Easy reading

PETE THE CAT AND THE BAD BANANA by James Dean. Harper, 2014.

A bad banana
Makes Pete avoid them, searching
For a substitute.

Who has stolen cheese?
Ali Gator prvides clues.
Rats provide the help.

Frank Einstein

FRANK EINSTEIN AND THE ANTIMATTER MOTOR by Jon Scieszka with illustrations by Brian Biggs. Amulet, 2014.

Winning the science
fair is essential. Meet Klink,
Intelligent bot.

Myths Retold

DO NOT OPEN! THE STORY OF PANDORA'S BOX by Joan Holub. Illustrated by Dani Jones. Simon Spotlight, 2014.

Pandora cannot
Resist opening the box.
Sad consequences.

THE ONE EYED PEOPLE EATER: THE STORY OF CYCLOPS by Joan Holub. Illustrated by Dani Jones. Simon Spotlight, 2014.

Odysseus and
His men are trapped by Cyclops
But they outwit him.

Too Cool for School

PETE THE CAT: TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL by Kimberly and James Dean. Harper, 2014.

What to wear asks Pete
Too many different answers.
He should pick his own.

Serious about series

Just learning to read?
Grab one of these and be proud
That you CAN read it.

Here, kitty kitty!

ROTTEN RALPH'S ROTTEN FAMILY by Jack Gantos with illustrations by Nicole Rubel. FSG, March 2014.

Rotten Ralph heads off to spend some time with his family. He soon discovers that his family is not the place where he is loved for exactly who he is. He returns back to his owners a bit chastened, bit for how long?

BAD KITTY: DRAWN TO TROUBLE by Nick Bruel. Roaring Brook, January 2014.

Bad Kitty challenges her own author in the latest installment of the series. Nick Bruel gives kids tips on drawing Bad Kitty, but BK is often interrupting and challenging advice and story lines. Metafiction, meta-art, anyone?

THE MINIATURE WORLD OF MARVIN AND JAMES by Elise Broach with illustrations by Kelly Murphy. Holt, February 2014.

This sequel to MASTERPIECE brings back the intelligent and artistic beetle, Marvin. While James is away on vacation, Marvin is at loose ends. So his mother makes him play with his cousin Elaine. it is not long before the two beetles get into trouble, stuck inside of a pencil sharpener. Will marvin survive his time with his cousin? Will James still be his friend when he returns from vacation? Charming, funny, adventurous: kids will love this latest offering from Broach. While it is a sequel, it will stand alone as well.

Judy Moody and Friends

JUDY MOODY AND FRIENDS by Megan McDonald with illustrations by Erwin Madrid. Candlewick Press, 2014.

JESSICA FINCH IN PIG TROUBLE

ROCKY ZANG IN THE AMAZING MR. MAGIC

Megan McDonald's new series will be a blessing for those younger kids whose older siblings read her novels already. Here are easy reading chapter books featuring some of Judy's friends from the neighborhood. Rocky Zang is working hard on magic tricks (with Judy's help, of course). Jessica wants a pig more than anything else for her birthday. The stories are straightforward, incredibly realistic, and just plain fun.

Oddly charming

ODD DUCK by Cecil Castelucci and Sara Varon. First Second, 2013.

Chapter book meets graphic novel format in this perfect teaming of author and artist. Theodora is perfectly content being a perfectly normal duck, well except for her daily swim with a teacup balanced on her head, her affinity for salsa to go with her duck nuggets, and her preference for riding a bike into town and back to run her errands. And then, HE moves in. Chad is messy; he builds weird sculptures in the yard, and he sings off key. How can these two find anything in common? The answer is charming and warmly humorous as is the misunderstanding that threatens their friendship. Here is a book that blurs lines nicely, bringing GN to early readers in the form of a chapter book. For kids ready to move on from BabyMouse and Lunch Lady, this might be the perfect next rung on the reading ladder.

Mermaids

MERMAIDS IN THE BACKYARD by Catherine Hapka with illustrations by Patricia Castelao. Random House, 2013.

Lindy's new house has a
Surprise: mermaids in the back.
Can she assist them?

Icky Ricky

TOILET PAPER MUMMY, AN ICKY RICKY ADVENTURE by Michael Rex. Random House, 2013.

Ricky grosses out
Teachers, family, and friends.
But he IS funny.

Blood and Belly Laughs

THE VANISHING VAMPIRE by David Lubar. Starscape, 2013.

Sebastian is walking home from the movies when suddenly he feels a sharp pain and everything goes dark. Bit by bit, he begins to put the pieces together to discover he has been bitten by a vampire. While he is not fully vampiric, the "symptoms" are all there: desire for blood, burning in direct sunlight. Has he no hope of going back to his own boyhood? Will be become one of the undead? Lubar takes readers into the mind of a vampire, or at least a partial vampire. Mystery and humor make a powerful combination in this chapter book set at Washington Irving School.

FLORA AND ULYSSES: THE ILLUMINATED ADVENTURES BY Kate DiCamillo. CANDLEWICK Press, September 2013.

