The Mystery of the Messed-Up Wedding by Elspeth Campbell Murphy illustrated by Chris Wold Dyrud

Sarah-Jane, Timothy and Titus are cousins who also like to solve mysteries. That's why they formed the Three Cousins Detective Club! They're visiting their grandparents and there's going to be a wedding a their Grandpa's church (he's a Pastor). Sarah-Jane is excited, because she thinks weddings are wonderful; Timothy and Titus think that weddings are weird. Before the wedding, the groom shows up to say that the wedding ring is missing! The three cousins are on the case! But instead of finding the ring, they discover that the bridge/groom topper has been inverted into the cake, and someone is popping the balloons on the wedding car. Someone is out to stop the wedding, but can the T.C.D.C. stop that person before it's too late?

Caution: spoilers below!

When I was younger, I read one of the books in this series (mysteries based on the Ten Commandments); I think it might have been The Mystery of the Laughing Cat.  Later, when I realized what the word meant, I wondered how a children's book would cover the topic of "You shall not commit adultery." The answer is: vaguely.  Before heading to the wedding, the family discusses their favourite Bible verses (including the Ten Commandments). Titus asks what adultery is, and Grandpa answers: "That commandment is a special law for husbands and wives, Titus. When two people get married they make an important promise to God and to each other. They promise they will love each other - and only each other - in a special way. That's why people wear wedding rings The rings show that the people have made a promise. Adultery is when the promise is broken." The ring is used in this book as a promise between the bride and the groom. When the ring went missing I had hoped (foolishly) that the real thief was someone the groom was having an affair with, but of course it wasn't. This book does a great job at balancing a grown-up topic in a children's book. The mystery is a bit flimsier, mainly because aside from the cousins, their grandparents and the groom there's really only one other character who's even introduced. But, at only 40 pages, what more could really be done in this book? The series is long out of print but if you're curious about it you might be able to find it at a library or bookstore.

Check out Elspeth Campbell Murphy's website. 

Find it at Amazon. 

Read it with:
The Mystery of the Laughing Cat by Elspeth Campbell Murphy
The Mystery of the Gravestone Riddle by Elspeth Campbell Murphy
The Mystery of the Carousel Horse by Elspeth Campbell Murphy

The Best Mistake Ever! and Other Stories by Richard Scarry

New readers have three stories by Richard Scarry to explore on their own in The Best Mistake Ever! And Other Stories. In one, Huckle and Lowly mix up a grocery list but end up getting exactly what they need. In another, a bicycle bell and a cuckoo clock have a terrible accident that leads to a very surprising present. And in the third story, Huckle is sad when Lowly stops spending time with him at school...until he finds out what's really going on. Don't miss these familiar characters as they learn that sometimes mistakes have happy endings!

I grew up with Richard Scarry books, and I'm glad that they are still around and in print in different formats (like this Step Into Reading book that I read as an e-title). One of my favourite things about oversized books like What Do People Do All Day? was scouring the pages and picking out all of the details. That's not something you'll really find here, but what you will find is a book that's perfectly structured for kids to read on their own. The pages have classic Scarry illustrations but also large print, lots of white space, and visual cues to help with harder vocabulary words. The book has a copyright date of 1984, but instead of reading as dated, it appears as timeless (at least to me - I'd love to know what kids think of this or if they even notice). This is a great choice for young readers and a solid choice for schools and libraries to have in their collections.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
Little Witch Goes to School by Deborah Hautzig
The Worst Helper Ever by Richard Scarry

Melanie Mouse's Moving Day by Cyndy Szekeres

Melanie Mouse is so sad. Her family is moving, and that means that she'll have to say goodbye to all of her friends. How can she leave the people she loves? Moving is going to be awful! But once she sees her new house and starts to make new friends, she realizes that it's not going to be so bad after all.

