Max’s Words by Kate Banks, pictures by Boris Kulikov.

Max has two brothers.  Benjamin collects stamps and Karl collects coins.  Neither will give Max even a single stamp or coin for himself.  So Max decides to start his own collection, of words.  He starts with small words and moves on to larger ones.  When his brothers boast that they have thousands of stamps and hundreds of coins, Max says that he is saving to have enough for a story.  Max starts to sort through his words, and his brothers are caught up in the joy of creating a story too.

Banks has written a readable, friendly book about the joy of language.  Her word choices are wonderful, and you can tell that she had quite a large collection to choose from herself.  Kulikov’s illustrations add a whimsical, humorous side to the story, especially in the section where the words that Max is collecting are listed.  He uses graphics mixed with the words themselves to create a visual feast of words. 

My youngest son is an emergent reader and loved being able to match the words I was reading aloud with their graphic depiction.  The story is rich and wonderful and begs to be shared with children.  Kindergarteners through second graders should enjoy the story and may be prompted to start their own word lists or even their own stories. 

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? is a series of illustrations by famous children’s book illustrators that give the punch line to the gag.  The list of illustrators is amazing with people like Marla Frazee, Mo Willems, David Shannon, Tedd Arnold, Jerry Pinkney and many many others.  Some of the spreads are wordless, others offer a punchline.  It is a book that showcases the breadth of talent and types of art happening in children’s literature today.  Anyone who loves picture books will find themselves happily turning from page to page, immediately recognizing the style of almost every illustrator.  The joy is seeing the art one after the other, like a visual who’s who of children’s artists. 

This was a joy.  It can be shared with children, especially those who enjoy art and will like looking at each piece slowly.  Children who have read a lot of books will also enjoy seeing their favorite artists next to others that they don’t know.  Pure children’s lit fun.

Too Small for Honey Cake by Gill Lobel, illustrated by Sebastien Braun.

I know that there are many books about new siblings and how older siblings have to cope.  Even in this crowded field, this book is a warm charmer that should be noticed.  Little Fox is finding that Daddy Fox has almost no time for him because of the baby.  His father won’t look at his block tower, he sings the baby Little Fox’s special song, and the baby sleeps in Little Fox’s cradle.  It isn’t fair!  So Little Fox decides that he is not living there anymore and moves into the space under the stairs.  He stays there angry and saying mean things until his father finds a way to make peace with a bit of honey cake.

I enjoyed this story of a father dealing with children.  So often we have stories of inept fathers who have to be helped with childcare.  In this case we have a capable father who can bake too!  The illustrations are warm depictions of a safe and cozy home.  Little Fox’s insults about the baby are right on target for that age and will have preschoolers and Kindergarteners giggling.

Share this with children expecting a new sibling, but also share it for a depiction of a single parent story or just a great warm book about brothers. 

Sold by Patricia McCormick.

The exquisite cover promises great things inside and does not lie.  McCormick has created a gut-wrenching, poetic, amazing verse novel of a young girl sold into sexual slavery.  Lakshmi is from a small village in Nepal where she has a loving mother, tiny baby brother and absent stepfather who gambles away any money they manage to scrape together.  One season after an awful drought, the monsoon returns with too much rain destroying their rice plantings for the next year.  Lakshmi is told that she is being sent to be a maid for a wealthy city family, so she is willing to leave to give her family more money, her brother a better life, and her mother a new tin roof.  But she is not headed for a family, rather an brothel in India.  This is the story of how a young girl uses her intelligence and courage to survive the unthinkable.

The power of the poems in this volume hits like a hammer right in the chest.  Amazingly many of them are complete enough to stand as single poems, but placed together in order they form a chain of poetry that is solid and strong.  They are a testament to what is happening to thousands of girls each year. 

I admit freely that I tend to cry at the end of books.  Sometimes it is the loss of these characters I have been living with other times it is the anguish of the story itself.  Rarely do I weep in the middle of a book, but I did when reading this.  The pain of the brothel and her bravery in overcoming the situation were so palpable and real that they seared right through me.  The eyes on the cover will stay with me for a long time, but the poetry is what is tattooed in my heart.  To say such evil things with such beauty and strength.  To not shy away from the truth of what happens took courage for the author as well.

All I have is applause for this novel.  It is a masterpiece of brevity and power.  This is one of my top books of the year.  I consider it a must read.

One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia C. DeFelice, pictures by Andrea U’Ren.

