Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett K. Krosoczka

The Lunch Lady is back! And this time, she's battling...librarians? Weird things are happening around the library, and the Lunch Lady is determined to get to the bottom of it! I think I liked this one even more than Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute. There's groany puns (usually on peoples' names) and clever writing (the high school librarian prefers to be called a "media specialist"). Lunch Lady (and her sidekick, Betty) are two awesome female characters who can kick butt and serve lunch - all in the same day.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Boom! by Mark Haddon
The Librarian from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Into the Forest by Anthony Browne

A young boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone; his mom doesn't know when he's going back. After he sadly wanders around their home, his mother decides to send him to his grandmother's house with a basket of food. She warns him not to take the path into the forest, but it's the quicker way, and he doesn't want to be away from home in case his father comes back. As he wanders through the forest, he finds a number of other kids who all have stories of their own. Unnerved, he picks up the pace, but when he gets to his grandmother's house, he finds something completely unexpected.

This is a sad, strange book. The sadness just radiated off the page, leaving me unsettled after reading it (even though it has what would be considered to be a positive ending) (that still left me with some unanswered questions). The cover captured my attendion: Is his shadow a rabbit? Is that a frog behind the tree? Why is the forest gray? What is that on the right side? The illustrations inside provide many opportunities for eagle-eyed readers to pick out objects from many other folk and fairy tales (a pumpkin and a slipper, a spinning wheel, a cottage made of candy). I was blown away by the skill that these illustrations demand (particularly the spread with Goldilocks, but really all of the pages). While I found it to be a sad tale, for children who are coping with anxiety and dark situations the promise of a happy ending might be just what they're looking for.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Little Red Riding Hood by Jerry Pinkney
Me and You by Anthony Browne
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Wolves by Emily Gravett

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

David Pepin loved his wife. He also loved fantasizing about her death. When his wife dies - from eating a peanut and then having a severe allergic reaction (that was known to her) - the police discover that he was writing a novel based on their marriage that incorporated a number of these fantasies. He becomes their prime suspect as they sift through his lies, her lies, and their odd behaviour. But nothing is as simple as it seems, and the two detectives involved also must confront demons from their past (and present) in order to make sense of this very strange case.

I was expecting this book to be a straightforward mystery/thriller/drama, about a man suspected of murdering his wife. I was not prepared for what it actually was, which was not only the life of David Pepin, but also the fictional (within the story) life of David Pepin, his wife, Detective Hastroll, and Detective Sheppard (who is the Sam Sheppard, accused of killing his wife and inspiration for The Fugitive), and a hit man named Mobius. It's twisty, confusing, and rewards patience and close reading. The women in these stories don't come off that well, as it's told from primarily male perspectives, and that makes it stand out against the "marriage is a ticket to happily-ever-after" line that so many other stories hold up. I finished the novel and I was confused, but it made me want to read more about Sam Sheppard and watch more Hitchcock movies.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Unless by Carol Shields
Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick McGilligan
The Wrong Man by James Neff

It's a Book by Lane Smith

A monkey has a new book, but his friend is curious about it. What is this thing, exactly? Where do you plug it in? Can you use it to get on the internet? Can you play games? Text? Tweet? No, the monkey replies, it's a book. You read it, because it's a book. His friend is confused, but then won over...sort of.

This book has really caught on with people, especially defenders of 'old-school' ink and paper books. It feeds in to peoples' fears that kids, especially, are growing up without an awareness of what books are and how to use them. Is this a kid's book? Kind of. The pictures are big and fun, the story easy to follow, and I think kids would get the humour of confusing a book with something electronic. Then there's the end of the book, the punch line, really, where the Monkey turns to his donkey friend and says (spoiler alert), "It's a book, Jackass." So then it becomes something a bit different. I've seen it promoted both as a kids' book and as an adult humour book, and I think it's both of these things, which is why there's this level of conflict about it.



There's also been a trailer for the book that kind of went viral, which has added to the discussion around the book. If you animate a story and put it online, what does that mean for the content? Can you promote books online, while still trumpeting their off-line abilities? What even is a book anymore? Fun, important stuff.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
A Book by Mordicai Gerstein
Have I Got a Book for You by Melanie Watt
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
Madam President by Lane Smith
Read It, Don't Eat It! by Ian Schoenherr

Boom! by Mark Haddon

Jimbo's life is pretty simple. He loves jam and cheese sandwiches. He has a good friend to hang out with. But not everything is so easy. He tries to avoid his sister, who's dating a scary thug with a motorcycle. His father has lost his job and is kind of lost. He's worried that his teachers are going to send him off to a new school for troublemakers. That's why he and his best friend Charlie decide to plant a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge - to overhear them talking about Jimbo. But what they really hear doesn't make any sense at all, and when they try to unravel what it means, they quickly fall into a world full of great danger.

