Three Cabritos by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin.

This version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff has touches of Texas throughout.  This combined with the fact that the goats are trying to get to a gig for their band at a fiesta adds a lot of flavor to the story.  Reynaldo the smallest goat, gets to the bridge first and children will be astounded to see the huge Chupacabra waiting there for him in all of its blue and prickly glory.  The Chupacabra only allows Reynaldo to pass after he plays some music.  The same pattern follows with each brother until Augustin, the biggest goat, who is able to control the Chupacabra with his catchy music.   The monster meets his end at the end of the story.

The illustrations are stylish and have a modern animated feel to them.  The Chupacabra alone is worth reading the book for!  The text is catchy, fun and has just the right amount of Spanish words incorporated in the text.  Nicely, there is a glossary and pronunciation guide at the end of the book. 

If you are looking for a fun and different version of the billy goats tale, this one will be a winner read aloud to children.  It has lots of funny touches throughout that children, especially those in elementary school, will enjoy. 

Heat Wave by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Betsy Lewin.

A heat wave hit Lumberville and day after day the town’s residents swelter, finding different ways to try to stay cool.  Set in a small town in the early to mid 20th century, no one huddles by their air conditioner.  Instead readers get to see more creative solutions like cooking in the basement, taking long cool baths, and not sleeping indoors.  I enjoyed how many of the solutions build community closeness rather than in today where we all go into our homes and shut ourselves in. 

This is a great summery book to share with kindergarteners and early elementary age children.  The illustrations are friendly and funny with small touches like the policeman bathing with his hat still on.  The text is wonderful, filled with everyone’s exact name, it is like visiting a small town in person.

So pour some cold lemonade, sit out on your porch, and share this.  It will be just as nice in an air conditioned school or library where you can talk about the differences between the way we stay cool today and how they do in the book.  In schools without air conditioned classrooms, this just may inspire some creative ways for the class to feel cooler.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

Charlie is the smallest kid in his class, always the last in line when they line up by size.  One fall day, his teacher, Mr. Tiffin brings three pumpkins to class and asks how many seeds are in a pumpkin.  The pumpkins are three different sizes and the children guess how many are in them.  Then they break into groups to count the seeds in each pumpkin.  Charlie is the only one who thinks that the smallest one may have the most seeds and is willing to count them on his own.  Each group counts the seeds in different way, by twos, fives or tens.  Charlie as the person counting by tens looks like he has the fewest seeds, but actually the littlest pumpkin has the most!

This book offers both a story of being the smallest and a math lesson in counting by units.  The two elements work very well together and in the story itself.  There is also some information on pumpkins worked into the book.  I always enjoy Karas’ illustrations which are child friendly and somehow remind me of the Peanuts strips.  McNamara has done an admirable job of uniting a story and a math lesson, making both of them interesting.

Share this with older elementary children who are at least in first grade so that the mathematics make sense to them.  It is also a good picture book for children who tend to enjoy nonfiction picture books, because it is full of information.  This is a nice autumnal title free of any witches or Halloween references.

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.