This was a book that I know I read as a child (there's even a home movie of my mom reading it to me), but unlike a lot of other books from my childhood, I haven't read this one in years. When I found it again through Inter-Library Loan, I was surprised at how sad it was. Melanie is inconsolable in the first part of the book, and her friends are all sad, too. They have such big, sad eyes and mournful expressions - it's just so sad! Of course it has a happy ending, and I'm glad for that, but it was overshadowed for me by the sad part. The illustrations are very sweet and the mouse world that Cyndy Szekeres has created (tiny things used for tables, mouse toys, moving your belongings on a leaf) could easily capture a child's imagination. I thought that this book was out of print but I see that there was a 2010 edition published, so a new generation of kids can work through the emotions of a move with Melanie's help.

Find it at IndieBound 

Read it with:
Suppertime for Frieda Fuzzypaws by Cyndy Szekers
Nothing-to-Do Puppy by Cyndy Szekeres
A Kiss Goodbye by Audrey Penn

Degrassi Junior High: Shane by Susin Nielsen

Shane has never been the kind of guy who stood out in a crowd. He was never all that popular or the best at anything. That's why he was so surprised when he started dating Spike. She was so confident and popular; everything seemed pretty great. Then Spike got pregnant and Shane's world turned inside out. He tried avoiding her (and the pregnancy) for awhile, but that didn't change anything. His deeply religious parents  barely speak to him, Spike doesn't want anything to do with him, and he has no friends to turn to. Shane feels like his life is out of control. Is there anything he can do to get back on track?

In many ways, Shane is a companion book to Spike, another book in the Degrassi series. Shane starts after Spike is pregnant and opens with him finally telling his parents what's going on. There are some continuity errors and inconsistencies between the two books (and a bit with the TV series), but nothing that really changes anything too much. Shane's story, though, isn't singly defined by his teenager fatherhood. After his daughter is born (when he's only fourteen), Shane gets a job to make more money and makes a new friend who's the classic definition of a bad influence. Shane lies to his parents, blows of his parental responsibilities, and starts experimenting with drugs and alcohol. While Spike has more of a hopeful optimism, Shane reads a bit more like a cautionary tale. Also, I find it very interesting to read about attitudes towards teen fathers and parenthood; more than one person, including adults, tell Shane that it's best for him to just forget about his child, to act like she doesn't exist and move on with his life, and that he's not responsible for any decision Spike makes because that's her life. I love exploring these concepts and how they're presented in books for teens.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
Degrassi Junior High: Spike by Loretta Castellarin and Ken Roberts
Degrassi Junior High: Snake by Susin Nielsen
Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Degrassi Junior High: Spike by Loretta Castellarin and Ken Roberts

Spike is used to people looking at her because of her hair, but now people are starting to look at her for a different reason: she's pregnant. Only fourteen years old, she and her boyfriend Shane got carried away in a dark bedroom at a friend's party. Now she must deal with her changing body, classmates' reactions, an unsupportive boyfriend, and a disappointed mother. Will she be able to figure out what the best decision is for herself and the baby?

I remember the original Degrassi (Junior High and High) airing on CBC while I was growing up, but I didn't really get into it until I watched reruns after school in 10th grade. I love the drama of it all and the way that serious storylines, like teen pregnancy, are woven in with storylines about sexy dreams or walking naked through the cafeteria. Anyway. Spike picks up after Spike and Shane "did it" at Lucy's party and early on she discovers she's pregnant; it ends just after the birth of her child. Much of the book, certainly the main storyline, sticks very closely with the TV series; it's been awhile since I watched my Degrassi Junior High DVDs, but I think even whole bits of dialogue are straight from the TV scripts. Does the book stand alone if you haven't seen the TV show? Probably, although it definitely would be a different reading. What I like about this book is that it fills in a bit of background information that doesn't come through in the show, mostly about Spike's relationship with her mother. These books were out of print for a long time but then recently were available again, so if you have a fond memory for Degrassi or are curious about the series, give these books a look.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Degrassi Junior High: Shane by Susin Nielsen
Star in the Middle by Carol Larese Millward
Butterflies in May by Karen Hart
Degrassi Generations: The Official 411 by Kathryn Ellis

