Thursday, January 2, 2020

Cybils Finalists 2019



I spent the last few months of 2018 as a first round judge (Middle Grade Speculative Fiction) so I haven't actually finished reading last years finalists. But I am optimistic and as soon as I'm done (or sooner, since I'll probably sneak some along the way) I'll get to work on this years.

Of course, my New Year's Resolution is to only check out two library books at a time. Hmm. I see some logistical problems here.

I think the links help out the Cybils team if you buy from them. 




Young Adult Speculative Fiction








Young Adult Fiction









Junior/Senior High Non-Fiction (completed)

Junior High Non-Fiction (completed)







  • 1919 The Year That Changed America (Amazon, IndieBound)by Martin W. Sandler
  • Disaster Strikes!: The Most Dangerous Space Missions of All Time (Amazon, IndieBound)by Jeffrey Kluger
  • Mummies Exposed!: Creepy and True #1 (Amazon, IndieBound)by Kerrie Logan Hollihan
  • Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets (Amazon, IndieBound)by Gayle E Pitman
  • The First Dinosaur: How Science Solved the Greatest Mystery on Earth (Amazon, IndieBound)by Ian Lendler
  • The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in our Food and Drugs (Amazon, IndieBound)by Gail Jarrow

Senior High Non-Fiction (completed)







  • A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II (Amazon, IndieBound)by Elizabeth Wein
  • Dreamland (YA edition): The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic (Amazon, IndieBound)by Sam Quinones
  • One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally (Amazon, IndieBound)by Carol Anderson and Tonya Bolden
  • Playlist: The Rebels and Revolutionaries of Sound (Amazon, IndieBound)by James Rhodes
  • Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children’s Ship” (Amazon, IndieBound)by Deborah Heiligman

Middle Grade Fiction







Poetry (done)

This category is so broad -- there are picture books of poems, a themed collections of free verse, a novel in verse, and two memoirs of tough paths to adulthood. Great reads though. 







  1. Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir (Amazon, IndieBound) by Nikki Grimes. What an evocative and emotionally resonant story of her life! I love how Grimes uses language and form to express herself, even when I'm heartwrung by what she has to express. She remembers the feeling of being young and confused by the choices of the adults around her, both the good decisions and the abusive or neglectful ones. Really good. 
  2. SHOUT (Amazon, IndieBound) by Laurie Halse Anderson. The language was poetic, and especially in the first part this was clearly a book of poems. Some of the later bits were more of a stretch. But it's a beautiful work of memoir, bringing forward the feel of her youth and the careful building of her adult character, her life as a writer, and then her struggles with the apathy and malicious ignorance of society.
  3. Soccerverse: Poems about Soccer (Amazon, IndieBound) by Elizabeth Steinglass,. 
  4. A variety of poems along with energetic pictures reflecting both the poems and the soccer field, concentrating more on the feel and the moments of play rather than competition and victory. It's a book I could have read to my kids, which is very rare for poetry books -- they had issues.
  5. Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience (Amazon, IndieBound) Edited by Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond. 
  6. Not many rhymes, but a wide variety of images and emotions from people struggling to define who they are and where they belong while society around them rages about the same questions. It's raw and lost. 
  7. Dreams from Many Rivers: A Hispanic History of the United States Told in Poems (Amazon, IndieBound) by Margarita Engle. I listened to this rather than reading it, and I think that was a mistake. Most only vaguely felt like poems and I didn't really like the voices, so it didn't really work for me on that level, but as a history of the Americas it was intriguing and sobering.
  8. The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems (Amazon, IndieBound)by Paul B. Janeczko. Soft pictures and a variety of poems make for a good collection. I enjoyed reading this.
  9. Other Words for Home (Amazon, IndieBound)by Jasmine Warga. I like middle school books with a twist. This one has Jude as an immigrant from Syria, dealing with a new country and language, complex family dynamics, and difficulties in making friends because of her sense of not belonging. Some anti-Arab prejudice doesn't help. But it felt more like a book than like poetry.

Graphic Novels

Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels (done)






  1. The Hidden Witch (Amazon, IndieBound) by Molly Knox Ostertag. I really like the way that people can make mistakes, even horrible ones, but their friends still hold out the hope and chance that they can do better. I also like the art (I could mostly tell people apart!) and the writing. 
  2. New Kid (Amazon, IndieBound) by Jerry Craft. This was a great description of a year in the life of a middle schooler. He's at a new school and has to deal with figuring out the dynamics of his peers. He's black and a minority at this school, which has its challenges. And he's a good kid. I like how Craft sometimes put it the boy's art directly but it still matched the usual drawing -- that worked really well.
  3. Crush (Berrybrook Middle School) (Amazon, IndieBound)by Svetlana Chmakova. Another big win. I adored Jorge, who is a nice kid but none I have encountered several times while wandering junior high halls. I want to go find the other books in this series and see if I can spot him in the background. 
  4. Tiger vs. Nightmare (Amazon, IndieBound) by Emily Tetri. It's a bit hard to rank this one because it felt more like a picture book than a novel, but I enjoyed it a lot. Tiger's friend, the monster under the bed, has been warding off nightmares all her life, but a recent one is scaring him. She has to fight it herself for both her friend and her own security. Good pictures, good story, nice family -- my kids would have liked reading this with me.
  5. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women (Amazon, IndieBound) by Rey Terciero. This retelling of Little Women does a great job moving the characters into the modern world. I loved all the transitions -- the schools, the jobs, the vocabulary. I didn't like the plot changes as much; Jo is gay and worried about it (?) which seems uncharacteristic of her and makes her refusal of Laurie rather cheap. John Brooke is rich and a jerk, so Meg dumps him. Both felt like rather easy changes that make the book weaker rather than stronger. I'm sad that my original suspicion that Meg was gay didn't pan out.
  6. Operatic (Amazon, IndieBound)by Kyo Maclear and Byron Eggenschwiler. I think I would have put this in the YA category; the boundaries are nebulous. The characters are close to the ages of New Kid and Hidden Witch but the themes aim up -- this is about discovering identity, not agency, and about how love fits with our needs and self confidence. It has a lot of lovely moments but for me didn't really come together as a whole, with the identification with the opera singer not really meshing with the crush and with the concern over the missing classmate who is too pure for the for world. But many images are striking and emotionally evocative.
  7. The Tea Dragon Festival (The Tea Dragon Society) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Katie O’Neill.  This is lovely and evocative but not really my cup of tea. I managed to have problems telling the people apart, probably because there isn't a real plot. Still, given that the characters are about as diverse as you can get (they include a bipedal llama and a dragon) that is impressive even for me. I know kids I'd give it to, but I wouldn't have been one of them.

Young Adult Graphic Novels (done)






  1. They Called Us Enemy (Amazon, IndieBound)by George Takei,  Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. Memoir of living in the American internment camps for Japanese people. I learned details of the traps of the no/no questions -- Takei's parents refused to answer yes to the loyalty questions because they considered being asked them a violation of their rights, and one was impossible to answer (renouncing a loyalty one never had?). This almost led to losing their citizenship when the camp threatened to dump the family (including small kids) into angry mobs unless they released their US rights. Emotionally it was interesting to watch George's struggles with America as he grew up and realized what had happened and what his country had done. Also, the illustrations of young George and Henry were super appealing, even if they didn't age at all during their years in the camps.
  2. This Place: 150 Years Retold (Amazon, IndieBound) by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm,  Sonny Assu, and Brandon Mitchell. A book of graphic short stories, all telling a piece of history from Canadian First People's point of view. After realizing that it wasn't an SF book (until the last story!) I settled in to enjoy learning about how messed up the world was, and is. I could mostly follow the stories (not a given -- I'm a poor picture reader) and and found them powerful if grim. 
  3. Mooncakes (Amazon, IndieBound)by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu. This was also nominated for a Graphic Hugo, so I read it as part of that packet. It's clearly YA, so I should have checked here! It's a love story between two long parted friends and secondarily an adventure dealing with some werewolf bad guys. Lots of earnest diversity and acceptance, which is nice because otherwise I can't tell people apart (somehow I managed to have problems with the grandmothers). I'm cynical enough not to take their young love seriously, but it's sweet to read.
  4. Surviving the City (Volume 1) (Amazon, IndieBound)by Tasha Spillett and Natasha Donovan. Another story of two teens, but even they realize their romance is at the bottom of their issues right now. One is about to be taken away by social services, mean people who disregard her care for her ill grandmother and say she's stressed by her home life rather than their threat to it. When she runs away the book widens to focus on all the lost First People women in Canada, including ones lost to illness like the other girl's mother (?). Ghosts benign and malevolent walk among us, helping either the predators or the people at risk. It's effective, but again I can't remember what anyone looks like so it was easier to follow the societal problem than the girls' perils, which was less emotionally satisfying.
  5. Kiss Number 8 (Amazon, IndieBound) by Colleen AF Venable Ellen T. Crenshaw. There was a lot going on, and sometimes the different subplots pulled away from instead of towards each other -- how many episodes of reality TV can one family find itself in? But the core of the story was a girl in high school figuring out herself and her family, what she wants and who she wants to be. 
  6. Grimoire Noir (Amazon, IndieBound) by Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch. Just when I was congratulating myself on my new skills in reading pictures, I tripped over this one. For some reason I could not keep any of the girls seperate, een though they looked and acted completely different. The boy protagonist was easier, but since I didn't like him and his slow growth out of a whiny kid who was a terrible friend and thought that was fine, recognizing him didn't make me happier. The final ending seemed rushed because I cared much more for the town for for the boy and his personal epiphany.

Fiction Picture Books and Board Books (done)

Fiction Picture Books (done)






  1. Hair Love (Amazon, IndieBound) Matthew A. Cherry. I suspect this book gets an unfair boost from the short film made of it, which I saw and really enjoyed. Also, I am terrible at hair so the subject appealed. But it is also great on its own, with the spunky girl and her supportive dad and the returning mom. The cat is great, and the pictures of her hair are luminous.
  2. One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller (Amazon, IndieBound) by Kate Read. This book is a study in doing a lot with a few words. The pages are lovely, and the story powerfully told with a few counting words and the brilliant illustrations. My kids would have adored the final few pages. I did feel bad for the poor famished fox though. 
  3. Once Upon a Goat (Amazon, IndieBound) by Dan Richards. The hapless prospective royal parents lucked out when their wish for a kid resulted in a baby goat delivery. Tidy pages show the havoc wreacked on the palace and young readers will enjoy the solution while adults enjoy the metaphor on parenting.
  4. Moon’s First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship (Amazon, IndieBound)
    by Susanna Leonard Hill.     This book cheats by me (and my family) being huge space fans, so I enjoyed watching the moon urging the earathlings to come visit, and the pictures were cosy but not saccharine. There were a lot of hooks for science-geeking families to talk about evolution, dinosaurs, industrialization, etc. I had a small quibble -- where is Yuri Gargarun? What does the moon have against Russians?
  5. A Stone Sat Still: (Environmental and Nature Picture Book for Kids, Perspective Book for Preschool and Kindergarten, Award Winning Illustrator) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Brendan Wenzel, This was a lovely meditation on nature and what a stone sees. I enjoyed it but it's definitely for the kids ready to sit and reflect. I wouldn't try it on an excited child, but it would be good as a later book in the bedtime routine, when the kid is relaxed enough to appreciate the beauty and the feelings. 
  6. The Undefeated (Amazon, IndieBound) by Kwame Alexander. I loved the pictures, especially accompanied by the notes in the back to fill n any gaps in my memory. The poem is great but I'm not really a poem person and if my kids had suspected it was trying to be a poem they would have run away screaming.
  7. Ruby’s Hope: A Story of How the Famous “Migrant Mother” Photograph Became the Face of the Great Depression (Amazon, IndieBound)by Monica Kulling. It's a great idea and the pictures were very appealing. I especially liked the feet, which were constantly grimy but very natural looking. I'm cranky about the mix o f fact and fiction; it's a story based on a real photography but which ignores all the details of the real people in that photograph, instead substituting a made-up family that could have existed in that time. Either would have been fine with me, but having the photo and then ignoring the people bugged me. 

Board Books (done)






  1. Dream Big (Amazon, IndieBound) by Joyce Wan. This would be fun to read to a tiny baby, who would enjoy the colors and the people. It would be fun to read to a toddler, exclaiming over the adventures shown on each page. A preschooler would like to know the names and stories behind each illustration, and school age kids would have fun identifying the history and context behind each dream before linking them to their own ambitions. This is the kind of book that has you looking for someone to share it with, my hallmark of a Cybils book.
  2. Jump! (Amazon, IndieBound) by Tatsuhide Matsuoka.  This is a delight of a picture book that would be fun to read as many times as your baby requested it it. The clear delightful pictures move between repose and action, and the few words make communication easy. It would also do well for toddlers on their own, and if they learn a few letters, no one will complain. (It won)
  3. Peek-A-Bruce (Mother Bruce Series) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Ryan T. Higgins. A wee bit on the bitter side, this would be fun for an older sibling/baby sibling combination. I can see having a great time reading this to my boys when they were young. 
  4. Peek-a-Who Too? (Amazon, IndieBound) by Elsa Mroziewicz. Gorgeous fold out flaps and a nice variety of animal sounds make this a simple but pleasing option.
  5. Peaceful meditation -- just what new parents need. This is morea gift for the adults rather than the babies, but hey, it's gog holes to stick your fingers through so everyone will be happy. 
  6. Good Night, World (Global Greetings) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Aleksandra Szmidt. I like all the ways to say goodnight, although I had trouble wrapping my tongue around some of the options. 
  7. You Are Light (Amazon, IndieBound) by Aaron Becker. Huggle Wuggle, Bedtime Snuggle (Amazon, IndieBound) by Della Ross Ferreri. Fun but the made-up words would get a bit on my nerves if I read this more than five times. 

Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction 






  1. Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (A Sal and Gabi Novel, Book 1) (Amazon, IndieBound)by Carlos Hernandez. Wow, this had such heart and such great characters. The plot almost reminded me of Daniel Pinkwater, and I love Pinkwater. This really shows what amazing things Riordan picks can do.
  2. The Dark Lord Clementine (Amazon, IndieBound)by Sarah Jean Horwitz. I made my book club read this for our traditional kidlit December pick. We all liked it; it was a fun read with a good vocabulary. Nothing too surprising, but it did what it wanted to do and did it with style and good energy.
  3. Cog (Amazon, IndieBound)by Greg van Eekhout. Lots of fun with this story of a android boy devoted to learning -- and he is committed to the idea that making mistakes is the best way to learn. He's designed so he replicates human emotions, hungers, and ambitions, but has a lot of fun quirks as an artificial life form. Big business is the enemy, but happy endings are in the narrative contract. 








Elementary/Middle Grade Non-Fiction (done)

Elementary Non-Fiction (done)






  1. Sonny’s Bridge: Jazz Legend Sonny Rollins Finds His Groove (Amazon, IndieBound)by Barry Wittenstein. This got a boost because I found the album reference and played it while listening, but I really enjoyed the biography of Sonny and the detail about his hiatus. This book did tell me that I'm lucky not to have to categorize books, because the line between poetry and nonfiction and picture books is rather baffling to me.
  2. Moth (Amazon, IndieBound)by Isabel Thomas. A simple picture book that uses careful, vivid words to show how evolution worked among the dusky winged butterflies in England, as natural selection shifts from dappled to black and back again. It's science presented for kids just learning about how discovery works, aimed at a young mind but not condescending ot it. It works as a picture book and as an introduction to natural selection.
  3. Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team (Amazon, IndieBound)by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran. Titan was the youngest kid on the soccer team trapped in the cave so he's the viewpoint for this history of the event. It does a good job presenting the information in a child-sized format, hitting the main points and even giving a bit of Thai background but not getting confused. Really good diagrams and pictures to go with the text. This is an interesting book and a good introcution to reporting.
  4. Seashells: More Than a Home (Amazon, IndieBound)by Melissa Stewart. I remember reading books like this to my kids, and this has all the hallmarks of a good one. The pictures are attractive and informative, with details the reward scrutiny both in informative detail and in pur pleasure. The text operates on several levels -- big print for younger readers that clearly state the basics, then smaller text for kids ready to go deeper, and more details in the back matter (which is useful to adult readers trying to maintain an illusion of competence). 
  5. Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival (Amazon, IndieBound)by Lindsay Moore. Another lovely picture book that conveys a true situation. Dreamy pictures of the bear on its journey, with glimpses of other lovely creatures (all explained in the back matter) make this a great bedtime book, especially with its palette of dark blues. But it's also a true depiction of the life of the polar bear and the dangers climate change presents to it.
  6. Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial (Amazon, IndieBound)by Linda Booth Sweeney. This is a biography of an artist, showing how his childhood and failed attempt at college help shape him into the sculpture whose work we still see today, famously in the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. I liked the back matter which included a list of the other sculptures scattered about.
  7. Nine Months: Before a Baby Is Born (Amazon, IndieBound)by Miranda Paul. A poem on one side, a study of fetal growth on the other. The pictures behind the poem show a couple and their young child living their lives during the pregnancy, sometimes walking the dog, sometimes assembling a crib. Facing them are pictures of the embryo or fetus with notes describing what changes are happening. It works as a picture book and as a learning tool. The afterwards has a lot of useful facts about a variety of related information.

Middle Grade Non-Fiction (done) 






  1. This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality (Amazon, IndieBound) by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy. History in verse? I was surprised but then I sunk into this memoir of the semester Jo Ann Allen Boyce spent as one of the Clinton 12, an early integration story that I was unaware of. In Clinton, the authorities planned to uphold the law even though they hated the idea of integration. But they didn't have to be welcoming, and when outsiders showed up, the people were easy to convince to turn violent. It was a scary time and the grace and optimism of the young students is amazing.
  2. Free Lunch (Amazon, IndieBound) by Rex Ogle. Memoir of a sixth grade year, when Rex's really understood his family's poverty and how that made him different from his peers. His shame and attempts to hide his circumstances split him off from his friends and it was only when he learned to separate what was under his control (his reactions) and what wasn't (his family's economics, his parents' abuse) that he began to find himself. The school was no help at all. Tough but fascinating read. 
  3. It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Trevor Noah. Fun and flowing stories of growing up in South Africa caught between most of the racial categories (the title refers to the idea that it was illegal for a White man and a Black woman to have a baby when he was born). His idea of naughty might shock some moms (shoplifting chocolate liquors, getting beaten for being too White/too Black) and there are some tough situations (step-dad shoots his mom, arrest for joy-riding, friend named Hitler tossed out of Jewish party) but the stories are told with somewhat rueful retrospective and a discussion of how cultural norms affect behavior.  (WINNER)
  4. Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson (Amazon, IndieBound) by Katherine Johnson. Two good autobiographies! This is by one of the heroes from Hidden Figures, but she grounds her story in her childhood, providing both personal details and a sense of what life was like for a Black female mathematician growing up in West Virginia. Her pride in her family's determination to educate all their children is tempered by the understanding of the many barriers society put in their way. I also appreciated how matter of factly she shows balancing a family, children and a career, sometimes letting one need guide decisions on the other (dropping out of grad school to have children, needing a job to pay for food for these kids). Good page turning and good material.
  5. Can You Hear the Trees Talking?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest (Amazon, IndieBound) by Peter Wohlleben. As I read this, I realized I was glad to get this one instead of the adult book it's based on. I liked all the information, but I know I'm going to forget it fairly quickly and only retain a vague knowledge that there is nifty information out there that good scientists are working on. And I liked the echoes of Braiding Sweetgrass as the author talked about how the whole forest works together or the mystery of how nutting trees know to synchronize their harvests. Today I had a work out in a forest and I had a much keener awareness of all the complex life happening around me. A good read, and the quizzes were fun.
  6. Killer Style: How Fashion Has Injured, Maimed, and Murdered Through History (Amazon, IndieBound) by Alison Matthews David and Serah-Marie McMahon. This pairs well with previous Cybils books on the history of poison and the FDA, as the authors present how clothes from hats to shoes created carnage among the wearers, makers, and admirers. It's a welcoming book with open pages, each topic pulled out in its own box and none lasting more than a page or so. The book is big enough for good pictures but small enough to easily hold. 
  7. Moles (Superpower Field Guide) (Amazon, IndieBound)by Rachel Poliquin, I found the narrator and the conceit of Rosalee as the mole representative a bit condescending, but it's not really aimed at me. The information was interesting -- I learned more about moles than I knew I wanted to know, but Poliquin convinced me it was worthwhile. I liked how the information was put in context, with examples of how each adaptation worked in the mole's environment and which questions were open. 

Easy Reader and Early Chapter Books (done)

Easy Reader (done) 





  1. Hello, Crabby!: An Acorn Book (A Crabby Book #1) (Amazon, IndieBound)by Jonathan Fenske. A very simple book with few words but a high humor potential, so it's rewarding to read. It would also be easy to do as a shared read for first decoders. And I like Crabby's humor, so I'd enjoy it.
  2. Yasmin the Superhero (Amazon, IndieBound) by Saadia Faruqi. Bright pictures help make the words even clearer as Yasmin has a kid-sized adventure. As an adult, I quibbled with her rescue of Ali (the fish vs fishing pole problem) but that's just me. Her family was realistically kind and loving, and I'm always glad to see dads called Baba.
  3. Frank and Bean (Amazon, IndieBound) by Jamie Michalak. An odd couple story that would lend itself to shared reading, assuming the kid taking on Bean's role knows how to read UPPERCASE. The friendship between them feels authentic and the small details of the illustrations are welcoming (Frank's tent fits him when he stands up, but his head sticks out at night).
  4. Fox & Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories (Early Chapter for Kids, Books about Friendship, Preschool Picture Books) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Sergio Ruzzier. I can see kids enjoying this, but I wasn't in the mood. Fox is a responsible nice guy and Chick is the child-surrogate, but Fox felt too self-sacrificing. Chick ruined everything (I guess except for the cake) but Fox just took it and never gave Chick a chance to learn compassion or even kindness. Sometimes I'm in the mood to roll with the selfishness of children, but sometimes not!

Early Chapter Books (done)






  1. A Is for Elizabeth (Amazon, IndieBound) by Rachel Vail.  OK, I'm not even pretending this is in order that I think kids will like. My name is Beth, short for Elizabeth, so this book is perfect for me. I'm considering changing my signature to match the suggested spelling from Elizabeth's name poster. It was a fun read too, with encouraging short chapters and kids figuring out a fair alternative to relentless alphabetical order.
  2. Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India (Amazon, IndieBound) by Chitra Soundar. I could only get this in audio because of the pandemic, but that was a delightful way to experience these tales of Prince Veera and his young companion as they compassionately trick people into learning the value of fairness. The stories are based on traditional folk tales, so I recognized some of the tricks but that didn't diminish the pleasure. I bet the illustrations add to the charm.
  3. Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet (1) (Frankie Sparks, Third-Grade Inventor) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Megan Frazer Blakemore. The drama of third grade comes alive as Frankie advocates for her preferred class pet, anticipating problems by inventions solutions. But an emotional sidewave almost collapses her when she and her best friend disagree. There's a moral here about what friends can expect and demand from each other, and an example of innovation, and a quiet demonstration of the value of reading even when it doesn't come easily. There's more in the series for kids who enjoy Frankie (and there should be a lot of them!).
  4. Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure (Amazon, IndieBound) by Alex T. Smith. This book aims at the early mystery reader. Mr Penguin has read a lot of stories and is ready to live the life. He's a bumbling sort of hero, but he has a lot of competent friends. Kids should enjoy being a few steps ahead of the protagonist for most of the story, and the illustrations and bright colors should smooth the way for more reluctant readers. I did feel it was a bit boy-heavy.
  5. Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit’s Bad Habits (Amazon, IndieBound) by Julian Gough.This book lost some personal points because my kids and I thoroughly mined the humor of rabbits' poo eating habits, so some of the humor fell a bit flat for me. But given how long it took us to do that I suspect kids would find it hilarious. And the emotional arc of friendship earned was deceptively strong. I do feel a bit bad for wolf, though, even is he was bad. I mean, he was just drawn that way.
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