In my ignorance, I really only knew Mark Haddon as an adult author (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother). He's actually written a number of books for kids, though, including 1992's Gridzbi Spudvetch! which, with some revisions and updates, was reissued as Boom! I love the tone of this book. Jimbo treats everything he comes across (whether the making of a cheese sandwich or uncovering an intergalactic plot) with a sharp seriousness. It's a very funny book (particularly the scenes in outer space) with twists and turns. I read it very quickly because I wanted to see where everything was heading.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett K. Krosoczka
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Gridzbi Spudvetch! by Mark Haddon
Stuck on Earth by David Klass

A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

White. Black. Blue. Edna is so sick of seeing only white, black, and blue. The snow around her is white. The sky is black. The water that she swims in is blue. She knows there's something more out there, and she's determined to find something colourful to share with her other penguin friends. Just as in Antoinette Portis' books Not a Box and Not a Stick, A Penguin Story is a celebration of imagination and creativity. It's also a visually striking book done mostly in black, white, and blue, with only (spoiler alert!) a few colour touches near the end. This is a great story to share with creative children, as well as a neat book to give to older kids who might feel like they see things differently than other kids.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Red, Red, Red by Valeri Gorbachev
Pink! by Lynne Rickards
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

What do Lunch Ladies do when they're not serving lunch? Probably something not too exciting. They definitely don't fight crime, they don't have secret crime-fighting gadgets, and they don't take on armies of robots, do they? Wrong! As Jarret J. Krosoczka's graphic novel shows, this Lunch Lady doesn't just serve up lunch - she also serves up justice! When a suspicious new substitute teacher shows up, the Lunch Lady is on the case, and she won't rest until she gets to the bottom of everything!

I loved the art and humour in this book. The drawings reminded me of 1990s ABC Saturday morning cartoons, so there was a nice nostalgic element for me, but they weren't dated - they still looked fresh and exciting. Amy Poehler is attached to star in a big screen adaptation of the books, and this excites me so much. Maybe it was because I knew this going in, but I could definitely hear her saying some of the Lunch Lady's lines. I think it's a great fit, and I can't wait to see how it turns out - and I can't wait to read the next book in the series (it has librarians!).


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
Babymouse #1: Queen of the World by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The Cafeteria Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Dark Song by Gail Giles

Ames led the life that other people dreamed about. Her father had a high-paying, powerful job; her mother decorated a perfect house. She attended a top private school and had everything she could ever want. Her family could drop everything and fly (at a moment's notice) to Alaska to watch the Northern Lights. She was close with her parents and never kept anything from them. Life was like a fairy tale...and then it all came crashing down. Her father lost his job and they ran through their savings. Despite his assurances that everything will be alright, Ames learns the dark truth behind how he lost his job and why he can't find a new one. Betrayed and hurt, Ames feels lost and acts out. The family is forced to leave their perfect life behind and start a new one in Texas. There, Ames meets a guy who seems to understand how frustrated she is, how terribly her parents are treating her. She trusts him and confides in him, and she promises she won't leave him. But she has no idea how dangerous he can be...

