The Open Door:: The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman

"What are you going to do with the lower cupboard?" Adam asks.

"It doesn't open, remember? We did this already," I protest. "It's stuck." I kick the little door.

"I'll get the toolbox." I said. I push myself up and the wide floorboard shifts underneath my hand. Adam's eyebrows arch. He presses it with his hand and it rocks. "Do you think...."

I lift the board. Something black catches my eye. It's a handle, I'm sure. I push the cool metal to the right. For a heartbeat the small handle resists and then, as if with a sigh of relief, it gives.

The cupboard door swings open.

Her friend Adam is helping Rosemary move her things to her dad's old study, and they can't resist the mystery of the floor-level cupboard with the handle that doesn't open the little door. But when it opens, it reveals a greater mystery, a large, very old leather-bound book, printed on vellum, with the name of the region's famous poet, Constance Brooks, written in elaborate cursive inside. Faded spidery writing appears on  several pages, a list of herbs,  but the only other inscription they can decipher has a likewise cryptic sound:

Rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray, love, remember.

Eighth-graders Adam and Rosemary have read novels of magical books with secrets hidden within, and they show the book to Adam's sixteen-year-old sister Shelby, who used to be the ringleader of their adventures. Sixteen now, busy with classes and a boyfriend, even Shelby seems to feel that there is some enticing secret, something of a magic spell within the almost invisible inscriptions in the old book, which reminds them of a book they shared three summers ago, Seven-Day Magic (Tales of Magic), in which a found book contains secret powers. Later, alone with the book, Adam and Rosemary come upon a clue, in Geraldine Brooks' faded handwriting, something they had not seen at first, the name "Wilkie," written over and over, filling the page, and one brief sentence:

Father says we need the rosemary so that we can remember.

And later, another inscription appears where it seems not to have been before, and Adam and Rosemary struggle to decipher the pale spidery script.

Ah, treble words of absence spoken low
For ears of fam'ly, friend, or willful foe.
Speak thrice to conjure nothing on the spot.
Who harkens here will presently be forgot....
Void and nothing, void and nothing--all strife.

They read the final line together.

Third's the charm, to void and nothing turn life.

Intrigued, the two share the verse with their English teacher, who agrees the lines resemble the form of an old spell and suggests that they visit the poet Geraldine Brooks, alive but in her nineties, living in a residential home in town, to ask her about the book. But when they visit, they find her lost in dementia, unable to explain the book or the rhyme, although she repeats her memories of her father planting the rosemary on the island. and keeps reciting, "Father says we need the rosemary so that we can remember," and the phrase from the rhyme "void and nothing, void and nothing."... and "Wilkie, Wilkie." the name of her little brother, she remembers, who died very young.

With Shelby in on the mystery, the three decide to row out to the island where they used to play, one where a large patch of wild rosemary has flourished for the many years since Gwendolyn Brooks' family home burned. Surrounded by the rosemary, trying to capture the meaning, the conjuring, in the rhyme, they read it aloud once, twice, and then, as Shelby points out the verse commands, thrice.

And in an inkling, Shelby is gone--so gone that Adam does not remember that she was just there or that he ever even had a sister. Back at his house, Shelby's room is now a nondescript spare bedroom and there are only three places for Adam's family at the kitchen table. But perhaps because of her name, Rosemary somehow holds on to a fleeting memory of Shelby, and always when she reads the line, Rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray, love, remember. she knows that only she can find the rhyme that will bring Shelby back.

Virginia Zimmerman's forthcoming fantasy novel, The Rosemary Spell (Houghton Mifflin Clarion Books, 2015), reveals a mystery within a conundrum, a book whose story is to uncover the story within a book within the story, one that can only be fully revealed to young people of just the right age. Well within the tradition of children's fantasy, stories like Harry Potter and his sorcerer's stone and Will Stanton of The Dark Is Rising series, Zimmerman creates two young people who are able to release the vague memories of an elderly mind and decipher the conundrum concealed within the old book.

With many literary references, from Edward Eager to William Shakespeare, this is a riveting tale that will fascinate young readers who love an intricate mystery. In a gripping story of life and memory lost and found, Zimmerman's tale reveals two characters at childhood's end, on the cusp of growing up, still able to sense the essential nature of any work of fiction, that sort of literary magic which creates a whole believable world which exists first in the mind of the author and then only in the mind of the reader when the book is opened. Time and its passage, love and life's passing, and the magic of words, all combine here to make a absorbing tale for young adult readers.

CHIMNEY HAZARD! Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

SNOW IS FALLING.

LIGHTS TWINKLE.

A FEW CREATURES ARE STIRRING.

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE.

And there's a portentious jingle in the air over at the old Brown place. Farmer Brown is hanging stockings--labeled SHEEP, one COWS, PIGS, CHICKENS, and even one for MICE. The halls are decked and the mice are pleased as they peep from their holes, miming a shhhhhhhh! to Mr. Brown.

Duck, disguised as a lineman for the county, is high atop a utility pole, tool belt and all, watching for a certain airborne visitor, and at the sounding of jingling bells, he shoots down a zipline to Farmer Brown's snow-topped chimney. Donning his handy night vision goggles, he surveys the sky and spots a sleigh approaching in the distance.

HO! HO! HO!

Duck ducks down the chimney, taking the the short route to alert Farmer Brown. But...

UH-OH!

Duck is STUCK!

This is embarrassing! Santa's sleigh and reindeer are silhouetted against the full moon, and the watching farm animals roll into action.

THE COWS COME UP TO UNSTICK DUCK.

HO! HO! HO!

UH-OH!

This is an emergency! The pigs give it a try, but they lodge in the chimney. The chickens, goats, cat, dog, and mice come to help, but they all wind up stuck in the now over-stuffed smokestack!

OH, NO!

This is a job for a professional! Santa Claus never gets stuck in chimneys, and in clouds of soot, Duck and his pals pop out of Farmer Brown's chimney just ahead of St. Nick, in Doreen Cronin's jolly tale of Farmer Brown's chimney, Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! (Atheneum Books, 2015). Betsy Lewin's classic comic farm animals are a holiday gift in themselves, Duck in Santa hat and night-sight glasses, with similarly attired keyboarding chickens following suit, are just silly enough to have young readers in stitches, and Farmer Brown, relaxing in his long, red, fur-trimmed dressing gown throwing up the window sash to see Santa's approach, provides just the right touch of merry measure for pre-Christmas Eve reading.

"Cronin and Lewin make this slapstick story all their own, leaving readers... with a big dose of holiday cheer," says School Library Journal.

Going Deep! Smithsonian Readers World of Wonder Level 3

"Sharks have been around for approximately four hundred million years before dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The largest shark that ever lived was the Megladon. This prehistoric predator may have reached sixty feet in length. Fossilized Megalodon teeth measure up to seven inches high have been found."

The third volume in the series, Smithsonian Readers: World of Wonder Level 3 (Smithsonian/Silver Dolphin, 2015) takes elementary readers deep into the ocean to learn about sharks, deep into the rain forest's shady glades, deep into the eye of a hurricane, deep into the tombs of the Pharaohs, and deep into solar system space to learn all about the planets and their moons. The section on the United States concentrates primarily on famous monuments, national parks, and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls.

Written by author Brenda Scott-Royce, et al, the six subject sections--Sharks, Wild Weather, The United States, The Planets, Rain Forest Animals, and Ancient Egypt, take young independent readers into many diverse areas of intrinsic interest to kids in third and fourth grades, while giving them practice in reading for content with text using a variety of sentence structures, phonics, and wide-ranging terminology. As in the other books in this series, technical terms are printed in boldface and defined in the text, and are also listed in a full glossary at the end of each section. New words and concepts are well supported by multiple colored photos on each page. Self-checking quizzes at the end of each section reinforcement for the information introduced in each section, and punch-out cards provide many opportunities for students to quiz each other on content.

Recommended as supplementary reading for classroom libraries, home-schooling texts, and individual or small-group research, this third volume in the new Smithsonian Readers series offers "engaged" middle graders a change to go deeper into learning about their world, gaining the sort of knowledge that everyone should know.

Auxiliary materials are available in multifaceted activity kits for additional learning by self-directing eager learners.

Homecoming: A Shiloh Christmas by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Rachel turns to Ma and says, "I don't want to go home!" And her voice trembles. "It's because of Daddy," Ruthie puts in, watching her sister.

The preacher stands at the doorway. Rachel won't even look at her father, just stares straight ahead. Ma has to loosen Ruthie's fingers from her shirt and the girl takes her dad's hand, sniveling.

"That's enough," Preacher says to Ruthie. Preacher turns to leave, but he don't know what all his girls have told us, and he's got something to say.

"Mr. Preston, I go by the Bible: 'Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.'"

Dad walks down the steps beside him. "Yes, I know the verse, and the one after: "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.'" Dad says real gentle, "Pastor, you've got two daughters who want to love their father. Don't make it so hard for 'em."

As the driest West Virginia summer ever slowly turns to autumn, a kitchen fire becomes a wildfire that burns woods and houses alike on the other side of the road in front of Marty Preston's house. Marty braves the fire to release Judd's two dogs, but the fire takes Judd's trailer and many other houses before it is out. And Preacher Dawes' fire and brimstone preaching, long on blasphemy and sin, and short on love and forgiveness, begins to divide the community into two hot factions.

Reverend Dawes blames the drought and the fire on their sins, and his supporters whisper that Judd Dawes set the fire, despite all the work Judd has done to turn himself around since Marty caught him beating his dogs, including the beagle puppy Shiloh that Marty rescued. The rest of the church members complain about the pastor's emphasis on sin and retribution and spend some Sundays working to help Judd and the other neighbors rebuild their houses. The Prestons offer their tent and their backyard for Judd to sleep in while he saves up for a new place.