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

One Christmas Eve a young boy was in bed, waiting and wishing for Santa to come. His friends had told him there was no Santa, but he didn't believe them - he believed in Santa Claus. Then he heard it - the soft sound of a train. It was The Polar Express, and it came to take him and other children to the North Pole. After a short journey, the boy is chosen to receive the first present from Santa. But when he loses this present, is all hope lost? Or is there still some Christmas magic yet to come?

The Polar Express is not only a holiday classic; it was the winner of the 1986 Caldecott Award for illustration, and its rich images have resonated with children for over twenty-five years. The message of hope and belief has warmed the hearts of children and adults who want to believe in the magic of the season. The style of the illustrations and the voice of the narrator make it a book that might speak particularly strongly to adults remembering their own childhoods. In 2004 The Polar Express was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks, but don't let the original book go overlooked around the holidays.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg

The Littlest Christas Elf by Nancy Buss and illustrations by Terri Super

Allister is super excited to be going to the North Pole. That's every elf's dream! But when he gets there he discovers that he's littler than the other elves. He's too little to make toys, to paint doll houses - he's even too little to sweep up in the workshop! Allister is scared of what Santa will think. Maybe his new friend Nicholas will be able to help Allister to believe in himself.

I have a number of Little Golden Books Christmas stories, but this is one of my favourites. It's well-worn ground, particularly around Christmas stories: an elf who doesn't fit in, believing in yourself, (spoiler alert) an elf saving the day and/or going on Santa's big trip with him. That doesn't seem to matter, though, particularly for a child who might be reading this story for the first time. (I doubt that the 'Nicholas' reveal would be that big of a surprise to adults It has a timeless look to it, too; without checking the copyright page, there was little that tipped me off to it being published in 1987. It looks like it's out of print now, but it's likely able to found in second hand bookstores and book sales (which is where I picked up my copy).

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree by David Martin
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May
Santa's Toy Workshop by Al Dempster
The Little Christmas Elf by Nikki Shannon Smith

The Family Christmas Tree Book by Tomie dePaola

Have you ever wondered about Christmas trees? Where did they come from? When did we start using Christmas trees? How do people around the world use them? The Family Christmas Tree Book takes the form of a conversation while one family goes to a tree farm to select their Christmas tree. Through questions, answers, and speech bubbles, they talk about the history of Christmas trees, how trees are used, and how things like strings of lights and Christmas tree holders came into popularity. With Tomie dePaola's signature drawings and a strong sense of curiosity, this is a neat book for people wanting to learn more about one of Christmas' premier symbols.

I love Tomie dePaola's artistic style. There's a lot of information wrapped up in this tiny book - perhaps a little too much information for must children, who might grow tired of the historical facts, but it's smartly accompanied by detailed drawings. I really enjoyed the parts that looked at the family's own personal history with Christmas trees. And the craft at the end sort of shows the age of the book; if this was a more recently published book, it would likely have its own page where you could cut right in the book rather than the warnings not to cut the book. But no matter. This is still a lovely book about how one family gets ready for the Christmas holidays by sharing and learning together.

It doesn't look like The Family Christmas Tree Book is in print anymore, but you can probably find it in libraries, used bookstores, and online.

See more of Tomie dePaola's books at his website.

Read it with:
Mary, the Mother of Jesus by Tomie dePaola
Christmas Tree! by Wendell Minor
O Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Farmer

With You and Without You by Ann M. Martin

Liza O'Hara is really looking forward to Christmas. It's her family's favourite season and they all really get into the celebrations. Sure, she has terrible stage fright and she's just found out that she has to be in her class's production of A Christmas Carol, but there's probably a way around that. Then her father reveals some awful news: he's been diagnosed with a heart condition and he only has months to live. The idea of going on without him is heartbreaking, and Liza has no idea how the family is going to survive. But they still have one Christmas together to make a lifetime's worth of memories.