First, I have to say how much I love this cover. The image of the flower is so strikingly powerful that I found myself looking at it every time I picked the book up or set it down. Dark Song is really almost two stories, and that's how the book is divided. The first half breaks down Ames' so-called perfect life in Colorado, and the second half details the danger that she meets in Texas. This was another book where I got so frustrated with the parents. Faced with losing everything, her parents retreat into themselves, and Ames acts out in frustration. Her parents yell at her, call her names, and treat her like a servant rather than a daughter. Yes, she's spoiled and naive, but her parents are the ones who raised her like that! But rather than actively parent her, they just go on hating each other and freezing everyone out. I know there are a lot of great parents in YA books, and great teen/parent relationships, but I just seem to have hit a run of books with parents that frustrate me. Marc, too, is terrifying, so I guess it makes sense that Ames' feelings of betrayal from her parents have to be so strong to make Marc seem enticing. Dark Song is not an easy read, but once the action starts, it just pulses toward the end.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Poor Mallory! by Ann M. Martin
The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Daniel True is better known by the nickname 'Mitch' - short for the Michelin Man. Mitch has spent years covering current events for his high school paper, but in his senior year the new editor puts him on sports. Paired up with Kimi, a photographer that Mitch kind of has a crush on, he's expecting it to be a boring year: basic sports puff pieces, lots of press given to the staring player, nothing too exciting. But when he sees Angel, a new kid at school, showing off some skills, he wonders why the coach doesn't start this potential star. Digging deeper, he can't find any information on Angel - it's like he never existed before Mitch met him. The coach won't let Mitch interview Angel, the city newspaper won't run anything about him, and Angel himself wants Mitch to get lost. Mitch is sure that he's sitting on top of a big story, a story that could get his name out there, so he sets out to get to the bottom of it - even if it means getting in over his head.

Payback Time is a gripping mystery/thriller/sports novel that has enough in it to satisfy fans of any elements. I barely knew any of the football talk, but it didn't matter, because it was both about football and not about football. Mitch was a compelling protagonist. I wanted him to succeed, at his weight-loss and his story, because there was a quality about him that made me root for him. Payback Time reminded me of Gentlemen, where a preposterous idea seems to become a bit more probable, and then it's seen as a reality, in this case because Mitch really wants to believe that he can be an investigative journalist and he can uncover a big story. He grows over the course of the novel and is a different person by the end, but the arc is believable and nicely grounded.

See more about the book at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
Love, Football, and Other Contact Sports by Alden R. Carter

Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters by Jef Czekaj

Julie has her "What I did on my summer vacation" report all ready to go. It all started when she met up with her Grampa, an internationally - well, actually, a galactically known shark hunter. Through a series of adventures and misadventures they chase the largest shark in the world (also known as Stephen) through the ocean, the desert, the arctic, and even into outer space. Along the way they meet up with some helpful sea monkeys, cat shark hunters, some rapping sea castaways, and Julie's Grandmother, who has some tricks of her own up her sleeve. It's one summer that Julie definitely won't forget!

There's such a nice ridiculousness about this book. It's almost like Jef Czekaj was throwing darts at a wall full of plot points to see what would happen next (and events include a dance-off, a shark hunter convention, walking the plank, and stand-up comedy), but at the same time he clearly has such control over the story. It's often silly but always smart with clever puns and wordplay and visual jokes. This is such a great example of a story that parents and kids can read together, because it will work for both the child and the adult.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Hip & Hop, Don't Stop by Jef Czekaj
The Biggest Bear in the World: As Told By Grandpa Kingsford by Julie Teel
Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
Meanwhile by Jason Shiga
Meanwhile by Jules Feiffer

Playing it Cool by Joaquin Dorfman

Sebastian's whole life is built around playing it cool. He's the go-to guy for everyone, no matter what problem they have. He can arrange secret abortions without the girl's pro-life mother finding out; he can talk a suicidal brother off the roof. He can even set you up with the girl of your dreams, get you a new wardrobe, and get you in to the hottest restaurant in town. He's used to solving problems for other people. Now his best friend Jeremy has a problem: he's just found out that his father isn't really his father. In order to find out more about his real father, Jeremy and Sebastian go to visit him - and switch places, so that Sebastian can find out more and Jeremy won't get so involved. But while playing the role of his son, Sebastian starts to feel very connected to the man himself. Could this man also be Sebastian's long-lost father? And how can Sebastian maintain his coolness when everything starts falling apart?

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "twisty." I admit that, as someone who likes to guess where the story is going, it 'got' me a few times. Dorman did a good job in setting up Sebastian's controlled life so that I could feel it when it starts to run out of control. It's a nice book on the idea of "you can't con a con," as Sebastian finds out the price of the way he lives his life and how he views people. As the walls he's built around himself start to come down, he shows a sad vulnerability that he's been trying to hide and not deal with. The plot seems a bit implausible at times (in much the same way that the movie "Brick" does), but most of the issues were addressed head-on in the book, which went a long way to my willing to suspend belief for the rest.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Dishes by Rich Wallace
Trading Faces by Julia DeVillers
Burning City by Ariel and Joaquin Dorfman

I'd Really Like to Eat a Child by Sylviane Donnio

Achilles is tired of eating bananas. What he would really like to eat is a child! A nice child is exactly what he wants. His mother tries to tempt him with bananas, but he refuses. His father tries to get him to eat some sausage, but he doesn't want any of that. Not even chocolate cake can get him to stop wanting to eat a child. Then, by the shore of the river, he sees a child! But it doesn't go quite the way he was hoping it would...