Then, going to Rachel Dawes' house to work on a school assignment, Marty discovers her locked in an unheated shed behind the house, and his little sister Dara reports that seven-year-old Ruthie Dawes confided that her father locks her in a chair with wrist clamps for punishment. Marty tells his parents, but since the pastor doesn't seem to use actual physical punishment, they don't know what to do.

Then one of Judd's dogs is found hit by a car, and Shiloh disappears. After twenty-four hours, Marty is miserable with worry for his dog. And then something surprising happens.

"Marty," Dad keeps saying, "Get up!" Look out there." It's barely light. "Look over at Judd's tent." he says. I stare hard.

Right outside the zipped-up door flap is a white dog, head on its paws. and standing off to the other side... is Shiloh.

"Shiloh brought Judd's dog back, didn't he?" I say. "Looks that way," said Dad, with a huge smile.

Then the terrier is in Judd's arms, licking his face.

Shiloh seems to have forgiven Judd for his cruelty, and as the neighbors accept Judd's pitching in to help rebuild each other's houses as Christmas approaches, their joint efforts seem to bring about a kinder mood in the community. Even Pastor Dawes' sermons turn to more redemptive messages, and on Christmas Day he even takes his daughters on a couple of downhill runs on Marty's new sled.

Notable author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor brings her Newbery-winning Shiloh series to a warm holiday conclusion in A Shiloh Christmas (The Shiloh Quartet) (Athenium Books, 2015). Naylor makes skillful use of her third person narrative, letting Marty tell the story through his own eyes. Twelve-year-old Marty is a kid who, in his own words, has "still got a lot of whys," and Naylor takes on those big questions about God and human behavior seriously in a story that, like its predecessors, honestly faces questions of what is right and wrong, good and evil, in life without lapsing into easy platitudes.

Even though no middle reader should miss reading the other Shiloh books, this story stands alone well, one that asks the hard questions while affirming a message of goodwill to all. "This artfully wrought story of restoration manages to be both hopeful as well as authentic," says Kirkus in one of many starred reviews. A fine book for a December class read-aloud or for dog-lovers anytime, and a meaningful gift book for kids, who, like Marty Preston, "have a lot of whys."

The other books in this series are Shiloh, Shiloh Season, and Saving Shiloh, available separately or as a boxed set, The Shiloh Collection, perfect for reading on those long midwinter nights following Christmas.

A Matter of Taste: I Really Like Slop! by Mo Willems

"PIGS REALLY REALLY LIKE SLOP.

IN FACT, EATING SLOP IS PART OF PIG CULTURE."

Perky Piggie is proud! She's produced a product which is the prototype of swine cuisine.

Her bowl of slop is green, and viscous, odoriferous, redolent of old shoes, everything you might expect of it, and for that final touch of authenticity--it has flies circling it.

"THE FLIES ARE HOW YOU KNOW IT'S RIPE!" SHE REPORTS.

"SHOULD IT SMELL LIKE THAT?" GERALD DUBIOUSLY ASKS.

Oh, yeah, Piggie insists. This slop is the real deal. It's the ultimate gourmet creation of her tribe. Would Gerald like to try it?

Of course he wouldn't! Gerald the elephant is clearly nauseated at the idea. It looks disgusting and smells even worse. But he can intuit that his best friend is totally invested in sharing the signature dish of the pig people. Friendship is on the line.

Gerald screws his courage to the sticking point. With his trunk he delicately extracts a tiny bite of the noxious potion. As a smiling Piggie looks on expectantly, with eyes squeezed tight, Gerald slowly moves the pea-green pearl of slop closer and closer to his tongue.

URK!

Gerald's reaction to the taste of slop goes on for several pages, with all the usual comic book squiggles and flops, tear-popping, X-shaped eyes, and nauseous spirals as the sensation overwhelms him. But when he can finally stand and his normal color returns, he turns to Piggie with a pronouncement:

"I DO NOT REALLY LIKE SLOP.

BUT I AM GLAD I TRIED IT

BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE YOU!"

Greater love hath no man, er, elephant, than to try a native food that makes him sick at the very sight of it, and in Mo Willems' latest in his outstanding and best-selling beginner reader series, I Really Like Slop! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hyperion Books, 2015), Mo Willems takes on that most personal of tastes, food, as a test of friendship. Whether you love chestnut stuffing but are grossed out by oysters in the dressing in your holiday turkey, there are those times when eating something s-t-r-a-n-g-e is a test of acceptance, even love.

Picky eaters will all be in Gerald's camp in this one, but all sorts of eaters will be moved by Piggie's genuine eagerness to share with her friend. It is impossible not to rave about Mo Willems' subtle but hilarious cartooning skills, so skillful that the pictures alone tell the story, but the insight he reveals in the spare text of the story always feels just right--heartwarming and honest and so human. A true master of the beginning reader genre, Willems is clearly the equal of its creator, Dr. Seuss. Thank you, Mo!

Thankful: Sharing The Bread by Pat Zietlow Miller

MAMA, FETCH THE COOKING POT.

FETCH THE TURKEY COOKING POT.

BIG AND OLD AND BLACK AND SQUAT.

MAMA, FETCH THE COOKING POT.

Mama leads the way on Thanksgiving Day, but everyone pitches in, sharing the work to share the meal together.

Daddy builds the fire and and gets it nice and hot for Mama's cooking pot. Sister kneads the dough for the loaves of bread and sets them aside to rise, while brother bastes the turkey and the delicious scent of roasting meat fills the room.

Grandpa crushes the cranberries and soon the sauce is bubbling away. Grandma crafts the crust for the pumpkin pie, and it adds its spicy smell to the mix. Auntie wields the potato masher with an iron hand:

AUNTIE, MASH THE POTATOES NOW,

JUST LIKE GRANDMA TAUGHT YOU HOW.

TOP WITH BUTTER FROM OUR COW.

Even the cow makes her contribution, as Uncle brings out the cider jug, and the children make decorations for the long table.

Soon it's time to shout, "Come and get it!"

WE WILL SHARE THE RISEN BREAD,

OUR MADE-WITH-LOVE THANKSGIVING SPREAD.

GRATEFUL TO BE WARM AND FED.

WE WILL SHARE THE BREAD.

Pat Zietlow Miller's contribution to our 2015 Thanksgiving, Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story (Schwartz and Wade, 2015) shows in her lively quatrains the whole family sharing the chores and food in the cooperative spirit of the holiday, and artist Jill McElmurray dishes up delightful gouache American primitive-styled illustrations of a cozy 1800s household preparing the traditional feast together. Among the few new holiday offerings this year, this one is a standout. “...A warm and wonderful holiday treasure.” says Publishers Weekly's starred review.

Moving On Up! Smithsonian Readers: Seriously Amazing Level 2

"Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries. The Smithsonian's vision is to shape the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world."

The Smithsonian's rationale above includes sharing their resources with elementary students, as evidenced in their new series, Smithsonian Readers.

Part of a series of four sturdy volumes, Smithsonian Readers shares the wealth of knowledge within their domain with children reading at the Grade 2-3 levels. In this second volume, the language is adjusted to complement the developing skills of young readers, offering more complex vocabulary, more advanced phonic structures and increasingly complex sentence structures in the text, with the goal of helping shape the readings to the content comprehension level of elementary students.

Like Level 1, this volume is divided in to six broad areas of science--Nighttime Animals, Sea Life, Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures, The Solar System, Baby Anlmals, and the Human Body. Each subject area is broken down into subsections that provide understanding of the relevant details. For example, the section on nocturnal animals deals with why some animals are nocturnal (keeping cool in hot climes, avoiding predators), the unique senses of nocturnal animals (large, adapted eyes and ears and an extended sense of touch and what and how they hunt for food). Specific nocturnal creatures include both the familiar bat and owl and the lesser-known Baird's tapir and wombat. Similarly, the section on Sea Life considers adaptations of ocean life from mollusks to sharks, corals to whales under the surface and sea birds who spend most of their time in the air over the oceans.

Each of the six section offers dozens of color photos and well-organized information on subjects that young readers find fascinating--from the ever-popular tyrannosaurus rex to the 67 (and counting) moons of Jupiter. Each section is provided with a glossary, which repeats the special terms introduced in the text in bold-faced type, a set of self-testing quizzes in familiar multiple-choice form, and special press-out cards for review. sharing, and games.

Available singly or in a set of four volumes with additional learning materials and activities (see previous review here), this is an worthy addition to the early elementary science curriculum, particularly useful for home schoolers and as enrichment activities for individuals and small groups in the classroom.

Retrograde Greg: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney

Grown-ups are always talking about the "good old days" and how things were so much better when THEY were kids.

But I think they're just jealous because MY generation has all this fancy technology and stuff they didn't have.

Lately, Mom's been going around town with a petition to get people to stop using their phones and electronic gadgets for forty-eight hours.

Things have only gotten tougher for middle-school sad sack Greg Heffley. The pig the family acquired in Book Nine, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, is still with them. His table manners are worse than little brother Manny's, but he has learned to walk on his hind legs, dress in Manny's clothes, and go and come so freely that Mom has to fit him with a GPS. Then, when the rates at Leisure Towers go up, Grandpa is forced to move in with the Heffleys for an, er, indefinite stay and picks Greg's room for his own, leaving Greg with a Murphy's choice for a roommate.

There's no WAY I'm sharing the pullout couch with a barn animal.

I ruled out Rodrick's room right away, because he might actually be a step down from the PIG.

So Greg puts his bedroll down on Manny's floor. Manny, seemingly undergoing an interminable toilet-training, is now in the no-pants-after-dinner stage, but his is the best of a bad bunch when it comes to bedrooms.

But those are just the background problems for Greg when Mom gets her quota of signatures and her petition passes at city hall. Now Greg has a device-less Saturday and Sunday to get through as the whole town goes unplugged, retro, back to the 1950s.

