"Good Night Yoga" - Mariam Gates

I met this author at the American Library Association Convention in San Francisco last summer, I have a signed copy of the book(!), and it's pretty adorable.

As a children's librarian, one of the basic programs we offer is Storytime; I was responsible for the school-age children. Jump topic, I hate dancing in public. Now, most storytimes include a music & movement element. To avoid it, I replaced the dancing with a short yoga sequence that told a story through the poses. (I thought I was clever but whether I was or not, it was a lot of fun!)

Read Also:

You are a Lion! and other fun yoga poses by Taeeun Yoo emphasizes animal poses to do with children.

Doreen Cronin's Stretch follows a dog through many different poses (downward-facing dog!)

Janet S. Wong's Twist: yoga poems is cleverly done with colorful artwork that illustrates the pose described by the poem.

I Am Yoga by Susan Verde but with my favorite illustrator! Peter H. Reynolds.

"Frankencrayon" - Michael Hall

Ack! There's a spot on the page. Book Cancelled. Or can all the colors pull together and fix their production?

I love when crayons take on personalities! I'm also a sucker for speaking to the reader.

Read Also:

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Dewalt (there's a sequel!) is a compilation of letters from the crayons to their owner.

Michael Hall's other crayon book, Red: a crayon's story follows Red as he rejects being relegated to coloring only red items.

A Perfectly Messed Up Story by Patrick McDonnell. The book rejects the story. It's a mess all over!

"The Snow Beast" - Chris Judge

Nope, sorry, not Christopher Judge of Stargate fame ("Teal'c").

But it's about Yetis!! My love of ninjas is rivaled only by my love of picture book yetis!

There's a snow beast terrorizing the villagers! Stealing their tools. ...What is he up to? So Beast (the dude on the cover, he's not the snow beast) is on the case.

I NEED to read his Spaghetti with the Yeti!!

Read Also:

Greg Long's Yeti! Turn Out the Light! Can a yeti get any sleep around here?

Dear Yeti by James Kwan is a letter from 2 boys to a yeti they're looking for.

The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel... The. Cutest. Yeti. EVER.

Luke Pearson's graphic novel Hildafolk is a about a girl becoming friends with another misunderstood urban legend, from Iceland.

"Esperanza Rising" - Pam Munoz Ryan

A surprisingly uplifting book made more so by the fact it's based on the author's grandmother's life.

Esperanza is a rich (and at times spoiled) girl in Mexico during the 1920's. When her father dies, she and her mother immigrate to California and become farm workers; the only tangible evidence of her past life is her birthday doll. The resulting experiences of living conditions, friendships, prejudice, strikers, and the Depression all affect Esperanza into growing beyond her expectations.

(I had to ask...) "esperanza" translates to "hope" in English so the title means "[Hope] Rising" which is exactly what I felt. I was pleased to note that Esperanza was not spoiled to the point of "I can't stand this girl!" but just enough to have hope she could change. Her situation is rough but not so dire as to give up hope for making something good out of it.

I liked how each chapter was named after a crop!

Read Also:

Patty Reed's Doll: the story of the Donner Party by Rachel K. Laurgaard is another young girl's experiences losing most everything as her family travels to California. Again, the doll plays an integral role representing a more innocent time.

Lynne Reid Banks' Maura's Angel tells the story of Maura growing up during the Troubles in Ireland where Catholic and Protestant literally shoot it out. In this book, the angel takes the place of a doll.

To throw in a classic, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (author of The Secret Garden) follows Sarah who loses everything in a country far from her home. Her doll, Emily, is from her past life but remains with her representing hope of things getting better again.

"Lucy's Picture" -Nicola Moon

It's only a picture book. BUT I sat there on the edge of my seat waiting for the finish! It was intense. I couldn't figure out what Lucy was doing until practically the end! And it's such a touching tale. I almost cried.

No spoilers.

Read Also:

Mama Zooms by Jane Cowen-Fletcher is about a son and his mother who's in a wheelchair.

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best about a blind girl and her friends.

Max the Champion by Sean Stockdale is about a class (some children disabled) playing together and winning at soccer.

"Dr. Seuss Goes to War" -Richard H. Minear

Dr. Seuss Goes to War: the World War II editorial cartoons of Theodore S. Geisel was a fascinating portrait of where Seuss began: writing editorial cartoons, propaganda, and early artwork before he wrote children's books.

What some of our favorite children's authors did during the World Wars.

Read Also:

The Journey that Saved Curious George: the true wartime escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden.

Walt Disney: the man behind the magic by Tamra Orr.

Winnie: the true story of the bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally Walker follows Winnie's journey during World War I.

The "Who Was...?" series for children is awesome, reads like a novel, has all the details. I'd like to read Who was J.R.R. Tolkien? by Pam Pollack

"The Finance Smurf" -Peyo

Remember the Smurfs?! The comics are being republished so I'm reading them. They have some crazy and fun adventures. But The Finance Smurf also teaches a great lesson in capitalism, "love of money" and economy.

A smurf goes to a human apothecary for some medicine and sees money exchanged. He decides to try it in the Smurf village. It's very cleverly done, illustrating how currency can change a society.

Read Also:

The Smurfs reads and is drawn very similarly to the Asterix comic books by Iscenko and Goscinny.

Tim Clifford's American Coins and Bills, just a basic overview of America's currency.

I'm just going to throw this in: Thomas Paine's Common Sense is a really good read on society and government.

"Codename Zero" - Chris Rylander

You don't even know... I laughed out loud. There were sentences I couldn't finish because I was laughing so hard!

Carson is bored. Bored of middle school. Bored of North Dakota. But then he receives a package... What's a guy going to do when a secret government base is located right under his hometown? Save North Dakota and the World! Ice cream is involved...

Read Also:

Find out what another sleepy town hides in Lissa Evans' Horton's Miraculous Mechanism.

Any chance I get to recommend Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. Laugh-out-loud funny and secret organizations.

On my "To Read" list is The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson.

"Sebastian and the Balloon" - Philip Christian Stead

Back! Engaged. Married. Moved. Unemployed. Lots of things. Anyway, I now have more time to devote to blogging about books I've read and loved (or not loved). To start...

Your basic journey built through a child's imagination. But I love these kinds of books! Especially how each piece leads into the next part of the story. The cause & effect cycle, the process of building a story rather than just telling one.

And an appeal for those just joining, always look for the little humor in picture book illustrations. Authors and illustrators put so much detail into their books, often missed because of the speed with which we read them.

Read Also:

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. A Classic.

And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. Another Classic.

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman