Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier.

Sigh, what a gorgeous book.  The cover truly reflects the beauty of the story itself.  I simply could not read it quickly, wanting to savor as much as I could while being caught up in the story. 

I tend to dislike retellings of fairy tales and folk tales into teen novels.  On some level many of them seem to lack the luster of my childhood imagination.  Marillier’s story is the exception to that.

It is the story of five sisters who travel between their world of Transylvania to the other realm where they meet fairies and other incredible characters.  The tale is told from the perspective of Jena, second oldest sister, who found a frog as a child and still carries her pet around with her at all times.  Her older sister Tati is the beauty, who early in the story falls in love with Sorrow, who may or may not be one of the Night People who resemble vampires.  The three youngest sisters offer other distinct personalities as well.  Jena and Tati find themselves in danger both in the other realm and at their home.  When Night People begin to tempt them to the darker side of the Wildwood, their cousin Cezar begins to dominate their lives at home.  The tangles of their double lives as well as of their hearts remind one of the thorny tangle guarding Sleeping Beauty.

References to all sorts of fairy tales and folk tales are made from the Frog Prince to the 12 Dancing Princesses to vampires to fairies and nymphs.  It may sound overwhelming, but the author skillfully weaves all of these into a tale that rings more true than any of the original tales.  She takes these fragments, making them into something larger and more lovely.  It becomes a world that any reader will be loathe to leave. 

I especially applaud the author on her skill with offering just enough detail to carry the story and involve the imagination.  It is a delicate line to cross.  Too much detail and the fairy land becomes less real, too little and it doesn’t evoke the magic necessary.  But in this novel, readers are allowed to create their own childhood fairy tales again, led by the author through a remarkable original tale of her own. 

Recommend to fantasy lovers but also girls who enjoy romances or horror.  There are so many levels to this book, that it will appeal to many types of reader.  This is one of the treasures of the year!

Edwardo: the horriblest boy in the whole wide world by John Burningham.

It is always a treat to see a book by Burningham.  With his own unique illustrative style and his clear language, you know it is going to be something special that stands entirely on its own. 

This book is no exception.  Edwardo is a normal child.  He can be noisy sometimes, messy sometimes, and mean sometimes.  All he hears from the grown-ups around him is that he is a “nasty bully” or “the noisiest boy in the whole wide world.”  So Edwardo listens to the adults and becomes noisier, meaner, ruder, messier.  Until he hears something different one day when he is being rude.  And under the appreciation and praise, Edwardo returns to being what he always was:  a normal child with some good and some bad about him.

I really enjoyed this story.  The matter-of-fact tone carries the story forward as Edwardo becomes more and more horrible and less and less of himself.  Just as the horrible factor becomes overwhelming, the author pulls back and switches the tone.  Just as clean and clear in the praise part, we get to watch as Edwardo returns to being himself. 

This will be a great one to share with a group of kids who will all see themselves in Edwardo and wonder if they too are the most horrible child in the whole wide world.  They will be happy to see the turn around to praise and accomplishments.  It is the type of book that children will want to talk about afterwards even in the most simple terms.  I can see it being used for guidance classes or units on self.  But don’t wait for that!  Share this one with your group of kindergarteners or first graders and they will appreciate it.

Nibble Nibble by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Wendell Minor.

Yes, yes, I know that I should save this for Poetry Friday, but I just adore this book.  It is one of those that if I had gotten a galley copy of it, I would have kept it all for myself and not shared with my library. 

These five rabbit poems were first published in 1959.  Margaret Wise Brown’s poetry demonstrates what children’s poems should be about, being both accessible and broadening at the same time.  My favorite is Nibble Nibble Nibble which repeats and repeats using different heartbeat sounds.  Here is the opening stanza:

Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
And the mouse in my heart is
You

The structure of the poem is both simple and powerful, but it also allows children to jump right in and create their own poetry on the spot.  At the end of sharing this with my five-year-old, I was being told that Snap Snap Snap, Goes the crab in his heart.  And it went on and on with new sounds and new animals.  This is exactly what I want books and poetry to do for children, given them a form to hold on to and then the opportunity to make it their own and use their own imagination and creativity.

And then let’s talk about the art!  What makes this version special are the incredible paintings by Minor which capture rabbits in all of their cute, fuzzy glory.  His paintings are naturalistic and vivid, erasing all of those too saccharine bunnies from your mind, you return to what rabbits are all about.  Fur, long ears, and jumps.  Lovely stuff.  I want that painting of the end of summer rabbit next to the milkweed.  Sigh.  Makes me think of my childhood playing in the tall grass.  Perfection.

Share these poems, love the language, appreciate the artistry.  This one is an absolute winner.

The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds by Marisabina Russo.

Three sweet little white bunnies are tucked in bed, warm and cozy.  All is quiet while Mama and Daddy sit reading downstairs.  But then they hear an odd noise coming from upstairs.  “Sounds like the bunnies are not in their beds.”  The parent bunnies put the children back to bed again, resume their quiet time downstairs, but are again interrupted by noise from above.  This happens again and again with the parents getting more and more irate at the behavior.  The ending is a fun twist for children who also hate to go to bed.