How to do justice to this book? Very seldom do words fail me. Thankfully, they do not fail DiCamillo who gives readers an incredible story of Flora and the squirrel she rescues from a wayward vacuum cleaner, Ulysses. Who knows whether it was the ride into the vacuum cleaner or not, but Ulysses seems to understand everything going on around him, especially as it relates to Flora. Flora also feels the special new connection, and so Ulysses becomes a part of her life. It is not a simple transaction, this, because Flora's mother, a preoccupied writer, does not want a squirrel in her home. After all, they carry diseases, right? And then there is the matter of the neighbor and her great-nephew, William, who insists he is temporarily blind. from giant donuts (with sprinkles) to kind retired doctors, and an attack cat, DiCamillo has created a wonderful story about friendship, about finding one's way, and about poetry. MUST READ.

White Fur Flying

WHITE FUR FLYING by Patricia MacLachlan. McElderry Books, 2013.

Zoe and her family rescue dogs, mostly big dogs, especially Great Pyrenees. That means that a trip into the house means visitors will encounter lots of fur and mountainous mounds of dogs. Zoe loves the dogs and her family. When a family moves into the empty house next door, the dogs are among the first to greet the silent young boy who moves in with them. Phillip seems to connect immediately to dogs, but is still quiet among the humans in his life. Can a dog change Phillip's life? This slender chapter book contains warm humor, caring families, and a heaping helping of canine capers. too.

Claude!

CLAUDE IN THE CITY by Alex T. Smith. Peachtree, 2013.

Meet Claude, the bon vivant dog about town. His best friend is Sir Bobbysock. One day, Claude and Sir Bobbysock decide to head into the city for the day. There is shopping for berets and a trip to the Art Museum among other adventures before the pair head back home. I adore Claude and love that there is much humor in the illustrations as well as the text. Join Claude on some of his other adventures as well in this series.

Hi-Low

COMING CLEAN by Jeff Ross. Orca, 2012.

RAT by Lesley Choyce. Orca, 2012.

SHALLOW GRAVE by Alex Van Tol. Orca, 2012.

For those of you who are not familiar with the series from Orca, Orca Soundings, all of the preceding books are written at about the 2nd to 3rd grade level. The short chapters and non-stop action keep the plot moving forward at breakneck speed. The books deal with ghosts (Shallow Grave) seeking revenge, drug runners brought to justice (Coming Clean) and dealing with bullies (Rat). Also try the Bluford series if you are searching for some more hi-lo books. Bear in mind, though, that there are many accessible YA novels, not part of series, that might be tied to these books. For kids who liked SHALLOW GRAVE, recommend CONNECTION by Charlie Price. A good tie in to COMING CLEAN might be GO ASK ALICE by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks) or CRANK by Ellen Hopkins. RAT could be tied to the novel by the same title by Jan Cheripko.

Ch-ch-chapter books

AMELIA BEDELIA MEANS BUSINESS by Herman Parish with illustrations by Lynne Avril. Greenwillow, 2013.

Amelia Bedelia books are back and feature a young Amelia Bedelia who is just as literal as her adult self will be. When Amelia decides she needs a new bike, her father tells her he will meet her half way. He is finally able to explain what that means to the highly literal minded Amelia. Chapters are short, there is non-stop action and, of course, terrific good humor.

RICKY VARGAS: BORN TO BE FUNNY by Alan Katz with illustrations by Stacy Curtis. Scholastic, 2013.

Ricky is back and he is still the class cut-up. Lucky for him, he has a sensitive teacher who allows him to clown around and tell jokes from time to time. And then one day, his beloved teacher is not there. Will this be the end to Ricky's stand up career?

NANCY CLANCY AND THE SECRET ADMIRER by Jame O'Connor with illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser. Harper, 2013.

Fancy Nancy is growing up. When she learns that her babysitter and her guitar tutor are without a date for Valentine's Day, she switches into high gear to have the two meet "accidentally" at the Sweete Shoppe. Is she a good matchmaker or will it all come to naught?

Amulet
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE THIRD WHEEL by Jeff Kinney. Amulet, 2012.

Greg's school is having a Valentine's Day Dance. He is trying hard to find a date, but he seems to keep striking out time and again. How can he find someone who will go to the dance with him? What is a wimpy kid to do?

Chapters

GOONEY BIRD IS ABSURD by Lois Lowry with illustrations by Middy Thomas. Sandpiper/Houghton Mifflin, 2009.

Love the reissue of this Gooney Bird book. Gooney is unchanged, she of the underwear on the head as a brain warmer, of the mismatched on purpose socks. fortunately, her teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon, deals with all manner of different kids in her second grade classroom. Right now, the kids are studying poetry. Mrs. Pidgeon is reading some of the poems her mother wrote, and the students are taking cues from her writing for their own. Lowry celebrates the individual in this series. Short chapters, lots of good humor, and a few tears makes this a terrific book to read aloud. <725>

SQUIRREL'S FUN DAY by Lisa Moser with illustrations by Valeri Gorbachev.Candlewick Press, 2013.

Squirrel wants all of his friends to take some time off and have fun with him. The problem is that squirrel's idea of fun is different from rabbit, mouse, and turtle. Of course, all works out in the end and the friends enjoy a fun day with squirrel. <726>

Easy chapter books

INCH AND ROLY MAKE A WISH by Melissa Wiley with illustrations by Ag Jatkowska. Simon Spotlight, 2012.

Inch and Roly wish
For something to do because
They are bored right now.

ZIGZAG ZOOM: Zigzag Kids #8 by Patricia Reilly Giff with illustrations by Alasdair Bright. Wendy Lamb Books, 2013.

ZigZag zebras run
To compete against the kids
From Timpanzi school.