Below are reviews of children's books that originally appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly. Enjoy!

Dive into a good book!
Summertime's the best time for reading, relaxing and relishing the many terrific new books for kids (July 2008)

In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Tricia Tusa; Harcourt; $16; ages 3 - 7.
A family can never have enough bedtime books, especially when these days are long and light and little ones ask for "just one more. Please?" In San Francisco author Jim Averbeck's picture book, young Alice begins by bouncing up to the ceiling, proclaiming, "I can only sleep in a blue room." Patient, knowing Mama brings fragrant lilacs and lilywhites and soothing tea, covers Alice with a comfy quilt and hangs chimes by the window. None of these are blue, yet they soothe Alice more and more on every page. And when Mama turns out the light, ". . . in comes the moon, bathing everything in its pale blue light." Magically, Alice falls fast asleep in her blue room.
Averbeck's minimal, quiet text is gloriously rendered by Tusa's vibrant illustrations. A bedtime star indeed.

Carl's Summer Vacation, written and illustrated by Alexandra Day; Farrar Straus Giroux; $13; ages 3 - 8.
Children's literature's favorite Rottweiler and his toddler charge, Madeleine, have better things to do than nap on their first day at the lake. Why, there's canoeing, berry picking, dogback-riding, playground-exploring (Carl's ears show just how much he enjoys a slide), and a baseball game and picnic to join. Madeleine's parents may not know why she and Carl are tuckered out, but little ones who have followed this story told primarily in colorful, expressive paintings will share in the joke and all the fun.

What To Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham; Scholastic; $17; ages 4 and up.
The subtitle of this engaging picture book biography by North Coast author Barbara Kerley says a lot: "How Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world, and drove her father Teddy crazy!" Self-educated and self-directed, Alice Roosevelt Longworth was completely unique and practically uncontrollable. The press and public loved this early 20th century celebrity. Yet Alice also had excellent political sense and served as an advisor to her president father and congressman husband. She loved life and lived it up, and practically jumps off the pages of "What To Do About Alice?"

Elvis & Olive by Stephanie Watson; Scholastic; $16; ages 9 - 12.
Harriet the Spy has 21st century kindred spirits in Natalie and Annie - neighbors and unlikely new best friends who spend the summer spying on and uncovering secrets of their neighbors. Going by code names of Elvis and Olive, the girls embellish what they find and post the stories on cards in the headquarters of their secret club. Enthusiasm bordering on recklessness gets them in the sort of trouble that seems like the end of the world to a 10-year-old. Young readers won't want to put this book down until they find out how Elvis and Olive emerge from the mess they created.

Forever Rose by Hilary McCay; Atheneum; ages 9 - 12.
The final installment in the wildly popular, award-winning series about the Casson family and assorted friends stars and is narrated by its craziest (among eccentrics), youngest and most endearing character, Rose. Artistic, volatile Rosey Pose, unappreciated at school by an unimaginative teacher and lonely at home in a house that used to feel too small. Where has everyone gone? Plus, she doesn't read and certainly doesn't care for the books people keep putting under her nose.
Rose and her best friend Kiran do go along with usually boring Molly's scheme to spend the night in the arctic foxes' shed at the zoo. Who finds Rose? Her own missing and beloved oldest sister, Caddy. Caddy has a surprise of her own, one that will bring all these quirky characters together for a most satisfying conclusion.

Keeeping Score by Linda Sue Park; Clarion; $16; ages 9 and up.
Here is a baseball book that appeals to both boys and girls and to kids who may not know a walk from a balk or what team Willie Mays played on before he became a legendary San Francisco Giant. Willie Mays plays a central role in this novel set in Brooklyn in the early 1950's. He was a New York Giant then and, amazingly, the favorite player of young Maggie Fortini. Amazing, because Maggie lives, breathes and suffers with her hometown Dodgers, and the Giants are their archrivals (still are, in fact). Maggie's brother Joey-Mick tells her she has to have a Dodger as her favorite. "Besides, it's double-stupid to pick a player from your worst-enemy team."
But her buddy at the firehouse, Jim, is a Giants fan. Jim teaches Maggie to keep score while listening to Giants games during Willie Mays's breakout rookie season. Keeping score makes Maggie feel as if she has some control over the progress and outcome of a baseball game. She uses that skill to "keep score" of the Korean war after Jim is drafted and then stops sending letters home to Maggie.
Newbery-winner Park does an excellent job implying that Jim is suffering from PTSD, a disorder not recognized in the 50's but familiar to kids who know about veterans from our current wars. Resourceful as ever, Maggie cooks up a scheme and saves all her money to pull Jim out of his funk and get her family and friends to a Dodgers - Giants game. She isn't entirely successful, but she doesn't strike out either. Maggie-O is a believable, eminently likable character with a good heart and who knows her game.

Accidental Love by Gary Soto; Harcourt; $7 paperback; ages 12 and up.
Berkeley author Gary Soto has earned a well-deserved following for his realistic portrayals of Central Valley teens and their families. In "Accidental Love," Marisa and Rene, Hispanic high school freshmen from opposite sides of town, get together because of a cell phone mix-up. Marisa's toughness loses its edge when she falls for nerdy Rene, who longs to be strong as well as smart. It's a sweet, fast-moving novel perfect for middle schoolers to read on a summer night.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow; Tor; $18; ages 14 and up.
This is the young adult novel people are talking about, the "1984" of 2008. Bonus for Bay Area teens: it's set in San Francisco in the near future.
Seventeen-year-old hacker Marcus and his buddies are skipping school to play an Alternate Reality Game downtown when terrorists blow up the Bay Bridge and BART. In the chaos that follows they're roped in by the Department of Homeland Security and taken to Treasure Island. Marcus is released after a short imprisonment at "Gitmo-by-the-Bay," but he soon realizes that San Francisco (San Francisco!) has turned into a police state. Forget terrorists: he's determined to use his computer smarts to wage "a secret war on the secret police," get his country back and find his friend who didn't make it out of prison.
"Little Brother" has plenty of action, suspense and sex to keep the story moving, even for non-techie readers. Minor nit to pick: the author's continual reference to BART as "the BART," as if BART were a Southern California freeway. (When I sent Doctorow this review, he "confessed" that he may have been influenced by time spent in Southern California. Ha! I give him mega points for that, and wish this book well in awards season.)

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis; Foster/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $18; ages 8 and up.
This stunning autobiographical history of the Cold War by acclaimed artist Peter Sis is a book of contrasts ­ black and white, with splashes of red, drawings of Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia as opposed to occasional color-filled art when "music from the free world - rock 'n' roll and the Beatles - made a crack in the wall." But the Prague Spring of 1968 was soon quashed by Russian tanks, and the artist had to be vigilant lest his drawings land him in prison. Sis passionately illustrates the oppression as well as his dreams of freedom. His art allowed him occasional trips to the West, and in 1984 he refused to return to Czechoslovakia. Sis's heart-rending drawing of the fall of the Berlin Wall five years later has more to say about the end of the Cold War than words in any history book.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban; Harcourt; $16; ages 8 ­ 12.
Here's a perfect book for girls ­ funny, smart, fast-paced and as different from other books for readers this age as the music its protagonist, Zoe, plays on her "wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ" while dreaming of performing on a "glamorous" piano at Carnegie Hall. Zoe is a charming, likable protagonist who deals with a father who's afraid to leave the house, and a workaholic mother who misses Zoe's 11th birthday and can't take her to the Perform-O-Rama organ competition. Not only that, Zoe's former best friend has turned into a "mean girl." But she has a new friend, a boy who follows her home from school every day and brings out the best in her dad. Dad manages to overcome his OCD to drive Zoe to the competition, where she shines and Mom surprises everyone.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis; Scholastic; $17; ages 9 and up.
Christopher Paul Curtis's first book, "The Watsons Go to Birmingham ­ 1963," was one of the best novels for children published in the 1990s ­ poignant, powerful and laugh-out-loud hilarious. "Elijah" is just as good, if not better. Set in 1860 in Buxton, a Canadian Settlement over the border from Detroit that was a terminus of the Underground Railroad, the novel stars 11-year-old Elijah, a sharp, sensitive, talkative, hard-working boy who was the first free-born child in this town of former American slaves. As in "Watsons," readers are treated to tales about Elijah and his fellow settlers until we know him well and appreciate what freedom means to former slaves and their children. The plot picks up considerable speed as Elijah travels across the border to retrieve money stolen from a friend who's been saving to buy his family's freedom. Elijah finds the thief in a barn, where he also finds a group of near-dead, shackled runaway slaves. But Elijah rescues the youngest, a baby, and takes her to Buxton for a new life. Bravo!