But the device-deprived folks in town get in the spirit and decide to put their idle hands to work cleaning up the park over the weekend. Greg and his sidekick Rowley decide to take advantage of the business opportunity and set up a lemonade stand for the sweaty volunteers, but when the customers object to sharing the same glass, they decide to switch to store-bought Fitness Water. When Mom shuts them down, claiming it's "tacky" to sell water to her volunteers, Greg and Rowley are put to work with the "Community Service" orange-jumpsuited juvvies, and the next thing they know they're fugitives from the Girl Scout deputies. Greg rats out the Community Service slackers, and they are hauled off to the hoosegow, but not without some baleful backward looks at Greg the Squealer.

Then Greg drops a toothpaste lid down the drain, and his first tries at plumbing result in a water leak that drips through the living room ceiling. Grandpa offers to drive him in Dad's car for paint to hide the evidence, but only remembers that he lost his license for too many accidents when he has another one. Now Greg is on everyone's hit list. This might be a good time to get out of town, and Greg decides to go on his official class nature week at Hardscrabble Farms after all until the case cools down.

But that's where Greg's problems really begin, in Jeff Kinney's already best-selling laugh-athon, Diary of a Wimpy Kid #10: Old School (Abrams/Amulet Books, 2015). Snickers, giggles, chortles, and flat-out, out-loud guffaws abound in this newest in the killer-diller Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Kinney skillfully juggles his quirky cast of characters--Mom, the perennial family improvement maven, Manny the incontinent, Rodrick, the world's worst defrocked fast-food mascot, Grandpa, the party animal, and even Dad, who turns out to know the secret of Hardscrabble Farms' own legendary bogeyman, Silas Scratch.

Jeff Kinney is surely the modern Mark Twain of middle school adventures. "One of the most successful children's series ever published," says The Washington Post." No joke!

Birding! Shhh! We Have A Plan by Chris Haughton

"LOOK! A BIRD!"

Four bird stalkers set out into deep woods. Stair-stepped in size, dressed in ninja colors, the bigger three with nets and one concealing a birdcage under his cloak, they tromp single file, until their leader spots their quarry, an eye-catching red-feathered beauty.

"HELLO, BIRDIE!" PIPES THE LITTLE ONE.

"SHH! WE HAVE A PLAN!

READY ONE? READY TWO? READY, THREE!"

Nets at the ready, the hunters charge. The bird blasts off and the three fall all over each other. But they don't give up, and with another bird in view, the stealthy three replay the same scene, with the same shushing, the same countdown, and the same results.

They have a plan--just not a very good one. But the least one seems to know the adage about catching more flies with honey than vinegar. As the crestfallen hunters haplessly watch from a distance, he pulls out some bread and begins to scatter crumbs on the ground. Not only does his "birdie" land at his feet, but he is soon surrounded by a flock of gorgeously-plumaged birds.

Now the gang of three make their big move. But the birds are having none of it this time, flocking together in formation to chase them away. They flee, stumbling over each other in disarray, like the Three Stooges. Dejectedly, they slog toward home until suddenly they spot a squirrel.

"SHH! I HAVE A PLAN...."

"If at first you don't succeed, get a better plan" is the theme of Chris Haughton's latest, Shh! We Have a Plan (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards)) (Candlewick Press, 2015). Haughton's ironic slapstick humor and a minimalist text that quickly becomes a refrain for young readers tell his bird-napping tale well, but his lovely blue-on-blue nighttime forest with his droll deep-blue characters and glowingly bright birds is an even greater delight for the eye. Haughton's digital art mimics cut-paper illustrations in a little gem of the picture book genre. "A masterful delight, this crafty caper has huge kid appeal and a title/refrain that will easily sneak into the family lexicon: 'Shh! We have a plan,'" says School Library Journal.

Wrong Turn! We're in the Wrong Book! by Richard Byrne

BEN AND BELLA WERE JUMPING DOWN THE STREET, FROM ONE SIDE OF THE BOOK...

TO THE OTHER.

THEN BELLA'S DOG JOINED IN...

AND ACCIDENTALLY BUMPED THEM BOTH OFF THE PAGE!

Ben and Bella (and her rambunctious dog) from Richard Byrnes' recent hit, This book just ate my dog! (see review here) are back for more bibliographic fun, as the kids are dragged, from recto to verso, from their sack race right into a new setting, this time a counting book.

"WHERE ARE WE?" SAID BEN.

"WE'RE IN THE WRONG BOOK!" SAID BELLA.

It's hard enough to be a character in your own book, but with an energetic pooch on the loose, you might find yourself vanishing from your opening page, right through the gutter (where the pages are sewn together) and find yourself biblio-confused. Ben and Bella are literally dragged through a counting book right into a comic book. The two are clearly in a bit of a bind in a book about the library, where the librarian gives them an opening in a book on Egypt. But hieroglyphics are not their favorite subject, and from there they have a puzzling time in a book of mazes, stay longer than they like with a wolf in old lady clothes, fold a paper craft boat to float away, only to meet a monster bursting through the next page. If only things would take a (page) turn for the better!