I love many things about this book.  First, there are the quiet moments of the parents downstairs, reassuringly dull and normal for children who assume that once they are in bed the parents start having real fun.  Then there are the odd noises from above that lead to the parents heading upstairs and then the page turn occurs where children listening to the story have a chance to guess what is causing the ruckus this time.  Nicely done to create a little intrigue and participation.  I also appreciate that while the parents are very patient at first, they do hit the end of their rope and finally list all of the things in a loud voice (or at least in capital letters) that the little bunnies are not to do at bedtime. 

Add this one to a spring storytime on bunnies or your pajama storytime about heading to bed.  Preschoolers will enjoy it most of all.

(In the interest of full disclosure, this was sent to me by the publisher.)

Lady Friday by Garth Nix.

This is book five in the Keys of the Kingdom series, which is a series perfect for kids who appreciate unique settings, quirky characters and fantasy. 

This fifth book is set in the Middle House.  Arthur now has four of the Keys and is seeking the fifth.  He is trying not to use the power of the fourth key on his quest because if he continues to use the power of the House then he will not be able to return to Earth and his family.  Leaf, one of Arthur’s human friends, has been captured by Lady Friday who delights in drinking the experiences of humans, leaving them without their memories.  Arthur’s own mother has been captured as well, driving him to confront Lady Friday and attempt a rescue. 

As always the settings of the series are amazingly creative and unique.  I loved the idea of charged water that carries items with writing on them ever higher up a series of locks.  The action in this piece of Arthur’s journey is slower and less frantic than in previous novels, but it is a relief after the battlefields of the 4th book in the series.  Nix seems always able to finesse the pacing of the novels to suit the setting. 

This is a must-read for those following the series.  It is also a series that should be recommended for kids who enjoy Harry Potter and are looking for an alternative.  The Keys series has its own sense of humor, lots of darkness, plenty of action, yet is entirely different than any other series.  It is not derivative at all.  Rather it is a flight of unfettered imagination bottled for fantasy lovers.

Green As a Bean by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Melissa Iwai. 

If you were green what would you be?  A bean, a leaf, a blade of grass?  What?  Filled with language that is strong and evocative, this book features illustrations that are equally strong and vibrant.  Again and again the question is asked about what you would be. If you were square?  If you were loud?  If you were small?  What would you be?  The choices listed are just the tip of the iceberg and are varied and interesting enough to get children’s own imaginations going. 

This picture book is one that creates discussion when it is being read.  If you read it to a group, be prepared to hear all sorts of ideas and thoughts spontaneously shared.  I would encourage using it with an art project where kids could use the different colors and shapes and qualities in the book to create a picture of what they would be. 

Terrible Storm by Carol Otis Hurst, illustrated by S. D. Schindler.

This is the story of two of Carol Otis Hurst’s grandfathers who grew up near one anther and were friends since boyhood.  They couldn’t have been more different.  Walt is outgoing and happiest when in a crowd while Fred is quiet and enjoys being home alone working on projects.  Then a blizzard hits and Walt finds himself alone in a barn with only cats and farm animals for company while Fred is stuck in an inn filled with all sorts of people.  Both of them are horrified by where they are trapped.  Even as old men they still reminisce about the terrible storm.

I so enjoyed this book with its old-fashioned feel and great quiet sense of humor that is present in every picture.  The use of almost comic-like panels really emphasizes the juxtaposition of the two men and their discomfort with their predicament. 

Add this to your snowy story times, especially if you are sharing stories with kindergarteners or older.  They will appreciate it more than preschoolers. 

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne.

Anthony Browne is one of my favorite picture book authors.  He has a wonderfully skewed perspective and his art is unique and great fun. 

With Silly Billy, Browne introduces Billy who is a bit of a worrier.  He worries about everything while trying to fall asleep.  And I mean everything from hats to shoes to giant birds.  Even though his father and mother try to reassure him, it doesn’t work.  Then when he is staying over at his grandmother’s house, she gives him some worry dolls.  And they work at least for a little while, until Billy begins to worry about the dolls being worried.  In the end, Billy solves that problem and moves on with a lot fewer worries.

The text and illustrations work well together, as they always do in Browne’s books.  His deep colors work especially well when contrasted with the almost colorless worry pages.  The blissful pictures of Billy fast asleep are perfection. 

So many kids carry worries around with them and this gives a creative solution to dealing with those overwhelming worries.  Pair it with Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes, and you have the start of a bibliotherapy session.  Just kidding!  But they do make a nice pairing.

Hop!  Plop! by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tali Klein, illustrations by Olivier Dunrea.

This toddler-friendly book features elephant and mouse who decide to head to the playground and play together.  But each thing they try doesn’t work.  The seesaw won’t move up and down with mouse on one end and elephant at the other, even when mouse eats an entire watermelon!  Elephant pushes Mouse too hard on the swings, and when Elephant tries they break under his weight.  When they are just about to give up, Elephant offers Mouse his trunk as a slide.  It is a perfect solution.

The text of this book is perfect for toddlers who will recognize all of their favorite playground toys and will enjoy the slapstick humor.  The illustrations by Dunrea are very child-friendly and even when Mouse falls or bumps there is no fear of him being hurt because the illustrations are so soft and welcoming. 

Share this in toddler storytimes.  They will enjoy it!