My favourite part of this book was (spoiler warning), the end. Instead of the crocodile and the child becoming friends, she humiliates him by calling him small and cute, and he goes away determined to eat lots of bananas so that he can get bigger and one day eat a child after all. It was definitely not the ending I was expecting! The illustrations are also very nicely done, with special attention paid to the changing colours of the sky. It's a bit of an odd book, but I enjoyed it, and it might be a good one for sharing with picky eaters.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Crocodiles Are the Best Animals of All by Sean Taylor
Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Brontorina by James Howe
When Stella Was Very, Very Small by Marie-Louise Gay

Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu by Charise Mericle Harper

Grace has just learned that her best friend Mimi has a big secret: soon Mimi is going to have a little sister! Grace and Mimi are both thrilled at the idea of there being a new little girl to play with. They think it's perfect timing when a little girl named Lily moves into the neighbourhood and they get jobs as mother's helpers. But when Lily likes Grace - and only Grace - Mimi starts to worry about her little sister not liking her, either. Mimi starts acting weird and not like herself. How can Grace bring Lily and Mimi together, calm Mimi's fears, and put everything back to normal?

I admit it; I thought this was going to be a book about ballet. It's not. The "Terrible Tutu" is Grace's nickname for Lily, who is always wearing a different-coloured tutu. I hadn't read any of the previous "Just Grace" books, and while I might have had a deeper reading experience if I had, I still enjoyed this book very much. I found that Grace is that perfect mixture of free-spirited creative child without being too annoying or cloying. I liked the little sketches and illustrations that were interspersed throughout the text; they reminded me somewhat of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, where the book couldn't stand on the pictures alone but together with the text they made a nice combination.

Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu will be published in January, 2011. I read a review eBook from NetGalley.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child

Hip & Hop, Don't Stop by Jef Czekaj

Hop chooses his words carefully; he raps slowly. Hip spits out words lightning-fast, dazzling people with his speed. Both big hip hop fans and artists, they meet at a rap competition. Fast doesn't win, and neither does slow. But by working together, they learn how powerful their collaboration can be. In this new version of the tortoise and the hare, hip hop takes centre stage. There's lots of in-jokes in the background images, most of them playing on the names of rap superstars. There's a lot of cleverness in the wordplay and design, and the illustrations have lots of stuff to engage children. Whether you're a hip hop fan, and Aesop fan, or just looking for a fun children's book, this one is worth checking out.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Hip Hop Dog by Chris Raschka
The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation by Jeff Chang
The Message by Felicia Pride
Grandpa and Julie: Shark Hunters by Jef Czekaj

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad

Sweet Little Lies picks up five days after L.A. Candy left off. Jane Roberts, the star of L.A. Candy and would-be America's Sweetheart, was outed as having cheated on her boyfriend with his best friend. Pictures of the two of them ended up in the tabloids and ignited a media circus. Jane has turned to her new friend and co-star Madison for help, unaware that Madison is the one who orchestrated the photographs. Her friendship with Madison has driven a wedge between her and her long-time best friend Scarlett, who is fed up with the show and all that goes with it. With the cameras still rolling, will Jane ever find out the truth about Madison? Will Madison stay one step ahead of the anonymous tipster who threatens to share her deepest secrets? And will Scarlett figure out how to balance her TV life and her real life - and her friendship with Jane?

One of the thrills of reading these books is to think "So...did that happen in real life?" While "Jane Roberts" doesn't always match up 100% with Lauren Conrad, there are so many similarities, especially around the 'scandalous pictures' storyline (in real life, it was rumours of a sex tape - that was allegedly announced by Spencer Pratt, her then-friend Heidi's then-boyfriend). In trying to make her likeable, Jane comes off as a bit dim at times, especially when it comes to boys or the media. Scarlett grows as a character but even she makes questionable decisions for the sake of the plot. The end sets up the storyline for a third book, likely to be centred on Madison and her past.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
Skin Deep by Taryn Bell
Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell
The Carries Diaries by Candace Bushnell