Ann M. Martin is probably best known as the creator of The Baby-Sitters Club, a series that has a place close to my heart. But she also has a number of stand-alone books, including Bummer Summer, Missing Since Monday, Slam Book, and Ten Kids, No Pets (and its sequel Eleven Kids, One Summer - so I guess it's not technical stand-alone, but it wasn't part of a larger series). One of my favourite of her non-BSC books has always been With You and Without You. It's a sad book (I can remember checking this out of my school library and crying during silent reading), but sad in that way that kids sometimes like; it's a satisfying sad because (spoiler alert) Liza eventually comes out on the other side of her grief. It's hard to think of children's books (this one is about the middle grade/young junior high level) that deal with the loss of a parent within the book - in many of them the parent has already died before the book begins. In the months following her father's death, Liza experiences sadness, grief, fear, anger, and guilt. How can she be happy while her father is no longer alive? Why don't her siblings feel the same way that she does? Is it okay to ever be happy again? Set around two Christmas - one with her father and one without her father - this is a touching story that really resonates with readers.

(Side note: it's hard to think that this book has been around for twenty-five years, and that the youngest child, Hope, would now be older than me. Time warp!)

Find it at Amazon. 

Read it with:
On Christmas Eve by Ann M. Martin
Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin
Stage Fright by Ann M. Martin

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle

Life has been changing too fast for Philippa. She desperately misses her mother and is still grieving her passing. She wants to be with her father, but instead he has sent her off to a boarding school in Switzerland. She doesn't get along with the other girls; she doesn't think she has anything in common with them. She's alone and miserable...and then she meets Paul, and everything changes.

And Both Were Young was originally published in the 1940s; it was republished in the 1980s and now again in 2011. The cover is decidedly modern (I'm not an historian, but did people really dress like that in post-war Europe?) but the text inside is all as Madeleine L'Engle originally intended (a foreward from her granddaughter explains how the original book was edited to remove some of the more romantic elements of the story). I think I liked this story even more knowing all of its history. Beyond the historical details, Flip's story is still relevant in today's world; sure, maybe few people are at an exclusive Swiss boarding school, but she's also dealing with mourning her mother, concern about a possible future step-parent, fitting in at school, loneliness and homesickness, caring about a troubled friend, and falling in love.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Bloomability by Sharon Creech
Dreams of Significant Girlhood by Cristina Garcia
Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle

The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline by Lois Lowry

Caroline's life isn't perfect. She suffers through living with her brother (she's nicknamed him Beastly). Her parents are divorced and she barely knows her father. She has to eat things like eggplant and parsnips. But she also gets to spend a lot of time at the Museum of Natural History, learning about the dinosaurs. She has a good relationship with her mom and her best friend. Then one day she stumbles onto some mysterious clues that lead her to discovering that one of her neighbours might have a darker side... and even worse, her mom's starting to date him! Caroline and her brother could be in danger! Caroline's determined to expose him - but is she too late?

First things first: I picked this up just because it has a girl named Caroline in the title, and my name is Caroline. I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but having your name in a title doesn't hurt.

Is it just me, or is the storyline of 'young girl thinks that a stranger in her life is an evil killer' one that appears a few times in middle grade books? (Offhand, the only thing that I can think of is when Sally J. Freedman thinks that Hitler lives near her, but that's sort of different). I guess it works because it introduces an element of danger and suspense without putting anyone in danger. And it allows for vicarious snooping!

