Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater, pictures by Hiroe Nakata.
This is a delightful picture book perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who will completely understand the book’s premise.  Baby (a child who could be either a boy or a girl) has just gotten brand-new very white shoes.  Then he goes off on adventures with his mom.  On those adventures, his shoes slowly become more colorful and less white until they are almost a rainbow of color.  Each time another color gets on his shoes, Baby says “Uh-oh!” and Mama says “Oh, no!”  This pattern continues as does the chorus of “but those shoes just go, go, go.”  The rhythm of the book is perfectly written and the enthusiasm by Baby is contagious.  The illustrations are vivid, bright and pure fun as they show how each color gets added to the shoes.  The best picture in my eyes is the second to last, where Baby is sitting on a park bench with her now exhausted mother.  Baby has muddy knees, a messy face, a big smile and is proudly showing the shoes in all their glory. 
Add this one to your storytimes on clothes and color.  It is a lot of fun. 

Rash by Pete Hautman.
I am a huge Hautman fan, having really enjoyed his book Invisible.  Rash is a book set in a dystopian United States, now called the USSA.  In this future, the United States and its citizens have become obsessed with self-protection, meaning that even to walk down the street kids have to wear a helmet, to run a race they have to be fully suited in protective gear and run on a shock absorbent track.  The protagonist of the book, Bo, has a father and an older brother in the penal system.  People are given jail time for anger and antisocial behavior.  Bo has his father’s temper and is on the razor edge for being jailed.  When Bo finally gives into his urge to fight with another boy who is hitting on his girlfriend, he is arrested and sent to northern Canada to a McDonald’s pizza factory.  It is in jail that Bo discovers his real passion: the illegal game of football. 
Rash is about a future that is more than possible.  It is about corporations taking over our penal system, a society relying on prisoner work to support itself, an amazingly self-centered society where nothing matters more than self-survival and extending your life as long as possible, even when that destroys the very quality of life.  It is a frightening world, but readers get to experience through the eyes of sarcastic Bo which is a real treat.  I enjoyed the dystopian society because it really is well fleshed out to the extent that it begins to color how you view today’s society.  I also enjoyed the character of Bo, a person who doesn’t fit into the world he has been born in.  There is humor throughout the book, lifting it from what could have been a dismal look at the future into something that is fresh, new and inventive. 
Share this book with teens who enjoy science fiction, but it should also be enjoyed by teens who enjoy sports books and anyone quirky enough to have felt they don’t fit into society.  This is a great read and is definitely another winner by Hautman. 

Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling by D M Cornish.
Five star book!  Oh, I don’t do stars…  Applause!  Oh, you can’t hear me…  Praise galore, now that I can do.
This book is the answer to all of the issues with plagiarism in teen novels.  It is so unique, so new, so fresh that it could only be original.  Young Rossamund is foundling who lives in a ramshackle orphanage.  He is approaching the age when he will head out into the monster-infested world and get a job.  He hopes to follow his caregiver into the navy, traveling on the caustic vinegar seas, but instead he is employed by the Lamplighters, a job that sounds dull to his young ears.  On his way to take up his new position, Rossamund gets aboard the wrong boat, run by a horrid captain who deals in the dark arts.  Rossamund manages to escape and finds himself in the company of a fancy lady, Europe,  who hunts monsters for a living using electricity that comes out of her body.  But Rossamund finds himself feeling very sympathetic towards some of the monsters he meets and wondering if Europe is maybe the evil one. 
This is a vividly rendered world filled with complex characters who change, grow and mystify.  It is a entirely new world, created with a loving hand.  This is a real gem of a book.  Recommend this to teens who enjoy fantasy and also those who enjoy horror.  It is a great read, one that could also get reluctant readers to go along for the ride.  This is a must-read and must-own.

Specials by Scott Westerfeld.  
This is the final book in the Uglies Trilogy.  If you have missed this trilogy or don’t have it in your library for the teens in your community, RUN out and get it.  It is a great series that offers a unique society where people of a certain age are surgically turned into Pretties.  Tally Youngblood finds herself caught in yet another web of lies and control where she has to think her way past her latest surgery.  I really don’t want to give much away, especially if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading the first two books in the series.  Let me just say that the final book in the trilogy is filled with as much adventure, amazement, detailed world building, and pure reading fun as the first two.  I enjoy Westerfeld’s sly humor and the not-so-subtle parallels with today’s society that ring very true.  
This is a great trilogy.  The only bad thing about it is that it is now finished.  But having read Westerfeld and loved his other books too, we will just have to wait to see what amazing teen novel he puts out next.  These are a must-purchase!  Recommend them to kids who enjoy science fiction.  They will be enjoyed by both boys and girls alike.  

Henrietta, There’s No One Better by Martine Murray.
This chapter book introduces us to Henrietta, future Queen of the Wide Wide Long Cool Coast of the Lost Socks.  Henrietta is a little girl with a huge personality and enormous imagination who invites readers right in to experience it for themselves.  Henrietta takes us to the Island of the Rietta filled with polka-dotted friendly creatures, introduces us to the problems of having a baby brother named Albert, and shows us the joy of saying really naughty words like Sheezamageeza!  This book is a joy to read aloud and has just enough potty humor and naughtiness to keep both boys and girls laughing along.  The illustrations are modern line drawings brightened with bright red touches.  They evoke the world of Henrietta even more vividly. 
Recommend this to teachers looking for a fun read-aloud chapter book for Kindergarten, first and second grade.  It could lead to discussions on imagination and creativity and maybe even having children create their own imaginary islands and creatures.  But this is one good enough to share with any child in your life and to recommend to chapter book readers themselves. 

VOYA has a nice article on A Plus Audiobooks for teens. Audio books are made or broken by the narrator, so it is nice to have a list of those that are very successful.

Just Teenie by Susan Meddaugh.
Meddaugh writes books filled with whimsy and magical happenings and this book certainly delivers.  Teenie is a very small little girl who is sick of being the smallest one.  When she sees a fortune teller’s booth, she asks to grow.  The fortune teller hands her a box with a plant inside of it.  The plant grows and grows and eventually starts reaching down and taking things from people.  When someone tries to cut down the tree, the tree grabs Teenie and carries her high up in its branches.  Everyone is very scared, but Teenie loves living high in the tree.  When cool weather comes, the plant droops and falls to pieces.  But even at the end, there is hope for next year.
This is a great read-aloud story with exactly the right amount of text on each page to share with preschoolers and kindergarteners.  The illustrations are vibrant, especially once the plant is in full bloom.  It is a magical tale combined with a normal wish that children have, to grow.  This one is a winner!

Froggy Rides a Bike by Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.
Another installment in the beloved Froggy series, this book focuses on Froggy learning to ride his brand new bike.  The book starts with a dream sequence which may confuse some children, but soon after that they will be enjoying Froggy’s escapades as he falls and has to keep on trying.  The book is filled with London’s signature sound effects as well as the frog parents bellowing after FRROOGGYY!  Another winner in a great series that children adore.

What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince, illustrated by Giles Laroche. 
This is a great nonfiction book for children, covering the many ways that we use wheels in our lives.  The text is very brief and has an unintrusive rhyme pattern that keeps the book moving along.  It is the illustrations that make this book so special.  Laroche uses paper relief art to create illustrations with depth and motion.  This book will start up conversations with children about what other types of wheels they can think of and how they are used.  And what could be better than a nonfiction book that gets kids thinking all on their own?  This book is great for school units but will also be picked up by children interested in vehicles of all types.  The text and pictures are more than appealing enough for this to also be added to any vehicle storytime.