Never bored

THE GREEDY PYTHON by Richard Buckley with illustrations by Eric Carle. Little Simon, 2013.

A greedy python
Eats everything in his sight
Including his tail!

OLIVIA THE BALLERINA by Farrah McDoogle with illustrations by Patrick Spaziante. Simon Spotlight, 2013.

Eat, breathe, think ballet
But what can Olivia do
She must be the best.

THE FOOLISH TORTOISE by Richard Buckley with illustrations by Eric Carle. Little Simon, 2013.

Tortoise leaves his shell
Thinking that's a good idea
Needs to think again.

Making a Production Out of It

THE TEMPLETON TWINS MAKE A SCENE by Ellis Weiner with illustrations by Jeremy Holmes. Chronicle Books, 2013.

Fraternal twins John and Abigail are back along with their absent-minded professor father and a few other characters who will be familiar to those who read the first book in this series. This time, the professor is employed by a performing arts college to design a close-up lens for stage plays. He has, of course, managed to create just that. However, in steps someone to claim partial credit for the invention. Fortunately, John and Abigail, and their overly-excited dog Cassie are up to the challenge of unmasking this villain. Our narrator is back, snarky as ever, ready to comment on the events, the people, AND the reader. Perfect for reading aloud.

Counting by 7s

COUNTING BY 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Dial, 2013.


Willow Chance is an extraordinarily gifted 12 year old. Her mind is constantly seeking more and more information, especially about her passions, one of which is gardening. Her parents (who adopted her when she was a baby) encourage Willow to be herself. But when Willow wants to wear her gardening clothes on the first day of middle school, they are a little hesitant. Willow IS different from the other students, at least most of them. When she achieves a perfect score on a reading test, her teacher accuses her of cheating and Willow is sent to see a counselor. And this is where the already rather eccentric tale takes an incredible turn. While Willow is seeing her counselor, her parents are killed in a car accident. What will happen to Willow now? How can she possibly cope with this situation? A counselor, a family who runs a nail salon, an apartment complex that has seen better days: all of these seemingly disjointed things and people combine to create a story of hope, family, coping, and so much more.

No Small Feat

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell.

Macmillan, 2013.

Do not ask me how Rainbow Rowell was able to produce TWO incredible books this year (rush out and get ELEANOR AND PARK if you have not read it yet). This second offering is just as stunning as her first. Cath (she does not like to be called Cather) and her twin sister Wren are off to college. For Cath, it is a time of separation anxiety. She worries that her father will be all right with the separation. She is still angry that Wren decided that the two of them should not room together. Cath sinks herself into two things: her fiction writing class where she is the sole freshman, and the world of Simon Snow fanfiction where she is one of the reigning queens. Over the course of a semester with plenty of challenges, Cath learns how to stand up for herself, how to deal with her sometimes conflicting feelings, and most of all, how to find her own voice in her writing. Chapters from Cath's fanfiction and the book from which she is drawing her stories are interspersed in between the chapters and serve to reveal much about Cath along the way.

unlikely situations

THE KNITWITS MAKE A MOVE by Aigail Tabby with illustrations by Lee Wildish. Little Simon, 2013.

The Knitwits have a new house and want to prepare for a housewarming. Combining the silly play on literal versus gifurative language, there is much hilarity as the Knitwits ready their new home for guests.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING DONUT by aLISON McGhee with illustrations by Isabel Roxas. Penguin, 2013.

How dies everyone know that the "sheriff" who was sent to bring home a dozen donuts is actually responsible for the "loos" of one of the 12?

Pushing the Envelope

ANN AND NN ARE ANAGRAMS by Mark Shuman and Adam McCauley. Chronicle, 2013.

More than 100 anagrams present readers with puzzles to solve as they enjoy the story of Robert (or Bert) tries to solve all the problems posed by his rather unusual family.

LITTLE READ WRITING by Joan Holub with illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Chronicle, 2013.


Join Little Red as she and the other pencils head to school. Her teacher, Ms. 2, wants all of her students to learn about the craft of writing a story. As Little Red begins her story, there are many twists and turns along the path. This book combines writerly advice with a lovely variant of the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

School Rules!

AMELIA BEDELIA'S FIRST LIBRARY CARD by Herman Parish with illustrations by Lynne Avril. Greenwillow, 2013.

Amelia is excited to visit the school library and get her first ever library card. But when she goes to check out her book, things take a turn for the worse.

ONE WORD PEARL by Nicole Groeneweg with illustrations by Hazel Mitchell. Mackinac Island Press, 2013.

Pearl has a treasure chest full of words. But one day, in her bedroom, the words get loose and form a word tornado. Pearl escapes with only a handful of words. How will she survive?

SPLAT AND THE COOL SCHOOL TRIP by Rob Scotton. Harper, 2013.

Splat is so excited about seeing the penguins at the zoo on the class field trip. But when his friend Seymour stows away and frightens the elephant, the penguin exhibit is closed to visitors. Splat is disconsolate, but Seymour has a plan.