In his latest "under cover" metafictional adventure, Richard Byrne's latest, We're in the wrong book! (Henry Holt and Company, 2015) has a lot of fun with the reader's dilemma--which one is the right book for me! Byrne's illustrations are pleasant, but his illustrations and text lack the clever metafictional wit of Mo Willems' We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) or Herve Tullett's Help! We Need a Title! and Press Here.

Word Power: One Word from Sophie by Jim Averbeck

SOPHIA'S BIRTHDAY WAS COMING UP, AND SHE HAD FIVE THINGS ON HER MIND--HER ONE TRUE DESIRE AND FOUR PROBLEMS.

When a girl has yen for a giraffe as her birthday present, she knows she'd better put forth a good case.

The jury is a tough one--her mother, the judge, her father, the business guy, her Uncle Conrad the politician, and Grand-Mama', the mistress of propriety. Most parents say, "Use your words," but Sophia's prolix multimedia presentations, sprinkled with words like quadruped, warehousing, defective, and regulations, for each family member would make a lexicographer beam but cut no ice with the four adults.

Too verbose, loquacious, and effusive are the critiques from her elders!

So Sophie tries a new tack. Instead of hundreds of big words, she tries one small, powerful word.

"PLEASE?"

It seems there will be a giraffe in Sophia's future after all, in Jim Averbeck's One Word from Sophia(Atheneum Books, 2015), and the good news brings forth two more power words.

"THANK YOU!"

Averbeck and artist Yasmeen Ismail make a great combination of co-creators, with the author's sparkling (if erudite) text and Ismail's stylized illustrations that capture Sophia's vivacious personality and the dour expressions of her critics perfectly.

Reviewers loved this clever picture book. School Library Journal says, "Ismail's watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations are childlike in the best possible way—featuring bold colors and faces showing great expressions, Sophia's drawings, a pooping giraffe, and just the right amount of detail." And Kirkus, in their starred review, adds "Tutu-wearing Sophia packs determination, whimsy, and a plethora of strategies to handle a passel of impressive words."

And those impressive words are added in a glossary for kids whose gifts run to the garrulous.

Do The Right Thing! Frog on a Log by Kes Gray

"HEY, FROG!" SAID CAT.

"SIT ON A LOG!"

"I DON'T WANT TO SIT ON A LOG. THEY HAVE SPLINTERS," SAID FROG.

But Cat is adamant. This is way things are done. Cats get to sit on mats; hares on chairs, mules on stools, and gophers on sofas. So frogs have to sit on logs. Get the picture?

"THAT DOESN'T SOUND VERY COMFORTABLE," SAID FROG.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING COMFORTABLE," SAID CAT.

"IT'S ABOUT DOING THE RIGHT THING."

Never mind logic. Cat drones on with her list of unlikely but proper seating. Fleas on peas, cows on plows, snakes on cakes, gorillas on pillars, on and on.

Frog is enjoying trying to trip up Cat, but the feline expert has got a million of them, as his rhyming rules get sillier and sillier. Parrots on carrots? Seriously? But Frog's got the log, so he comes up with what he thinks is the perfect stumper for Cat.

"WHAT DO DOGS SIT ON?"

"I WAS AFRAID YOU WERE GOING TO ASK THAT!" SAID CAT.

Kes Gray's fantastically funny Frog on a Log? (Scholastic Press, 2015) has it all--wonderful wordplay, a spot of irony, and an appealing rhyming-word story that will keep young emergent readers in the game all the way through. But artist Jim Field gets the last, er, word on assigned seating on the last (and appropriately wordless) page where Dog gingerly takes his seat on. . . Frog! Delightful illustrations and predictable rhymes will have youngsters in stitches, chiming in on the rhymes as the story comes down to its unexpected but satisfying ending in a story that Dr. Seuss would envy. "Easy-to-read rhyming fun. From the hilarious endpapers, where the frog is cast in many poses, including reading the newspaper while on the toilet, readers know they are in for an irreverent treat," says Kirkus Reviews in their starred review.

Calling Nonfiction Readers! Smithsonian Readers, Early Adventures, Level One edited by Adria Klein.

With the current emphasis on  reading for content, nonfiction books for preschoolers through Grade 2 must be written to entertain, but also to contribute to education in the STEM curriculum--science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Just published today, Smithsonian Readers: Early Adventures Level 1 (Smithsonian Enterprises/Silver Dolphin Books, 2015) offers simple sentence structure and promises controlled vocabulary and "phonic regularity," while providing supplementary curriculum-related information on some favorite subjects of emergent and early independent readers.

Each section of Early Adventures--Habitats, Outer Space, Vehicles, Reptiles, Safari Animals, and Insects--is filled with dozens of colored photos and the sort of subject matter kids seek out on their own--cobras and comets, bulldozers and black mamba snakes,  space stations and praying mantises. Each section has its own glossary, review and self-test questions, and six punch-out cards for review with a partner or alone.