This is the story of an old couple who live in absolute poverty with only one chair, one coat to share between them, one blanket, one gold coin, and each day only one potato to eat.  When they run out of potatoes in the garden, the old man digs deeper hoping to find one, but all he finds is an old pot.  He places the last potato inside as he carries the pot back to the house.  But when he gets home, his wife finds that there are now 2 potatoes inside the pot.  The magical pot will duplicate anything placed inside.  Soon they have two tattered coats, two thin blankets, and many potatoes.  When the wife remembers the coin and they make copies, the husband heads to town to buy new things for them.  But it can never be quite that easy in fairy tales and the next twist will have children gasping.

Some picture books with this many words will bore children, but not this one.  The language is fresh, keeping the story vivid and wonderful.  I always enjoy when a storyteller allows her own love of language to come across in a book.  Add to it the illustrations with their vintage cartoon feel, and you have a great book for reading aloud to children from kindergarten through second grade. 

Where’s My Darling Daughter? by Mij Kelly and Katharine McEwen.

Poppa Bombola looks in the bed for his darling daughter, but he can’t find her.  As he searches around the farm, he repeats, “I know I put her somewhere safe.  Oh where’s my darling daughter?”  On the second or third page, kids will notice the darling daughter dangling on her daddy’s back in a baby carrier.  All ends happily of course, but not until all the children will be able to chorus the refrain along with the reader. 

The writing has rhythm and rhyme, carrying the reader as you race around the farmyard.  The art is child-friendly, filled with color and action.  It will project well for a crowd of children, and plays equally well as a lap book. 

This one is great fun.  Perfect for reading aloud as a silly finish to a story time on fathers or farms.  I guarantee giggles galore! 

Born to Rock by Gordon Korman.

This is another teen novel that I heard great things about and simply had to read.  Korman is one of my favorite authors, and I was not let down by this one.  It may be one of his very best to date.

Leo is a member of the Young Republicans, has a 4.0 grade point average and has an early acceptance to Harvard.  His life is mapped out and he is ready for it.  But when he stands up against a principal who is trying to ruin the record of another student, Leo instead finds himself the target.  Accused of cheating, his flawless record now has a black mark, and he is kicked out of not only the Young Republicans but also his Harvard scholarship.  In a fluke, Leo discovers that his biological father is the infamous punk rock star, King Maggot.  Leo decides that King is the way to get his Harvard tuition, so he joins King in his punk-rock tour of the United States until they receive the results of the official paternity test.  On the tour, Leo discovers that he has a lot more in common with King that he had expected.

Korman’s writing is always effortless in its skill.  He incorporates a great sense of humor into his books, and many parts of this novel will have readers chuckling along.  I enjoyed the pairing of a conservative teen with a rock and roll elder, and the situations that it created.  This entire book was great fun, cover to cover.

Recommend this one to boys and girls alike who enjoy music of any kind.  I think it would make a great pairing with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, another music-based novel from this year. 

The Queen’s Feet by Sarah Ellis, illustrated by Dusan Petricic.

This jaunty picture book features a queen who has uncontrollable feet, especially when she has to dress them up in formal clothes.  Instead of behaving in a royal way, her feet act out kicking other people, doing the splits, and behaving generally badly.  It gets to bad that a council is called and the queen is forced to find a way to control the behavior of her naughty feet.  A compromise is reached where the queen rules most of the time, but her feet rule for one hour out of each day where they can run, kick and be rude.

This is a perfect picture book for wiggly children who can’t control their body parts.  They will laugh at the many things that the queen’s feet do as well.  It is a gentle entry into a discussion of controlling yourself in a class or storytime.  Share this with wiggly preschoolers and kindergarteners who are just learning about sitting still for any length of time. 

Winter Is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer.

This picture book is a tribute to the warmth of winter found in long scarves, fuzzy mittens and warm hats.  It is the warmth of fireplaces, hot drinks, and cozy blankets.  It is the warmth that those of us who live in the north completely understand.  The joys of radiators and heating vents, hot steamy baths, and family.  And it is all the more special juxtaposed against the cold outdoors, the whiteness of the snow and the crispness of the air.  The illustrations capture this contrast beautifully, with many of the orangey glowing pictures surrounded by frames of puffy cool-colored snow. 

Nicely Christmas and holidays are left out because there is enough warmth to go around without them.  This means that it is a book all about winter without a Christmas tree, so that it can be used in diverse communities without offense.  This book has a warmth of its own and should be considered another joy of the chilly season.  Share it with children from toddlers to preschoolers.  I can see it leading to discussions of what makes their own winters warm and special, perhaps an art project using warm and cool colors.