Splendid Splendors

SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS by Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick Press, 2012.

Gaspare Grisini and his two assistants, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, are called to the home of Clara Wintermute to perform a puppet show for her birthday. Lizzie Beth and Parsefall are about the same age as Clara, and the three spend some time together before the show begins. It is Gaspare who returns after the show, ostensibly for a watch he left behind. Then, Clara goes missing, perhaps kidnapped. Scholitz ha fashioned a gothic mystery with elements of dark magic certain to compel the turning of page after page.

Capers

THE GREAT LOLLIPOP CAPER by Dan Krall. Simon & Schuster, 2013.

Once upon a time, there was a bitter and acidic caper who hated Lollipop. All the kids loved Lollipop, but not poor little Caper. So, one day Caper steals into the candy factory and adds caper flavoring to all the lollipops with expected results. Will this story end happily? Can sweet Lollipop and bitter Caper become friends?

Go, Speed Racer!

SPEED by Nathan Clement. Boyds Mills Press.

Simple text and bold illustrations put readers right there at the race track from the green flag to the checkered one. End papers (checkered) pull readers into the world of racing from the outset. Movement is certainly strongly suggested in a great read aloud that will have kids making their own racing engine noises in no time.

Doggone it!

DOGGONE FEET by Leslie Helakoski. Boyds Mills Press, 2013.

Rollicking text with incredible rhyming patterns (end rhyme and internal rhyme) tell the story of a dog who loves the two feet he sees under the table. But 2 becomes 4 and then 4 becomes 6 and 6 becomes 8, etc. As each new member of the family comes into the world of our narrator, he talks about the from his unique vantage point. Perfect for reading aloud!

Animal Fare

UH-OH, DODO! by Jennifer Sattler. Boyds Mills Press, 2013.

Poor, Dodo is having a tough day. He keeps getting sidetracked and distracted by the things going on in the world around him. A run-in with a skunk is the last straw! Minimal text but plenty to read in the expressions of the baby Dodo, this is one young kids will appreciate as things go wrong in their world, too.






HOW MUCH DOES THE GRAY IN AN ELEPHANT WEIGHT? by Elle Van Lieshout and Erik Van Os with illustrations by Alice Hoogstad. Lemniscaat, 2013.

On a visit to a zoo, Grandpa and child wonder about the different animals. Do polar bears seek out frosty treat3es when the temps climb? How does someone tame a lion's mane? Lots of wondering questions will delight readers.

Eek! Bugs!

PRINCESS BUGS by David A. Carter. Little Simon, 2013.

A touch and feel book, young readers will love interacting with this news story about all manner of glittery and soft and sparkly bugs. Be sure to search for other books by this interactive picture book author.







YOO-HOO, LADYBUG! by Mem Fox with illustrations by Laura Ljungkvist. Beach Lane, 2013.

Can you spot the ladybug hiding in all of the illustrations? Simple rhyming text and bright illustrations make this a "where's Waldo?" for the younger crowd.

FLORA AND ULYSSES: THE ILLUMINATED ADVENTURES BY Kate DiCamillo. CANDLEWICK Press, September 2013.

How to do justice to this book? Very seldom do words fail me. Thankfully, they do not fail DiCamillo who gives readers an incredible story of Flora and the squirrel she rescues from a wayward vacuum cleaner, Ulysses. Who knows whether it was the ride into the vacuum cleaner or not, but Ulysses seems to understand everything going on around him, especially as it relates to Flora. Flora also feels the special new connection, and so Ulysses becomes a part of her life. It is not a simple transaction, this, because Flora's mother, a preoccupied writer, does not want a squirrel in her home. After all, they carry diseases, right? And then there is the matter of the neighbor and her great-nephew, William, who insists he is temporarily blind. from giant donuts (with sprinkles) to kind retired doctors, and an attack cat, DiCamillo has created a wonderful story about friendship, about finding one's way, and about poetry. MUST READ.