The separate divisions also break down into natural sub-sections: for example, Habitats (and animals living therein)  includes Rain Forests, Savannas, Extreme Deserts, Forests, Mountains, Polar Regions, Islands, Freshwater Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Wetlands and Swamps, Coastal Waters and Tidal Pools, Coral Reefs, Open Oceans, and Protecting Animal Habitats.  Animals typical of each habitat, such as polar bears and penguins from the Arctic and Antarctic, are presented with the characteristics which adapt them to each environment.  Vocabulary critical to the concepts presented is stressed in bold face, used and defined naturally within the text and offered for review in the related glossary and review questions.

Along with separate volumes for Level 2-4, this book comes as a kit, with a supplement which contains a multi-page sticker book to reinforce identification skills and a framed  "playscene" with 3-D stickers and two metal cases of "magnetic adventures" on the the Solar System and the Jungle, each with their own guidebook, 30 foam magnets and 20 reusable clings,  Additionally, Grade 4 and 5 levels even get Everything You Need to Know, a kit of 275 fact cards in 18 categories, including weather, the human body, natural wonders of the world, U. S. presidents, and ancient times.

The complete set is a substantial supplement to classroom textbooks and would be especially useful for home schooling students and eager independent learners.

Out of the Dark: The Night World by Mordicai Gerstein

In the dark of the night, the house is still. Everyone is sleeping.

Everyone except Sylvie the cat.

"ME-OUT? ME-OUT?" SHE CALLS.

A tousled-haired boy sits up and sees his cat sitting silhouetted on the open window sill. Outside the world is gray-black in the starlight, but the air is warm and somehow sweet and inviting.

Downstairs, past the goldfish motionless in his bowl, the boy and Sylvie tiptoe to the back door. Sylvie urges him on.

"ME-OUT!"

"IT'S ALMOST HERE!"

They slip through the door into a world that is both familiar and unknown.

It is his own backyard, where he plays in the day, but the colors are not there. The grass is gray, the trees are a darker gray, and...

"ARE THESE LILIES AND SUNFLOWERS?

WHERE ARE THEIR COLORS?"

A shadowy deer and small animal shapes stare at them from the dark shapes of the bushes. And then there's a stirring in the trees. The birds are waking. The animals slip back into the dark trees, ready for their bedtime, as a pink glow begins low in the starry sky. Colors begin to grow down below, too.

THE GRASS TURNS GREEN. THE ROSES TURN PINK AND RED.

"GOOD MORNING, SUN!" SAYS SYLVIE.

"IT'S GOING TO BE A BEAUTIFUL DAY."

In a lovely celebration of the transformation of night to day, Caldecott winner Mordicai Gerstein's The Night World (Little, Brown and Company, 2015) captures the magic of the night and the glories of the dawn through the eyes of a child. And who better to be his guide than a cat, that familiar but mysterious beast both matutinal and crepescular, active at twilight and dawn, the perfect go-between for the dark nocturnal world and the busy diurnal world best known to us humans. Executed mostly on gray art paper with pencil, Gerstein's nighttime scenes evoke soft wonder rather than fear, and his invocation of the dawn calls forth a sort of primeval awe for the return of the color- and life-giving morning sun that even youngsters will feel.

The stars came out for this new book from all the reviewing journals, signalling a title which may get major attention when award-time rolls around.

For slightly older readers, don't miss the magic of Gerstein's Caldecott Medal book of the famous tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (see my 2008 review here).

To Gobble...Or Not to Gobble! Just A Special Thanksgiving by Mercer Mayer

IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BEFORE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.

MY CLASS WAS MAKING PROJECTS TO TAKE HOME.

MISS KITTY SAID, "DON'T FORGET THE SCHOOL PLAY TONIGHT!"

Little Critter hurries home so that his mother can put the finishing feathers on his turkey costume, and he looks very festive as he shakes his fine feathered tail.

But when it's time for his big line in the play, Little Critter has a unexpected case of serious stage fright.

"JUST SAY 'GOBBLE, GOBBLE'!" WHISPERS HIS FRIEND."

Miss Kitty coaches frantically from the wings, but Little Critter can't open his beak! But then...

"I SURPRISED EVERYONE BY SINGING A SONG INSTEAD."

Everyone claps for Critter's bit of improvisational theater, and the show goes on!

Flushed with his thespian success, at the big Thanksgiving Parade the next day Little Critter continues to improvise.  Marching with his Scout troop, he gets a bit weary, and hops a ride on a nearby float.  As the float goes by, he waves cheerfully at his parents.

"THEY DIDN'T LOOK TOO HAPPY."

Shopping for groceries, he spills the cranberries all over the floor and Dad has to help pick them up. Then it's home again to put together the big holiday feast. But Mom and Dad have a little something unexpected up their Thanksgiving sleeves. They don't set the big table with their best china and carry in the turkey with the usual flourish.  Instead, they load the food in the car!

"WE'RE HAVING A SURPRISE COMMUNITY DINNER!" THEY SAID.