Underneath the thriller storyline, too, are some solid details that make this much a strong book. Caroline deals with issues of money and class in very grounded ways: her mother struggles to make ends meet and the family eats whatever vegetable is cheapest at the grocery store; her best friend lives in an apartment with a doorman and eats things like shrimp cocktail. Caroline also is a main character who's fascinated with dinosaurs, and geology, and it's still pretty rare to have a main female character in a middle grade novel who loves science so wholeheartedly. Aside from The Giver, I have a pretty significant Lois Lowry hole in my reading background. The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline confirmed that I need to fix this sooner rather than later.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Switcharound by Lois Lowry
A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry
The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume

Karen's Little Sister by Ann M. Martin

In Karen's Little Sister, Karen's little sister (Emily Michelle) has been experiencing earaches. It's not fun for Emily Michelle and everyone at the "big house" (Karen's dad's house) is worried about her. But Karen's worry is mixed with annoyance and frustration, because everyone is paying attention to Emily and no one is paying attention to Karen. Meanwhile, Karen's mom and step-father agree that she can have a pet, and then she finds an injured baby bird. She cares for him, names him 'Magic Tastee' (after two of her favourite things, magic tricks and Mr. Tastee the ice cream man), and decides he's her pet. But why does everyone keep asking what she'll do when he flies away?

I describe my Murder, She Wrote books as comfort food, but The Baby-Sitters Club books are more like a Pizza Hut buffet lunch: deliciously cheesy, something you do every now and then, and it's not always as good as you remember it (but sometimes it's better) (although, I own a full set of BSC books and have a good deal of the Little Sister books, so I guess it's also like having a pizza buffet in my living room). Among Baby-Sitters Club fans, Karen doesn't always get a lot of love. I started out reading the Little Sister series before graduating to the regular series, though, so I'll always have a fondness for Karen and her Data-like resistance of contractions.

ANYWAY.

I think this might be the first appearance of Emily Michelle in the Little Sister books (she was adopted by Karen's father, Watson, and Kristy's mother, Elizabeth, in BSC #24). I'm not surprised that Karen has a hard time dealing with the appearance of a new sister. She's used to being her father's only daughter, and maybe even more than that, she's used to having a pretty large spotlight in which to be the centre of attention. At one point she says that she wants to go back to her other house (her mom's house) because she doesn't have a sister there, which is an interesting thing to say. She doesn't have a physical sister living there, of course, but how does she think of Emily when she's not around her? Has she really understood Emily to be her father's daughter? Am I officially thinking too much about the BSC universe?

On a different note, according to BSC #24, Emily's full name is Emily Michelle Thomas Brewer. Is that a little strange? I get that the 'Thomas' comes from Elizabeth's side, and it's her other kids' last name, and this child now shares a name with everyone on both sides of her family. BUT it was her previous married name (and as far as I know, she now goes by Brewer). So essentially, she's named her child with her second husband after her first husband. I'm not married, I've never been divorced and remarried, and I've never had and/or named a child. But is this common? I suppose it became her name as soon as she changed it...but still? And now I've definitely thought too much about this family.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Karen's Witch by Ann M. Martin
It's Not Fair by Anita Harper
Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin
Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise by Ann M. Martin
Bye-bye, Baby! by Richard T. Morris

The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

Katie doesn't know what it's like to fit in. People look at her funny; she makes them feel uneasy. She doesn't mean to, but every now and then she forgets to use her hands to turn pages in books or to set the table. She can move objects with her mind. Plus, people are unnerved by her silver eyes. She used to live with her grandmother, but her grandmother died recently, and now she lives with her mother in an apartment complex. Some neighbours are suspicious of her, but for the most part, things are going pretty well. Then two things happen that have the power to change everything: a mysterious man shows up asking lots of questions about Katie, and she discovers that there might be other kids out there just like her...

