Firefly in July

FIREFLY IN JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS selected by Paul Janeczko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Candlewick Press, 2014.

Short poems galore
To celebrate each season
Shared aloud to kids.

Comics

COMICS SQUAD: RECESS. Random House, 2014.

Jenni and Matt HOLM, Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier, Dav Pilkey, Jarrett Krosoczka, and Gene Yang combine their talents ith several other authors of graphics novels for this collection. BabyMouse and Lunch Lady are here along with Harold and George of Captain Underpants fame writing their own GNs. This will be one that is in great demand from tons of fans. It will also create some new fans of the books by these stellar graphic artists.

Riff-ing about life between cultures

OPEN MIC: RIFFS ON LIFE BETWEEN CULTURES IN TEN VOICES edited by Mitali Perkins. Candlewick Press, September, 2013.

Humor can be such an effective tool for tackling tough issues. Growing up between cultures is the focus of this collection edited by Mitali Perkins. It features poems, stories, and cartoons from luminaries such as Gene Yang, Naomi Shihab Nye, G. Neri, and Varian Johnson as well as Mitali Perkins. Why humor? Perkins' introduction to this strong collection details how and why humor can be the perfect tool. Stereotypes, prejudices, family tension and more find their way into these stories from some of YA's pre-eminent authors.

The Usual Suspects

WHO DONE IT? INVESTIGATION OF MURDER MOST FOUL. Edited by Jon Scieszka. Soho Teen, 2013

Eighty, yes 80, of some of the top names in children's and YA literature offer their alibis for "Who done it?" Who killed the Honorable (maybe not so honorable or beloved, come to think of it), Herman Q. Mildew. As it turns out, the suspect pool is Olympic size. Authors and illustrators offer alibis for where they were at the time of the dastardly crime. Where was Libba Bray? Would David Levithan's alibi stand up under close scrutiny? How about Lemony Snicket? John Green? Rebecca Stead? And doesn't Maureen Johnson look suspicious? This book would be ideal for reading aloud a bit at a time over weeks (nay, months). I have already marked my favorite responses. Invite readers to do the same.

Celebrate Poetry!

I'VE LOST MY HIPPOPOTAMUS by Jack Prelutsky (Greenwillow 2012) is another welcome addition to the collection of Prelutsky's poetry books. Many of these poems involve some fun word play, a hallmark of Prelutsky. What teachers will love is the poems that include vocabulary that might not be familiar to readers but that is clearly "defined" in the context of the poem. Invented animals, skating potatoes: it is all here. One of my favorites in this new collection is about a snake that can do arithmetic; it is, of course, an adder. (Insert groan here). <196>

Stories about love and romance

I had blogged this book over at my LiveJournal account, but it sort of got lost in the hiccup. So, I am posting it again here as I do not want this book to get lost. It needs to find readers, maybe even YOU!

No cover for this anthology coming from Chronicle Books and edited by Kelly Milner Halls, GIRL MEETS BOY. The stories are in pairs from a male and a female author. Each pair tells the same story but from the other person's point of view. Kelly Milner Halls and Chris Crutcher each provide a story about a romance between an average guy and a dangerous girl. Rita Williams Garcia and Terry Truman's stories follow the budding relationship between an African American girl and a white boy. A girl setting up her brother's first date with another guy is tackled by Ellen Wittlinger and James Howe. This is a masterful collection (I love anthologies) that explores some new territory. Pair this collection up with the Nye and Janeczko poetry collection: I FEEL A LITTLE JUMPY AROUND YOU. Or show students how differing points of view can work with TWICE TOLD, a collection of pairs of stories about the same work of art. And remember that short stories are often the gateway for kids to longer works by authors. So, be sure to have novels by Crutcher, WIlliams-Garcia, Trueman, and the others on hand for readers who liked the stories these authors wrote. <304>