It's a Thanksgiving spread as big as the Pilgrims and Indians had, as the everyone gets together at the community center and Little Critter and Sis even help serve, in Mercer Mayer's festive new holiday story, Little Critter: Just a Special Thanksgiving (Harper Festival, 2015). For some reason, there has been a dearth of new Thanksgiving picture books this year, so Mercer Mayer's new book, marking Little Critter's fortieth anniversary, is a welcome addition to the shelves. This new one is an inexpensive but full-dress picture book which catches just the right note for this American celebration, with a reassuring message of community that reinforces the Thanksgiving spirit.

Just Kicking It Around: Who Wants to Play Just for Kicks? by Chris Krale

I SIT IN THE CLASSROOM AND STARE AT THE CLOCK.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BEFORE SPRING BREAK AT VICTORY SCHOOL FOR SUPER ATHLETES. NONE OF US CAN WAIT.

NO HOMEWORK! WE CAN SPEND THE ENTIRE WEEK PLAYING SPORTS.

Josh is planning to head straight for the ice rink with his buddy Brandon to sharpen their super hockey skills. But as he grabs his gear, Brandon says something that surprises him.

"I THINK IT MIGHT BE FUN TO TAKE A BREAK FROM HOCKEY FOR A DAY."

Josh can't believe that Brandon is heading out to the field to kick a soccer ball around with Carmen and the other soccer fans. He protests that he doesn't know anything about soccer, but Brandon thinks that is a good reason to go out and have some fun with soccer for a change. Josh disagrees.

"WHO WANTS TO PLAY JUST FOR KICKS?" 

But Josh finds that it is not fun practicing all alone on the ice. And the next morning he accepts Carmen's invitation and heads over the pitch with his friends.

But he was right. He's no good at soccer. When he tries his famous fast footwork on the grass, he actually falls on his face. It's embarrassing, and Josh is a little bit angry at his friends for laughing at him. But now he's determined. He takes advantage of Carmen's offer to meet him early the next day and show him some of the basics of soccer.

Josh confesses that being so bad at soccer makes him feel dumb. Carmen laughs and says she felt that way at first, too. So Josh lets Carmen teach him how to switch from hockey to soccer moves, and when the gang gets together, he finds that he's actually actually having real fun playing just for kicks!

Chris Krale's Who Wants to Play Just for Kicks? (Sports Illustrated Kids Victory School Superstars) (Stone Arch) continues the Victory School Superstars series with a title that has the superstars playing outside their area expertise, with emphasis on being open to new experiences. Illustrator Jorge Santillan ably portrays facial expressions to help convey important emotions and individual personalities to supplement and extend the simple text. With a text written in vocabulary simple enough for even some first graders, this entry in the Sports Illustrated Kids offerings invites young primary grade readers to make the move to chapter books as well.

A Chip Off the Old Block: Just Like My Papa by Tony Buzzeo

ROAAAAAR! A WARNING ECHOES ACROSS THE PLAIN.

PAPA ROARS AGAIN. "MY PRIDE IS HERE. STAY AWAY.

I AM THE PROTECTOR AND KING!"

GROOOOOWL! KITO ADDS A WARNING.

"I AM HERE TOO. JUST LIKE MY PAPA."

Among his pride on the savanna, Kito's father is king, and little Kito is crown prince, trying to learn to be a king like his papa.

Just like Papa, he swishes his little black-tuffed tail to scare away the flies as masterfully as he can, but when a hyena steals closer through the tall grasses, he sinks low and lets Papa take care of business!

When the savanna sun grows hot, Papa sleeps under an acacia, and so does Kito. But kids just want to have fun, and soon he wakes up, ready for action.  He pounces onto Papa's rump.  Wheeeee!

WITH A SWIPE OF HIS PAW, PAPA SENDS KITO FLYING.

"ENOUGH, LITTLE KITO. I AM BUSY!"

Kito lies in the grass, pretending to be busy, just like Papa, until the suns sinks lower and it is time for the hunt.

PAPA STANDS UP AND GIVES HIS MANE A FEARSOME SHAKE.

Kito has no mane, but he shakes his head like Papa and follows, partly hidden in the grass as the lionesses of the pride lead them toward the herd of wildebeests to give chase. But the wildebeests are too fast for the huntresses this time, and the lions stop to catch their breath at the edge of their territory. But Papa stands tall and roars out a warning to all that he is king and protector of the pride. Kito growls to show that he is there, too.

Back under their acacia tree, Kito is ready to take his position of honor on Papa's rump.

PAPA SETTLES DOWN.

"COME HERE, MY BRAVE LITTLE HUNTER.

HELP ME BE KING!"

Just Like My Papa (Hyperion, 2015) is a tender, if idealized, picture of life on the African savanna which is reminiscent of Disney's The Lion King, (not too surprising, since Hyperion is the juvenile printing partner of Disney, Inc.) Nevertheless, author Buzzeo presents a reasonably accurate description of life in a lion pride for a young male and appends an informative author's note ("Information about the Pride") which offers fuller representation of  family roles in the group. Artist Mike Wonotka portrays the somewhat anthropomorphised relationship between father and son with gentle humor and affection and plenty of charm.

Pair this one with Buzzeo's and Wahnotka's fine companion book about a mother giraffe and her baby, Stay Close to Mama (read review here).