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking "they just don't write books like this anymore." Are there anything out there right now like the Apple Paperbacks? I can't really put my finger on what it is about the book. Katie is a smart girl and a good character. She's not always 100% likeable but I found her to be very sympathetic. You can see that she's dealing with what she feels is her mother's abandonment and the fear that her mom will turn on her just like other people have. She's worried about being framed for things that she didn't do while being scared about what she has the potential to do. Underneath that is the not-so-fiction science fiction of drugs that affected children before they were born - this book was published only a generation after Thalidomide was taken off the market. As much as I loved the awesomely retro cover on the library book that I read, I'm glad that it's been reissued with an updated cover (seen above).

I'm pretty sure I found out about this book at A Fuse #8 Production, but I'm not sure when. Here's one of the more recent posts that mention the book.

See Jezebel's take on the book, too.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts
A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan
The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

Molly and Michael have had a lot of chances recently. Their mother just remarried a new man, and they have a new stepsister, Heather. Heather seems to hate them, and their stepfather doesn't think they can do anything right. Then their parents decided to move them out of the city and into a renovated old church in a rural area. There's a graveyard behind the church, and an abandoned falling-down building, and Molly thinks the whole area is really spooky. But that's nothing compared to how Heather is acting. Is she just an unhappy child, or is there something else going on?

Ghosts are creepy, and child ghosts are even scarier. Part of what made this book so scary to me was that no one was believing Molly and everyone was blaming her for things that she didn't do, even though there really was a supernatural culprit. I had a similar reaction to The Dollhouse Murders. Maybe this is why I had a childhood fear of being sent to jail for something that I didn't do (that, and watching Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and lots of other murder mystery shows). And I've never been a parent, so I don't really know a lot about parenting, but the parents in this book seem a little off. Their children aren't getting along, they're unhappy at moving to a new place, and the parents...avoid it all by locking themselves away for their own work. It doesn't seem like the best idea to me. Maybe the father would have noticed that his daughter was practically possessed by an evil spirit if he'd just spent some time with her.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Dollhouse Murders by Betsy Ren Wright
All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn
The Steps by Rachel Cohn

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

Amy needs a bit of a break from her family. Her mother has been on her case about not looking after her sister, Luann, who needs constant supervision. Luckily, her Aunt Clare is in town, getting her grandparents' (Amy's great-grandparents') house ready to sell (it sat vacant for many years). While staying at Aunt Clare's, Amy discovers a dollhouse that is a mini-replica of the house itself. Soon Amy starts hearing strange noises and the dolls seem to move on their own. As she learns more about Aunt Clare's dark and tragic history, she knows that something dangerous is at work in the house and it's up to her to figure it out.

This is exactly the kind of book I was talking about in my recent post on Mary Downing Hahn. It's creepy, it's strange, and I would have eaten it up as a fifth-grader. (It's still creepy and strange, but I was reading it in a doctor's waiting room, so I think that took away a bit from the atmosphere). The adult characters are kind of puzzling: Amy's mom sees Amy more as a babysitter/Luann's constant companion than as a young girl in her own right, and Aunt Clare swings back and forth between impulsively wild, responsible adult, angry child, and just plain scary. Of course, if someone was coming to me with a story of dolls that moved on their own, I don't think I would believe them at first, either. Anyway, I'm glad I found this book. Don't miss the review at Bookshelves of Doom (it's what prompted me to seek out the book).

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
A Ghost in the Family by Betty Ren Wright
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
The Name of the Game was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon

Snow Apples by Mary Razzell

A small B.C. town feels too small for Sheila now that she's growing up. She wants to finish school, but her mother needs her to quit school and start working to help support the family. Her mother has been supporting the family single-handedly since Sheila's father has been fighting in World War II - and even before then, it wasn't easy. Sheila also has been starting to spend a lot of time with a local boy, and her mother doesn't approve of that, either. Sheila desperately just wants to have a life of her own and be her own person, but she will have to struggle through a number of things in order to find her way.

I think what cinched picking up this novel for me was Mary Razzell's dedication to Carol Shields, who is one of my all-time favourite writers. This was a very interesting look at two women (one a teenager, one a mother) living in a time that wasn't very kind to women, especially in rural areas. The path that Sheila takes sometimes made me want to step in for her own good (especially as she got more serious with Nils), but I think the journey she was on (as terrifying as it was at times) was one that will make her a stronger (fictional) person in the (fictional) future. The edition I read was a 2006 reprint of the 1980s original, and I'm really glad that this book was repackaged for a new audience.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
A Very Fine Line by Julie Johnston
Runaway at Sea by Mary Razzell
Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt
Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont

Zoom by Tim Wynne-Jones

This collection brings together all three of Tim Wynne-Jones' Zoom stories: Zoom at Sea, Zoom Away, and Zoom Upstream. Zoom is a little cat who loves the idea of the sea and of adventure. He comes by it naturally; his uncle is a famous explorer who travels the world in search of adventure and discovery. Before reading this book I was only familiar with Zoom at Sea, where I fell hard for Eric Beddows' gorgeous illustrations. This is a lovely collection that would be great for children (and adults) who love cats, adventure, and great Canadian books.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Chester by Melanie Watt
True Story by Marty Chan
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Something to Do by David Lucas

The Missing Wedding Dress Featuring Barbie by Karen Krugman

(This week I'm doing my first series, and it's books that I found delightful. I mean this in the best possible way: books that filled me with delight. This came about organically; I realized I was using 'delightful' to describe a lot of the books I was using, and rather than reaching for a thesaurus I'm going to embrace it.)

The delight in this book comes from the fact that I found it again after only having a memory of it for many years. I definitely remember reading it as a child, but I'm not sure if I owned it or it was housed in a church playroom or something like that. Anyway, this is a Little Golden Book, featuring Barbie. It's her friend Tracy's wedding, and Barbie (the maid of honor) and Skipper (the flower girl, even though she looks to be about twelve years old) are helping her get everything ready. On the day of the wedding, though, an unfortunate incident with Barbie's cat means that Tracy's dress needs mending. When they go to pick up the dress, though, they end up with a boxful of shoes instead of the wedding gown! Can Barbie follow the clues and figure out where Tracy's dress is in time for the wedding?

The book itself isn't that remarkable, but I remember really loving the illustrations (done by Laura Westlake in what looks like bright pencil crayons). It was incredible to open the book again and have those memories come flooding back to me. I remember studying one image of Barbie in particular, trying to mimic her hand gesture (now an interesting thought in the ways that people study and construct ideas of beauty and femininity).

Read it with:
Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun by Marco Tosa
Feminism and Pop Culture by Andi Zeisler
The Case of the Cat's Meow by Crosby Newell Bonsall
The Lime Green Secret by Georgia Graham

There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar

Bradley Chalkers tells the most lies in the entire fifth grade. If you don't believe me, you can call his teacher. When new kid Jeff moves to town, it looks like Bradley might have a friend at last - and if he has a friend, maybe he'll even figure out a way to get one of his teacher's gold stars. But things aren't that easy, are they? It will take the help of Carla, the school's counselor, to get Bradley to talk about his fears and what he wants - and when she does, everything could change.

When I read this book, I was just so thoroughly charmed by the language, the story, and the characters. At first Bradley didn't seem like a character that I wanted to spend a whole book with, but only a few chapters in I could see how complex this character was: there's the Bradley in class, Bradley with Jeff, Bradley with his parents, and Bradley in the sanctuary of his room, where he is free to talk with his animal figurines. There's just such an honesty in this book - the senselessness of bullying, the question of who is really bullying who, the cliqueishness of elementary school and the fear of trying your best and still not being good enough. Many of the covers of this book will look a little dated, but don't let that prevent you from picking up this book.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Schooled by Gordan Korman
The Manny Files by Christian Burch
Dodger for President by Jordan Sonnenblick
Bettina Valentino and the Picasso Club by Niki Daly
Pieces of Georgia by Jennifer Bryant
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger