Chuckling Ducklings and Baby Animal Friends by Aaron Zenz is an adorable introduction to great vocabulary.  One of the many beautiful things about picture books is that they are full of words that many children don’t hear every day.  The adorable pictures will attract the attention of little ones. For example you learn:

Baby Clam = Spat

Baby Otter = Whelp

Baby Porcupine = Puggle

Baby Turkey = Poult

Baby Swan = Cygnet

This also makes for a great baby shower game, guess the baby animal name.

Trent Reedy, an English teacher, served in Afghanistan.  He met a girl with a cleft palate who was the inspiration for his novel, Words in the Dust.  It is a very real portrayal of life for a young girl in Afghanistan.  Girls don’t go to school and their best hope for a good life is to find a decent husband.  For Zulaikha, that will be harder.  She has a cleft pallet.  She has to eat like a bird, with her head tilted back so the food does not spill out.  She is constantly bullied by local boys who throw stones and her and call her Donkeyface.  The Americans soldiers have just come to her small town.  Zulaikha catches their attention and they plan to get her a surgery to fix her mouth.  Zulaikha dreams of what her life will be like without people staring at her.  She wishes she could be beautiful like her beloved older sister, Zayneb.  Zayneb is about to become the third wife of a rich, well respected man.  Zulaikha also longs to learn.  She has memories of her mother and the sacrifice she made to hide books.  This book offers a world where life as a girl is terribly harsh and will give young readers a better understanding of the country we’ve been fighting in for so long.  Any girl who has been bullied will also indentify with Zulaikah.  There is a glossary of terms in her language that will help the reading understand what is being said.  This book is on plenty of Newbery watch lists.  I expect it to be a strong contender.

This book has appeared on every Newbery watch list I have seen.  The cover caught my attention when it came in to the library.  The bright green, the stark silhouette and the creepy font alert this is not just any book.  The Aviary by Kathleen O’Dell is full of suspense and surprises.  There is magic and secrets all kept in an old crumbling mansion.  Outside on the grounds is an aviary full of birds that frighten Clara.  Her mother is the housekeeper to Mrs. Glendoveer, the widow of a famous magician and mother of murdered children.  Mrs. Glendoveer is obsessed with the birds.  When Mrs. Glendoveer dies, Clara starts to piece together a mystery of what happened to the children.  When one of the birds starts speaking the story really takes off.  I had trouble putting it down.  I love Clara as a character.  She is curious and brave and we wonder what her link is to the birds long before it is revealed.  I can’t say anymore.  Just read it already!  I predict (standing on my chair) that this will be at least a Newbery Honor book.

What is better than learning that heads can blink and bite for a few seconds after they are severed with the guillotine?  Also how poop lead to the downfall of Christopher Columbus.  How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, is full of horrible facts about how some of the most famous people in history died.  Besides the gag worthy facts, the writing is snarky and hilarious!  Children will have an easy time reading this.  Boys who say they don’t like to read will devour this book from start to finish.  This is a great book to use to approach a group of kids.  Did you know that Henry VIII’s body exploded while lying in state, and that his guts oozed out the sides of his slightly open coffin?  Who can say no to that???

I couldn’t wait for this one to come out.  I had high hopes and the force did not fail me.  Tom Angleberger’s Darth Paper Strikes Back is just as fantastic as Origami Yoda.  I loved it!  Dwight is suspended from middle school because Origami Yoda told a cheerleader she was doomed.  That and because of the awesome moment in the last book when he tried to beat up the bully.  Harvey, the jerky kid who disrespectfully called Yoda,  paperwad Yoda, creates a Origami Darth Vadar.  Tommy and his friends must make another case file to stop the school board from sending Dwight to reform school.  The case file is filled with the same kind of predictiments and Yoda’s sage advice.  My favorite is when the school wants the students to sell crappy popcorn tins to raise money for the school.  Yoda convinces the students to raise money without selling anything.  Do you want this stupid popcorn tin or donate to the school?  This way all the money went to the school instead of some crappy popcorn company.   I’m with them.  I would rather give the money and not have some stupid tub of stale popcorn with Hannah Montana on it taking up space in my home.  Another favorite moment is when Dwight’s mother tells the school board off.  I highly recommend this book to all and hope that Tom decides to keep writing more.  Maybe the next one could be about Boba Fett or Greedo?  I wonder if George Lucas has read these?  I think he would love them!

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr. & Lois Ehlert A wonderful counting book full of colorful images.

The Ballad of Nessie by Keiran Lachlan is adorable.  This is the book that goes with the movie short from the new Winnie The Pooh movie.  I love to read this out loud with a Scottish accent.

Bear’s Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson, Illustrations by Jane Chapman.  This book is full of wonderful rhyming words and endearing pictures.

Should I Share My Ice Cream by Mo Willems is my favorite Elephant and Piggie book so far.  Sharing with a friend is alwasy the right choice.

Frangoline and The Midnight Dream by Clemency Pearce, Illustrations by Rebecca Elliott.  Frangoline is precocious and takes on a spooky nighttime adventure.  She is naughty and wakes up dead people.  Rebecca Elliott is become a new favorite illustrator of mine.  I especially love the way she draws expressive eyes.