The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer; Jackson/Atheneum; $19; ages 10 - 14.
A sequel to Menlo Park award-winning author Nancy Farmer's brilliant novel for young people about an apprentice bard, Jack, and his adventures in 790 A.D. Britain. "The Sea of Trolls" took young readers to the seas beyond the British Isles. This book takes them below Earth. Jack's pilgrimage to find help at a monastery for his sister, Lucy, turns into a quest to find Lucy after she's kidnapped by the Lady of the Lake. But should Lucy be rescued? Who is she, anyway? Nothing is what it appears to be in the Land of the Silver Apples, or Elfland, where time stands still and illusion reigns. Jack's traveling companions include Pega, a freed slave considered ugly in Jack's village but adored by the king of the hobgoblins, and John's old friend Thorgil, the shield maiden from "The Sea of Trolls." The children are thrown into a dungeon with a "gloomy monk and a half-mad abbot." Jack needs to find "allies (he is) not aware of" before he can dig his way out of trouble, rescue the hobgoblins, and return to Middle Earth. Like other Nancy Farmer books, "The Land of the Silver Apples" is peppered with fillips of humor and unique characters. The story is supplemented by an excellent appendix about religion, folklore and symbols Farmer drew from for her epic. And even though Harry Potter's adventures may have ended, Jack will return in 2009 with the final book in the trilogy, "The Islands of the Blessed." Hurrah!

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline; Candlewick; $17; ages 4 ­ 8.
Here's a touching Christmas tale showing the compassion a young 1940's girl feels for an organ grinder and his monkey. Frances stays up late and is horrified to find that the pair sleeps on the street, "even when it snows." Her mother (Father seems to be off fighting the war) is more concerned with Frances's line in the church Christmas pageant. Frances invites the organ grinder to the pageant, which brings "Great joy" to one and all. Detailed, Norman Rockwell-like paintings fill the pages of this picture book with warmth.

QUICK GIFT PICKS:

The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon; Orchard/Scholastic; ; $16; ages 8 and up.
An excellent, kid-friendly practical guide to a hot topic.

Regarding the Bees: A lesson in letters, on honey, dating, and other sticky subjects by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Harcourt; $15; ages 8 ­ 14.
The latest in the wildly popular Regarding the . . . series.

The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: How To Never Grow Up by the editors of Klutz; Klutz/Scholastic; $19.95; ages 8 and up.
A tome that epitomizes the phrase, "Fun for all ages."

CLICK: One Novel, Ten Authors; Levine/Scholastic; $17; ages 12 and up.
Ten of the top authors of young adult literature spin remarkable tales, all related, about the life of an acclaimed international photographer and the lives of those he touched and influenced. Royalties benefit Amnesty International.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Art by Ellen Forney; Little, Brown; $17; ages 12 and up.
Deserved winner of the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, that will make teens laugh, cry and get into the head of a contemporary American Indian who dares to venture off the "rez" for high school.

Reviews from July 2007 and before:

Summer Beat by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Charlotte Middleton; Simon & Schuster/McElderry; $16; ages 1 - 6.
Prolific Palo Altan Betsy Franco has another winner in "Summer Beat," where two best bud's spend a day soaking up the sounds and sights of summer, from the "Clackity clack" of Emily's skateboard to the "Flappity-flap" of the neighborhood Fourth of July bike parade, and finally, the "Snuffle, snort" of night-time. "Summer sounds never stop." Vibrant illustrations and words that dance across the page will delight parent and child alike in this outstanding addition to any summer collection.

Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar; $22; Candlewick; ages 2 - 6.
Here is a little gem of a collection of poems specifically for and about babies and toddlers and their daily activities. It's also a glorious "coffee table book" for very young children and their parents (and grandparents, certainly) to enjoy together, whenever.
The poems are exuberantly illustrated and represent many of the best poets of the English-speaking world, such as Langston Hughes, Robert Louis Stevenson, Margaret Wise Brown, Gertrude Stein, A. A. Milne, Jack Prelutsky, and Lee Bennett Hopkins. Families will recognize old favorites and acquire new verses, all the while inspiring an appreciation of poetry in little ones.

Imagine Harry by Kate and M. Sarah Klise; Harcourt; $16; ages 3 - 8.
In this third charming Rabbit book, Harry is Little Rabbit's favorite companion. Mother Rabbit patiently makes accommodations for Harry, although when Little Rabbit says that he doesn't want any brussels sprouts for dinner because Harry doesn't like the smell, Mother replies, "Your friend Harry is starting to wear out his welcome." Ha! Harry goes to school with Little Rabbit (and is very quiet), but as Little Rabbit makes new friends, Harry gradually fades from the scene. As Little Rabbit explains, "Harry moved away." Young children, whether they have an imaginary friend or not, will find much to love in this imaginative, sweet story brought to life with winsome illustrations.

A Second is a Hiccup: A Child's Book of Time by Hazel Hutchins, illustrated by Kady Macdonald Denton; Scholastic/Levine; $17; ages 4 - 8.
Why didn't someone think of this sooner? This clever picture book explains units of time in terms kids understand and recognize, and will be welcomed by any parent who's been asked, "How long is a second (or minute, hour, day, week, month, or year)?" The explanations logically grow longer with greater units of time ­ more happens in a month than in a minute, and much can be accomplished in a year, such as "Tiny babies learn to walk/Bigger babies learn to talk/Holidays of every kind/Linked together in a line." And "Changes come and changes go/Round and round the years you'll grow." The illustrations are loving and energetic, and add to the appeal of this instant classic.

My Friend Is Sad by Mo Willems; Hyperion; $9.00; ages 4 - 8.
Elephant and Piggie join the classic easy reader best-friend duos (Frog and Toad, George and Martha) in this first, laugh-out-loud book by the author of the best-selling, award-winning picture books "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" and "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale." Piggie is determined to cheer up her bespeckled friend, Gerald the Elephant, by dressing up as a cowboy, a clown, and a robot, and parading in front of her friend. Elephant enjoys the entertainment, but later laments to Piggie that ". . . my best friend was not there to see it with me." Piggie points out that she is there now. "My friend is here now," Elephant says, while picking up Piggie and giving her a big hug. "I need my friends." To which Piggie adds with deadpan humor, "You need new glasses. . . ." Kids just learning to read will love everything about this book: the giggles it elicits, the expressions of emotion on the characters' faces (as well as their ears and trunks and tails), and the large, easy-to-read and simple words.

Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt; Scholastic/DiCapua; $16; all ages.
Natalie Babbitt, author of the modern classic "Tuck Everlasting," is a master storyteller. So is Jack Plank, her teller of tales in this perfect family read-aloud. "Jack Plank was an out-of-work pirate." (He) "wasn't good at plundering." His shipmates on the "Avarice" give him the gentle heave-ho, along with a small bag of gold florins, onto Saltwash Island. Jack takes a room in Mrs. DelFresno's boarding house. Her 11-year-old daughter, Nina, promises to show Jack around town and help the former pirate find the "perfect job." At suppertime on the eight evenings thereafter, Jack tells his fellow borders lively and imaginative (but never violent) stories from his pirating days that illustrate why he's not suitable to be a farmer, a baker, a fortune-teller, a fisherman, a barber, a goldsmith, an actor, or a musician. Nina indeed finds the perfect job for Jack - town storyteller. Of course!

Across the Wide Ocean: The Why, How, and Where of Navigation for Humans and Animals at Sea by Karen Romano Young; Collins/Greenwillow Books; $19; ages 9 - 12.
Anyone who's enjoyed a field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or who followed the journey of the wayward whales that went up the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this spring will find much to pore over, study and learn from in this entertaining, informative and extensively researched book. Concepts in science and geography are clearly explained here in readable text and colorful multimedia illustrations. Kids can learn about the 9,000-mile migration pattern of loggerhead sea turtles; follow scientists as they search for right whales in the North Atlantic; learn how to find latitude and longitude; find out what whales sound like; read about what submarines do and how they navigate; learn which animals and plants live at different levels below the ocean surface; study currents and weather; learn about container ships; and follow biologists as they track migration of blue sharks from one side of the ocean to another.

The Search for the Perfect Child, written and illustrated by Jan Fearnley; Candlewick Press; $16; ages 2 - 6.
Meet Fido Farnsworth, "the cleverest, sharpest, coolest dog detective in the whole world." He's looking for the perfect child. He knows that child is (among other things), creative and kind to animals, loves nature, and has style and varied interests. The perfect child likes to monkey around while still being polite and cooperative. He asks the reader/listener, "Have you seen one?" Of course! Little ones will want to hear this fun, funny picture book over and over.

Adele & Simon, written and illustrated by Barbara McClintock; Foster/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $16; all ages.
This is a book with enormous appeal for multiple generations, as well as Francophiles and "Where's Waldo?" fans. Simon tries not to lose anything while his sister Adele walks him home from school through Paris of the early 20th century. Alas, they have many places to stop, many friends to visit, and many opportunities for Simon to lose his belongings. Kids will love searching the intricate Parisian pictures for Simon's missing things and how he's reunited with them.

Clever Ali by Nancy Farmer, illustrated by Gail de Marcken; Orchard/Scholastic; $18; all ages.
Menlo Park award-winning novelist Nancy Farmer uses her considerable storytelling skills to spin a tale set in 12th century Egypt starring a quick-witted boy, an evil sultan, a helpful demon, and hundreds of carrier pigeons -- handsomely illustrated, perfect for reading aloud.

Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy; Charlesbridge; $16; ages 8 - 12.
Palo Alto author Cynthia Chin-Lee's companion to her picture book biography, "Amelia to Zora," captures the essence of 26 men who changed the world, described in engaging, eloquent text and illustrated with imaginative and vibrant mixed-media.

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, pictures by Marla Frazee; Hyperion; $15; ages 7 - 10.
Here is a giggle-a-paragraph chapter book starring the spunkiest character in children's literature since Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby. Clementine is fond of the expression "Okay, fine," as in "Okay, fine, Monday was not so good of a day." Perhaps because she cut off her friend's hair in the school bathroom. And then she colored Margaret's head red. By Wednesday she'd chopped off her own hair, and asked Margaret to color green curls on her head. She's constantly being sent to the principal's office and inspiring her mother to say, "What on earth were you thinking, Clementine?" She objects to "getting stuck with a name that is also a fruit," so she calls her brother vegetable names. But he's three and doesn't mind. He asks Clementine, "Go for a wok?" which, obviously, involves her spinning him on the kitchen floor in the wok. Clementine is determined to help her father bring an end to "The Great Pigeon War." She's also afraid her parents want to get rid of her because she's the "hard one" in the family. Emergent readers will be surprised and delighted along with their heroine Clementine to find out what her parents mean by "Good-bye and good riddance." Frazee's delightful illustrations to Pennypacker's story of Clementine's wacky week jump off the page with verve and personality. Buy this book for any child learning to read. Read it aloud to kids who aren't yet reading. It'll give them something to look forward to.

Regarding the Bathrooms: A Privy to the Past by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Harcourt; $15; ages 9 - 12.
This fourth installment of the wildly popular middle-grade Regarding the . . . series is a must-read for fans of puns and fun, bathroom humor (and shhhh ­ history) included.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang; First Second; $17; ages 10 and up.
Everything about this impressive graphic novel pulls the reader in: the art and the way it's presented on the page; the three intertwining stories about wanting to be someone you're not, of transforming yourself in order to assimilate; the school settings any kid living in the multicultural Bay Area will recognize, even though Asians and Asian-American are no longer a rarity; the humor in what kids will do to themselves to fit in; the chance to be un-politically correct and laugh at cultural stereotypes, but also to recognize the pain caused by typecasting . . . oh, and did I mention the Monkey King is one of the main characters?
Yang grew up in San Francisco and Saratoga, and teaches computer science at a Catholic high school in Oakland. He knows about which he writes and draws. He took a comic book writing class at Foothill College, and this, his fifth book, vaulted to the national stage as a highly acclaimed finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. Don't miss it.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green; Dutton; $17; ages 12 and up.
John Green's books get teenagers - even teenage boys - to read fiction. His second novel is a laugh-out-loud, enormously clever, smart book with characters sure to appeal to Peninsula teens. Here's the first sentence: "The morning after noted child prodigy Colin Singleton graduated from high school and got dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, he took a bath." Colin is so depressed about the break-up and also about the prospect of never doing anything actually meaningful that his best buddy, Hassan, drags him a road trip. The road leads to Gutshot, Tennessee, where they meet their match in wits and sassiness, Lindsey Lee Wells. Lindsey's mother hires Colin and Hassan for the summer. Taking oral histories gives Colin something to do while working on his "Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability," which he's deemed is his chance to make a difference. What young person would not want to be able to predict the durability of any relationship? Colin has his Eureka moment and recovers from his Katherine obsession. "Fat, hirsute," hilarious Hassan finds a girl (who's not Judge Judy). Their story is told in text, footnotes (Arabic and other foreign language translations, trivia, word games, and such) and an Appendix explaining the mathematics of Colin's Theorem. Brainy indeed.

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jane Dyer; HarperCollins; $13; all ages.
Little ones will think this is simply a big, colorful, whimsical picture book about the many ways of looking at a cookie. Adults who care about raising thoughtful children will see it differently: all the above as well as a clever way to impart important lessons. How better to illustrate "fair" as "You get a bite, I get a bite, you get a big bite, I get a big bite," by contrasting it with "unfair," meaning "You get a bite, and now I get the rest"? Kids may not remember where they first heard the terms patient, modest, respect, greedy vs. generous, and such, but it's all here, illustrated in bright, eye-catching watercolors.

Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon; Blue Sky/Scholastic; $16; ages 2 - 8.
Fergus, an energetic and lovable West Highland terrier, is the undisputed star of this laugh-out-loud dog-centric picture book filled with oversized drawings and lettering. No one but Fergus's owner would ever think of him as well-behaved as he romps through his day acting like many untrained canines who beg, mess up the house, refuse to come when called, chase cats and the like. But heck, Fergus is easily forgiven because he's so darn cute. What a good boy.

Why Do You Cry? Not a Sob Story by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Henry Holt; $17; ages 3 - 8.
Little Rabbit is about to celebrate his fifth birthday with a grown-up birthday party. He tells Mother Rabbit, "I'm done with crying. . . Crying is for babies, and I'm not a baby anymore." He decides to invite only those who are big, "like me," and don't cry. But when he surveys his animal friends, he finds out that they still do cry. Mother Rabbit weeps, too, even when she's happy. Little Rabbit can't believe all this! She tells him, "You can cry for any reason. Or for no reason at all." Growing up doesn't have to mean never crying again, so they throw a huge birthday bash for all his friends. Any mother of a child who seems to be growing up too fast will understand who's holding the hankie as Little Rabbit blows out the candles. The satisfying conclusion of this sweet story is illustrated with expressive animals, sly gags, and clever details on every page. Another Klise sisters gem!

Mom and Dad Are Palindromes by Mark Shulman, illustrated by Adam McCauley; Chronicle; $16; ages 5 - 9.
Bob has a problem. When his teacher, Miss Sim, explains that "Palindromes are words that are spelled exactly the same way, forward . . . and backward," she points out to the class that a palindrome is among them. It's Bob! That's when he begins to see palindromes everywhere: his pup, Otto; his kayak; his sisters Anna and Nan; and, of course, Mom and Dad. Young language fans will have great fun finding all the palindrome words and phrases in this playful picture book, and in their own world. Wow!

John Muir: America's First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Stan Fellows; Candlewick; $17; ages 4 - 12.
Here is a big, beautiful, picture book biography of the environmental icon and Sierra Club founder. Muir's love of the outdoors began in his native Scotland, and continued on his father's farm in Wisconsin. He studied and reveled in the natural environment ­ creatures, rock formations, stars. John also taught himself mathematics and turned into an amateur inventor. But he was happiest in meadows, mountains and woods. A lifelong walker, he walked a thousand miles to Florida, and later from San Francisco to the Yosemite Valley. At age 50 he directed his focus to conservation, and was almost single-handedly responsible for the creation of the first national park, his beloved Yosemite. Bold, vibrant, double-page watercolor paintings of John Muir and the great outdoors bring this story gloriously to life. Pick this book up before the family's summer trip to Yosemite.

Landed by Milly Lee, pictures by Yangsook Choi; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $16; ages 9 - 12.
This noteworthy and impressive picture book tells a true immigration experience from the early 20th century. The author's father-in-law, Lee Sun Chor, sailed from China to San Francisco with his father, a Chinatown merchant. But like other Chinese immigrants, Sun was detained at Angel Island for weeks, until he could be interrogated by immigration officials. While Sun was a "true son" of a Chinatown shopowner, many other immigrants came to America as "paper sons," posing as sons of merchants or U.S. citizens. It was the only way under the Chinese Exclusion Act for Chinese to immigrate legally. Sun studies hard for the interrogation, but when he's asked which direction the nearest neighbors' house back in China faces, he answered, "I don't know." Sun's poor sense of direction was in danger of sending him away from his father and brothers! Stellar storytelling and realistic watercolor paintings make this disturbing chapter of local and American history accessible without either sentimentality or bitterness. Twenty-first century children can learn a great deal from plucky Lee Sun Chor's story in "Landed," as well as Milly Lee's excellent author's note about Chinese immigration.

Caddy Ever After by Hilary McKay; McElderry/Simon & Schuster; $16; ages 10 - 14.
McKay's first three novels starring the hilarious, artistic and extremely likable Casson family (and friends) have racked up awards and a huge following in the U.S. and Britain. This newest offering is as entertaining and reads as swiftly as its predecessors.
Though told by alternating narrators Rose, Indigo, Saffron and Caddy, as usual the real star is young Rose. Rose, who soaks up her best friend Kiran's ghost stories and tales of wedding disasters. Rose, who always says precisely what's on her mind and is wiser and more observant than her older siblings - and they know it. Rose, who cannot let Caddy marry Alex because dear Michael, Caddy's only boyfriend who "mattered," asked Rose not to let Caddy marry anyone else. Rose, whose teacher implores her to tell the class during "Hot Gossip" how she saved the day at her sister's wedding. Quirky and endearing, "Caddy Ever After" epitomizes fun summertime reading.

Under the Baseball Moon by John H. Ritter; Philomel; $17; ages 12 and up.
The finest contemporary author of baseball books for teens ("The Boy Who Saved Baseball" et al) has written not just another baseball - or, in this case, softball - book; rather, a multilayered and thoroughly engrossing love story starring two 15-year-olds determined that this will be their "breakout summer." Freestyle skateboarder Andy Ramos "paints the town" with his old trumpet and his unique style of music, "cultural fusion." Glory Martinez also has grand dreams, of a career in fast-pitch softball. Yet first she needs to make the travelball team and impress the scout from UC Berkeley. Andy and Glory soon realize that each makes the other's craft better - takes it to a higher level. But is some strange "outside force" responsible for Andy's breaks, or Glory's shoulder problems? Did Andy make a deal with the devil? What's going on in this "organical beach town filled with soul," Ocean Beach, California? This magical mystery tale is told with brilliance, grace and style, from the lyrical first page to Andy's song lyrics that end it. "Under the Baseball Moon" gets my vote for breakout book of the summer.

Aftershocks by William Lavender; Harcourt Children's Books; $17; ages 12 and up.
The great San Francisco quake of 1906 may be the most physically earthshattering event in this sweeping, well-told historical novel. But a family secret involving power, harassment, deceit and racism both shakes up young Jessie Wrainwright's life and gives her focus and determination. It leads her to Chinatown (and later, the earthquake refugee camps) to look for Lee, the immigrant she loved who helped raise her, who left the Wainwright mansion suddenly with his niece Mei, and never returned. Jessie has many friends and makes more, whom she will need in order to rescue Mei's daughter from being sent to a cattle ranch or orphanage after the earthquake. And in spite of her father's many objections, she doggedly pursues her dream of a career in medicine. This is a book that will keep readers turning pages well past their bedtimes. Yet isn't that the fun of summer reading?

Baby Brains Superstar by Simon James; Candlewick; $16; ages 2 - 8.
Baby Brains, whose mother played classical music for him in utero, is a musical prodigy. Naturally, his parents send him to music school. He masters several instruments, but he loves the electric guitar best. Soon he wins a talent contest and is asked to be the opening act for "the biggest outdoor music concert of all time." He writes a new song, has a new outfit made and gets his (one) hair cut. But when his big moment comes, he turns into, well, a baby. Cheerful watercolors help tell this story that will have little ones laughing along with their parents.

The Jade Stone: A Chinese Folktale, adapted by Caryn Yacowitz, illustrated by Ju-Hong Chen; Pelican; $15.95; ages 3 - 8.
Palo Alto author Caryn Yacowitz's celebrated book that retells a Chinese folktale has just been reissued with a gorgeous new cover. It's the story of Chan Lo, a stone carver who listens to the stones tell him what they want to be. The Great Emperor orders Chan Lo to carve a perfect piece of jade into a dragon, "a dragon of wind and fire" for the emperor. But the sounds coming from the stone are gentle sounds of water, not dragon sounds. Chan Lo wants to please the emperor, but he also must remain true to his art. He carves three carp "swimming playfully in the reeds in the pool of the Celestial Palace." The emperor is so angry that he has Chan Lo thrown into the dungeon. Before Chan Lo can be punished further, the emperor listens himself to the jade stone. Artistic integrity - and Chan Lo - are the real winners of this charming picture book.

Nacho and Lolita by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Claudia Rueda; Scholastic; $17; ages 4 - 9.
Here is a new, gloriously illustrated story about the famed swallows of San Juan Capistrano. It's an old story, too, as the author based it on a folktale she heard from her Mexican grandmother. Nacho is a rare bird with colorful feathers and a gift of song, but no avian pals. He takes up residence at the dry, dusty mission. When the swallows arrive in March after their annual migration, he sings for them and helps them build their summer nests. He also falls in love with a swallow named Lolita. Alas, he's too big to join her and the others when they fly to South America for the winter. Lolita tells him they may not return to the mission again because the water has been drying up, and with it the flowers they need to attract insects. Nacho can't let that happen! He uses his magical feathers to transform the landscape into a floral paradise before his loved one's return, and ensure that the swallows will always come back to San Juan Capistrano. The illustrator is a Colombian native who herself migrated to Stanford while meticulously researching missions, swallows, and Juaneo Indians. Her colored pencil drawings are stunning in both color and detail. There is also a Spanish paperback edition of this book, called Nacho y Lolita.

Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Harcourt; $15; ages 8 - 12.
The latest in the Regarding the Sink series is another page-turner sure to elicit giggles from young readers. Like its predecessors, it's a pun-filled, fun-filled tale told in letters, faxes, notes, newspaper spreads, phone messages, blackboard assignments, post cards and drawings, as well as a wedding video transcript and minutes from an old Geyser Creek club called the Maids of May. Italian lessons are thrown in for flavor. The multiple plots, misunderstandings, and plot twists all relate to trees, beginning with the middle school's weeping willow tree, which Principal Walter Russ thinks needs trimming. He enlists the help of Geyser Creek's old friend Florence Waters, who mistakes his tree proposal for a marriage proposal. Flo's friend Chef Angelo sets up an Italian restaurant in the former school cafeteria and tries to take customers from Angel Fisch, owner of Geyser Creek Café. This sets off a gender war that spreads to Sam N.'s sixth-grade class. All's well that ends well, with a May Day wedding - weddings, actually - under the willow tree.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall; Knopf; $16; ages 8 - 12.
This year's winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature is a wonderfully old-fashioned story set in contemporary Massachusetts. Four sisters travel with their widowed professor father to the country for a three-week summer holiday. Each girl has a distinct personality: responsible Rosalind, 12; Skye, 11, athletic and headstrong; Jane, 10, the writer and romantic; and shy four-year-old Batty, who wears butterfly wings wherever she goes. Rounding out this appealing, spunky family is a dog named Hound. Like the girls, he's not very obedient. The cozy cottage they rent is on the edge of an estate inhabited by a snooty Mrs. Tipton and her 11-year-old son, Jeffrey, who would rather go on adventures with the Penderwicks or play the piano than head off to military school. Filled with memorable characters, scenes, family traditions and gentle humor, this book begs to be read aloud ­ or under the covers.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko; Putnam's; $16; ages 9 - 13.
This book with the winning title also won a Newbery Honor earlier this year, so many young readers already know about it. For those who don't, they're in for a treat. It's 1935, and Moose Flanagan's family has just moved to Alcatraz Island, or as Moose describes it: " . . . a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water." His father works two jobs, as a prison guard and an island electrician, so his sister can go to a special school in San Francisco. Though the term autistic never appears in the story (because autism hadn't yet been identified), Natalie's behavior is clearly autistic. Moose's mother devotes herself entirely to finding a school to help Natalie become an independent adult. When the new school sends her back to Alcatraz, Moose's real troubles begin. He needs to watch Natalie in the afternoon so his mother can teach piano to pay for Natalie's tutor, when what he really wants to do is play baseball in San Francisco. The other kids who live on the island challenge Moose, but they also begin to help him with Natalie. And the prisoners in the cell house - Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly et al - who were sent to Alcatraz "by being the worst of the worst," are always on Moose's mind. Bay Area children will especially appreciate reading a kid's perspective of living on Alcatraz.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch; Ginee Seo/Atheneum; $17; ages 13 and up.
Keir, the 18-year-old narrator of this fine and important book for teens, has a gazillion excuses for his destructive behavior. He's a good guy, after all, whose two "brainy, insightful older sisters" support him. He'd rather "stay at home on a Saturday night to play a board game with his dad than go to a party." He wants everyone to like him. A guy like that couldn't rape the girl he's had a crush on since kindergarten, could he? You bet, especially when alcohol is involved. Told in chapters that alternate between the minutes just after the date rape and Keir's version of the incidents over his senior year of high school that led up to it, "Inexcusable" sucks the reader into Keir's head and his conscience for an unforgettable story.

Permanent Rose by Hilary McKay; Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster; $15.95; ages 9 - 12.
The artsy, hilarious Casson family and assorted friends are back, and this installment is as much a page-turner as the multi-award-winning book that began their saga, "Saffy's Angel." It's the last, sweltering week of a British summer, and eight-year-old Rose, the "real artist of the Casson family," draws pictures on the walls of the house while waiting for a letter from her guitar-playing best friend, Tom, who returned to America suddenly at the end of the school year. Older brother Indigo, who was also best friends with Tom, reads to Rose the story of Sir Lancelot. Eldest daughter Caddy is home from college and having doubts about marrying her fiance, adorable though Michael is. Cousin Saffy is determined to find her biological father. Mother Eve paints pictures in her garden shed or decorates the walls of the local hospital with cheerful art. Father Bill is still in his studio in London; he has a new girlfriend. The author deftly manages to pull all these threads and even more characters together in a story with never a dull moment. Permanent Rose is a fabulously fun summer read-aloud book for the entire family.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales; Wendy Lamb/Random House; $15.95; ages 12 and up.
This charming novel by Stanford author Viola Canales is a book of stories about a family, a culture and a young girl who is smart enough to appreciate the richness of where she came from when she eventually goes away. In her barrio, Sofia is surrounded by a loving family and a community steeped in tradition. Though she does not want a quinceanera herself, she serves as the dama de honor for her cousin and best friend, Berta, when Berta turns 15. What Sofia really wants is to accept the scholarship she won to an Episcopal boarding school in Austin, 350 miles away. But to do that she needs her parents' permission, five decent dresses, and 400 dollars - each a seemingly insurmountable task. Readers will enjoy following Sofia along the way toward reaching her goal, and the culture shock that greets her at Saint Luke's. She also undoubtedly shocks some of her classmates when she and two friends take her papa's "definitive cure for homesickness": chewing and swallowing a squishy tequila worm. Sometimes humorous and always thoughtful, Canales has taken her own experience and expertly universalized it. Look to The Tequila Worm for a shining example of young adult literature at its best.

Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg; Candlewick; $15.99; ages 1 - 4.
Cornelius P. Mud is an adorable little piggy who has his own ideas about how to get ready for bed ­ he puts his toys away (in the refrigerator); he feeds his fish (chocolate chip cookies); he uses the bathroom (to ride his stick horse on top of the toilet); he brushes his teeth (with a scrubbrush); he puts his pajamas on (plus an innertube, snorkel and mask, and bat wings); and he chooses a book (more like 15 books). But there's one thing missing in his bedtime routine: a hug. This cute bedtime book has big, bright, child-friendly illustrations and lettering, and humor that will make it stand up through multiple bedtime readings.

You're Not My REAL Mother by Molly Friedrich, illustrated by Christy Hale; Little, Brown; $15.99; ages 2 - 8.
It is a sentiment familiar to adopted children, especially those taken into a family of a different race - that Mom can't be the "real" mother because she doesn't "look like me." This heartwarming story starring a mixed-race young girl and her blond mother, is beautifully brought to life by Palo Alto illustrator Christy Hale. It gives concrete examples of the love and guidance all moms provide for their children, such as letting the daughter use twenty bandages instead of just one; driving to retrieve a lost stuffed animal; teaching manners, counting, shoe tying, teeth brushing, and jacket zipping; hugging and kissing and hugging some more; and bending the rules when it feels right. This timely and timeless picture book would make an outstanding and important addition to the home libraries of thousands of Peninsula families.

Russell the Sheep, written and illustrated by Rob Scotton; HarperCollins; $15.99; ages 3 - 7.
For parents like me who feel their families can never have too many bedtime books, here is another gem. Russell the sheep simply cannot fall asleep. A true insomniac, he tries every trick in the field, even (natch) counting sheep. Russell's tale is told and illustrated with wit and charm in gorgeous hues of blue, green and purple. Children will cheer at Russell's eventual success, and adults won't mind hearing the familiar "Read it again!" cry when it's for Russell the sheep.

Papa, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Josse, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee; Chronicle; $15.95; ages 3 - 8.
The unconditional love shown so brilliantly in the perennial bestseller "Mama, Do You Love Me?" comes through again with style and originality in this follow-up picture book. The series of "What if?" questions posed by a Maasai boy for his patient Papa elicit "Then . . ." replies that are both reassuring and illustrative of this African culture and land. Lavalee's watercolor paintings are stunning in both color and detail. Older children and parents will appreciate the appended glossary of African terms.

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter; Harcourt; $16; ages 4 and up.
Inevitably, children have heard of the war in Iraq. In this account of present-day heroism they meet Alia Muhammad Baker, the librarian of the port city of Basra, and learn through story and pictures about war's impact and one woman's courage and determination to save the written word. Alia "takes matters into her own hands" when fighting is imminent in Iraq, and begins to remove some of the library's precious books to the safety of her home. She steps up her efforts as war reaches Basra, and enlists her friends and neighbors to help her hide the books, including a 700-year-old biography of Muhammad, in a nearby restaurant. Just as she feared, the library burns to the ground. Alia knows she must move the books, all 30,000 of them, again, so she hires a truck to take them to her house and her friends' homes for safe keeping. There they wait - for peace, and a new library. Alia Muhammad Baker's story was originally reported in the New York Times three years ago. A portion of the proceeds from this amazing children's book will be donated to a fund to help rebuild the book collection of the Basra library.

The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino by Dan Shaughnessy, illustrated by C.F. Payne; Simon & Schuster; $16.95; ages 5 - 8.
Summer just isn't summer without a new baseball book. In this one, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy cleverly has a father telling his daughter the story of the Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees, and the supposed bad luck that trade led to for the next 86 years. C.F. Payne's illustrations of the Babe are appropriately oversized, as are the drawings of the heroes of the Red Sox team from last October, when the curse was finally, and triumphantly, reversed. Another excellent book for young fans of baseball history is "Ballpark: The Story of America's Baseball Fields," by Lynn Curlee (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster; $17.95; all ages).

Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee, illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy; Charlesbridge; $15.95; ages 6 - 12.
Some alphabet books are forced and gimmicky ("B is for Buckaroo," "P is for Putt," etc.), but others are so good that each page is a delight to read and study, and the text flows naturally from A to Z. Put Palo Alto author Cynthia Chin-Lee's latest picture book in the latter, "great" category. Chin-Lee captures the essence of the lives of 26 important and diverse 20th century women with readable, inspiring mini-biographies and quotes. The illustrators used a variety of stunning colorful collages to show the women in their proper historical contexts as well as what they looked like: Jane Goodall holding a chimpanzee in an African forest; Lena Horne in front of an old-fashioned microphone, surrounded by sheet music; Eleanor Roosevelt towering over the White House and U.S. Capitol, from which she made such an impact; Mother Teresa holding stick-figure drawings of unhappy children; Kristi Yamaguchi on the ice. A bibliography and author's note will encourage children to learn more about these and other women, and add to the gift appeal of this fine picture book.

Novel of the Year 2004: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer; Atheneum/Richard Jackson; $17.95; ages 10 - 15.

Menlo Park's Nancy Farmer, already the recipient of a National Book Award and three Newbery Honors, has written her best book yet. Read this out loud. Read it twice. It is a sweeping epic novel rich with detail and broad, important themes that somehow manages to be touching without being sentimental. There is enough reality to make the fantasy believable, and enough good in the bad characters to make them likeable.

The year is 783 A.D., a time when Northmen raided the Saxon coast with ruthless abandon. Eleven-year-old Jack, an apprentice bard, and his five-year-old golden child sister, Lucy, are kidnapped by bloodthirsty Northmen, known as berserkers, and carried off across the sea. Here, just some of the memorable, colorful characters Jack encounters in his adventure that spans two worlds: Olaf One-Brow, the larger-than-life leader of the berserkers; Thorgil, a 12-year-old shield maiden whose goal in life is to die heroically in battle and go to Valhalla; Bold Heart, a noble crow; Heidi, Olaf's chief wife, a wise woman who hisses when she speaks; Queen Frith, a half-troll shape-shifter who terrorizes her kingdom; Golden Bristles, a troll-boar capable of destruction as well as heroism; and the Mountain Queen and her daughters, nine-foot trolls with bristly orange hair and fangs. Jack's quest to save Lucy from being sacrificed to the goddess Freya leads him and Thorgil, his unlikely and never-dull companion, through a land of flying dragons and a murderous troll-bear to the home of the Mountain Queen, and ultimately to Mimir's well and the life force itself.

The Sea of Trolls is not without violence - these are Vikings, after all, who pillaged for a living. Boys will devour it. But so will girls, as the narrative, which moves as swiftly as a Northmen's ship in a stiff breeze, features strong, complex female characters. Too, it's packed with moments of humor ("Aren't these people ever called Gizur the Good or Magnus the Merry?") and comes to a surprising, satisfying conclusion. (And then another.) It is easily the children's book of the year.

Christmas Books:

Shall I Knit You a Hat? A Christmas Yarn by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Henry Holt; $16.95; ages 4 - 8.
Those clever Klise sisters, the author and illustrator team of popular books for middle-grade readers, have created a charming holiday story wonderfully brought to life with vibrant, fun-filled illustrations. When Mother Rabbit hears a Christmas Eve blizzard is on the way, she offers to knit Little Rabbit a hat. He likes his hat so much that he thinks they should make hats for their friends as Christmas presents. Next day they set out to measure, sometimes surreptitiously, the animals for Little Rabbit's custom designs. The Rabbits work late into the night on their creations. But when the horse, the cat, the goose, the deer, the dog, and the squirrel don their new colorful, practical hats on Christmas Eve, it's clear from the expressions on their animal faces that they are less than thrilled. Yet when the snow begins to fall, they realize just how ingenious, and thoughtful, the Rabbits are. Little ones will get a kick out of the amusing details on every page. They might even be inspired to ask for a knit hat for Christmas!

My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, illustrated by H. B. Lewis; Candlewick Press; $16.99; ages 4 - 8.
This Christmas, Joe is "really, really careful" in his letter to Santa. He asks specifically for a live penguin. Santa brings one, and he's adorable. His tag says his name is Osbert. And because Joe asked for him, he goes along with Osbert's requests: long, cold baths, creamed herring with seaweed for breakfast, and days spent in the snow. Joe also has to clean up the melted ice cream igloo village Osbert makes in his room. So in his thank-you note to Santa, Joe adds in a P.S. that it would be okay if Santa traded Osbert for a different present. Might both boy and penguin be happier if Osbert went to live in the new Penguin Palace at the zoo, where creamed herring is always on the menu? Even California kids who would never be able to house a penguin will warm to this cute tale, exquisitely rendered in soft pastels.

Other notable picture, art, and poetry books:

nonsense! poems by Edward Lear, pictures by Valorie Fisher; Atheneum/Anne Schwartz; $16.95; ages 4 and up.
Edward Lear's limericks ("There was a young lady of Firle . . ." etc.) have entertained generations of children since 1848. Here the nonsense verse practically jumps off the page in dazzling, sometimes 3-D-like illustrations that also cleverly explain some of the words, expressions and geographic locations in the poems.
A short biography of Lear and map of his world conclude "nonsense!" and add to its gift appeal this holiday season.

Rules of the Wild: An Unruly Book of Manners by Bridget Levin, illustrated by Amanda Shepherd; Chronicle Books; $14.95; ages 3 - 8.
Children may have to obey rules, but wild animals? Why, they're free to burp, stay up all night, splash on one another, spit, roar, chew with their mouths open, pig out, bathe in the dirt - all the fun stuff!
This witty picture book told in rhyme follows a rambunctious little boy as he cavorts with his animal friends: walruses, bears, dolphins, elephants, lions, cows, pigs, groundhogs and more, having a grand old time by stating, then breaking rules of behavior that children will easily recognize.

Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces by Henry Sayre; Chronicle Books; $22.95; ages 10 and up.
This coffee table worthy book is also worthy of study by any child with a mere modicum of interest in art. Oregon State Art History Professor Henry Sayle manages to cover about 24,000 years and at least a dozen techniques used through the centuries the world over - painting, carving, sculpture, tapestry, illustration, fresco, calligraphy, pottery and more. He puts the works in a historical context, and his stories about the pieces are inspiring as well as informative. Most of the biggies are here: the David, Mona Lisa, King Tut's mummy, Impressionists, and 20th century luminaries such as Georgia O'Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Diego Rivera and Andy Warhol. But so is a Colossal Olmec Head (Mexico, c. 800 - 400 B.C.), a Native American buffalo hide, and a life-sized cave painting of bulls that dates from 15,000 - 13,000 B.C. in France. A timeline and glossary complete this gorgeous volume, a fabulous gift idea for any family.

Other notable novels:

The Pepins and Their Problems by Polly Horvath, pictures by Marylin Hafner; Farrar Straus Giroux; $16; ages 6 - 12.
Polly Horvath's books beg to be read aloud - they're wildly entertaining and original, yet also surprisingly thought-provoking. "The Pepins" is for a younger audience than Horvath's award-winning Everything on a Waffle and The Trolls, and should bring her new fans. Young readers and listeners will be pulled in by the fun illustrations by popular illustrator Marylin Hafner.

The Pepins - parents, two kids, and their talking dog, cat and cow - have problems. They, and "the author," ask readers to help them solve their problems, such as: waking up to find toads in their shoes; becoming stranded on the roof, where they went to watch the sunset; deciding which is the better neighbor, Mr. Bradshaw or Miss Poopenstat; and losing track of their cutlery when they become involved in so many classes and community activities that they stop having family dinners. "Readers" from towns including Boring, Maryland; Sedro-Woolley, Washington; Miami, Oklahoma; Zig-Zag, Oregon; and Last Chance, Colorado, weigh in with suggestions. Horvath uses humor and sophisticated language to tell her stories, which conclude with a subtle point about the dangers of over-scheduled kids and parents. It's a message families should heed - even those of us whose dogs aren't able to tell us, "I am once again OUT OF KIBBLE!" (In words, that is.)

Cobwebs by Karen Romano Young; Greenwillow/Harper Collins; $15.99; ages 12 and up.
Nancy, the protagonist of this intriguing page-turner by the author of the popular The Beetle and Me: A Love Story, knows there is something that makes her family special. Though she lives in a world of backpacks, homeroom, gossip, and school dances that teenage readers will readily recognize, she's pretty sure her parents are, well, spiders. Mom Rachel lives in a basement apartment, where she weaves and never leaves. Grandpa Joke and Granny live upstairs; they're healers. Dad Ned has made a rooftop home for himself. He sprints across the roofs of Brooklyn, and may even be the "Angel of Brooklyn" written about in the papers. Nancy, who moves back and forth between her downstairs and rooftop homes, wonders if she will develop into a spider. If so, then where is her "spiderness"? And why is she afraid of heights? Dion, a boy she first saw balancing on the rail of the Brooklyn Bridge, might be at the center of the "web of unbelievable strands" that weave together into a satisfying conclusion of this novel rich with details both real and fantastic.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis; Wendy Lamb Books/Random House; $15.95; ages 12 and up.
Luther T. Farrell is Newbery Award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis's latest hilarious narrator and hero. He has a plan: to be "America's best-known, best-paid philosopher" by the time he's twenty-one. In the meantime, his mother, aka the Sarge and the meanest, baddest, crookedest loan shark and slum landlord in Flint, has put 14-year-old Luther in charge of the Happy Neighbor Group Home for Men. When Luther isn't making sure his "crew" gets "shaved, dressed, washed up, medicated, driven to the rehab center, and driven to their doctors' appointments and therapy sessions," he attends eighth grade, helps his friend Sparky with his crazy get-rich schemes, learns about life from daytime TV and his mysterious 80-year-old roommate, adores the undertaker's daughter, and works late into the night on his science fair project. Amazingly, he makes more good choices than bad. He's determined to win the science fair, but so is the undertaker's daughter. Teens will laugh out loud at Luther's myriad musings, and cheer for his victories.


Picture books and novels published earlier in 2004:

Good Night, Harry by Kim Lewis; Candlewick Press; $15.99; ages birth - 3 years.
Harry, an adorable stuffed elephant, can't get to sleep. While his friends Lulu and Ted snooze away, poor Harry tries everything - reading a bedtime story, tidying his room, exercising, changing sleeping positions. And then, like many insomniacs, Harry starts to worry. Uh-oh. When he rolls over and takes all the blankets, Lulu and Ted wake up. They remind him that they're there for him. The three stuffies sit close together on the bed and quietly contemplate the outside world. Harry relaxes. He falls fast asleep. With words as soothing as a lullaby and soft pastel illustrations of characters that make you smile, this is a perfect bedtime book.

Doors by Roxie Munro; Chronicle Books; $15.95; ages 2 - 6.
Toddlers and preschoolers love lift-the-flap books. This clever addition to the genre also has flaps within the flap doors, and dozens of familiar as well as unusual objects for little ones to look for and learn the names of. Not only that, it's written in rhyme, which makes it an engaging read-aloud.

Roger, the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist; HarperCollins; $15.99 ages 4 - 7.
Ahoy, pirate fans, here's the rollicking tale of Jolly Roger, a "lousy pirate" who "smiled instead of scowling . . . grinned instead of growling." Poor fellow - not only do the other pirates call him a degrading name, they send him below deck whenever they indulge in "serious pirating." Then one day they are attacked by the Admiral, who "had vowed to bring every pirate to justice." No one suspected that Roger would choose this time to mistake a cannon for a pot, and use it to bake a cake to try to get on the good side of the other pirates. Kablam! Roger is blown up through the deck, covered in flour. The Admiral and his men think they've seen a ghost or a skeleton and quickly abandon ship. Suddenly Jolly Roger is a hero, and all pirates fly a flag in his honor. Young pirate-lovers are sure to want to hear this book over and over.

Daffodil by Emily Jenkins, pictures by Tomek Bogacki; Farrar Straus & Giroux/Frances Foster; $16; ages 4 - 8.
Daffodil, Violet, and Rose are identical triplets. Even their mother has trouble telling them apart. So when the girls go to parties, they wear fancy dresses in colors that correspond to their names. Daffodil thinks her sisters are "lucky ducks" to be able to wear pretty dresses in violet and pink, when hers is yellow: "Sour, fake-cheerful yellow that reminded Daffodil of pee." One day she refuses to wear the yellow dress. That's not a surprise, for she admits to having a "big mouth." But it turns out Violet and Rose aren't too thrilled with their party dresses either. Finally, Daffodil, Violet and Rose get to choose new party clothes in "any colors they wanted." Playful, colorful pictures beautifully illustrate this laugh-out-loud book celebrating individuality.

Mighty Jackie - the Strikeout Queen by Marissa Moss, illustrated by C. F. Payne; Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman; $16.95; ages 5 - 8.
Every summer deserves a good baseball book. John H. Ritter, the best contemporary baseball novelist for young readers, doesn't have a new offering this year (so check out The Boy Who Saved Baseball, Ritter's 2003 stellar addition to the literature, now available in paperback). Fortunately, Palo Alto native Marissa Moss has stepped in to write a nifty picture book about the first professional female pitcher in baseball history.
Jackie Mitchell was a 17-year-old southpaw for the Chattanooga Lookouts when the New York Yankees came through town for an exhibition game in the spring of 1931. Jackie, who had dreamed since she was a little girl of playing in the World Series, was more than up to the task. Moss and illustrator C. F. Payne recreate Jackie's pitch sequence to two baseball legends, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in riveting detail. Jackie struck them both out. Really. A beautiful book showing the rewards of grit and determination, Mighty Jackie will be especially appealing to girls - and women - who were told that all girls obviously "throw like a girl."

Regarding the Sink by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise; Harcourt/Gulliver; $15; ages 9 - 12.
Yahoo! At long last, Kate and Sarah Klise have penned a sequel to Regarding the Fountain, the wildly popular and award-winning book about the clever kids of Geyser Creek Middle School. Regarding the Sink is a fun-filled (and pun-filled) mystery told in letters, newspaper stories, blackboard jottings, sink designs, feng shui instructions, stock quotes and tips, BEAN-MAIL, and even a singing telegram that really spills the beans. This is the stuff kids love to read - read easily and multiple times.

The story? When the school's cafeteria sink becomes hopelessly clogged, Sam N's sixth-grade class turns to Florence Waters, their "Fountain Designer and Friend Extraordinaire." Alas, Flo has been missing for months - in China! The kids get the money they need for a class trip to Asia, where they follow their noses, go with the flow, and "use their beans" to uncover a nasty scheme orchestrated by none other than their own U.S. Senator. Naturally, they also rescue their friend Florence. (Adults who read this book along with their children may, like me, make a connection between Senator Ergass's company, AIR-igate, and California's least-favorite energy supplier, Enron.)

This is a fabulously fun book for kids to read and re-read. It also may very well inspire them to write a nice letter to someone they care about, since "a good letter is priceless."

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau; Random House; $15.95; ages 9 - 12.
Menlo Park author Jeanne DuPrau follows up her highly acclaimed, bestselling debut novel, The City of Ember (review below), with a wonderfully compelling and morally intriguing sequel.
Thanks to the cleverness of Lina and Doon, the Emberites have found their way out of their dying city of darkness and into a post-apocalyptic world of light. The leaders of the settlement of Sparks, knowing that jealousy and revenge had led to the Disaster and the end of civilization as we in 2004 know it, want to do the right thing and be welcoming to the "cavepeople." But supplies are limited, and refugees outnumber townspeople. Soon resentment and suspicion build between the groups. Lina goes looking for the city she dreamed of when she was in Ember, hoping it could be a new home for her people. What she finds (San Francisco 200 years after a nuclear holocaust?) isn't pretty. Doon, meanwhile, is drawn to an older boy whose main goal is to incite a violent settler rebellion. The people of Sparks aren't any better ­ they plan to kick the Emberites out into the desert. But in the end, Lina and Doon find a way to inspire both sides into doing the right thing. The People of Sparks will have kids thinking long after they finish the last page.

And these are some of my favorite books of 2003:

Owl Babies Boxed Set by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson; Candlewick Press; $12.99; ages 6 months - 3 years.
My teenage daughters and I can still recite lines from this perfectly perfect picture book first published 11 years ago, newly reissued in a board book and toy gift set. Sarah and Percy and Bill are three anxious owl siblings who stick together through the night, trying not to think about their mother's absence. Yet because "all owls think a lot," they express feelings familiar to all toddlers who worry that their parents won't return from wherever adults go when they leave the nest. The Owl Mother's return reminds her little ones, and the board book audience, that separations are temporary. This timeless story is beautifully complemented by exquisite illustrations of the most expressive baby animals in any children's book. The 5" toy adds to the gift appeal of a modern classic that translates well into the board book format (not all do).

The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann; G. P. Putnam's Sons; $16.99; ages six months - 8.
Palo Alto (and Debbie Duncan) favorite and Caldecott medalist (Officer Buckle and Gloria) Peggy Rathmann's latest gem is illustrated in silhouettes, and oh, are they gorgeous! The story and pictures follow an intrepid young boy in a firefighter's hat as he rescues babies who have crawled away from the fair and through trees and a bat cave and out onto and over a cliff. (Don't worry: young children recognize make-believe when it's depicted this cleverly.) Using rhythm, rhyme, and repetition, Rathmann manages to be both predictable and surprising from one glorious silhouetted page to the next. The babies lead, the little boy follows, and then he gets them to turn around and go back safely while the day fades away against a changing, brilliant sky. Even children who don't read will look for each of the five babies in the two-page spreads as the escapees explore their world of butterflies, bees, and birds. Careful observers will also find the main characters in their homes on the hill that begin and end this spectacular book sure to be a hit with all ages.

The Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, pictures by Harry Bliss; HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler; $15.99; ages 4 - 8.
Everyone, especially young children, loves humor. And everyone will find humor aplenty in the observations and illustrations in Diary of a Worm. The worm-boy in the red baseball hat decides that "Hopscotch is a very dangerous game," especially when worms have to spend the day on the sidewalk after a rainstorm. When he forgets his lunch, he eats his homework. Then he eats the punishment his teacher makes him write. Grandpa worm, who lives with the diarist and his parents in a cozy hole house under the ground, teaches the importance of good manners. The worm says good morning to one ant . . . and the 600 ants behind her. At the school dance, the worms can only do two moves of the hokey pokey. But worms never have to go to the dentist ("No cavities - no teeth, either," says Dr. D. Kay) or take a bath. And they even help the earth, to boot. Comedy and a science lesson, all in one clever picture book.

The Elephant's Pillow by Diana Reynolds Roome, illustrated by Jude Daly; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $16; ages 4 - 8.
Mountain View author Diane Reynolds Roome first heard this original bedtime tale from her father. Sing Lo, a spoiled son of a rich merchant, wants to see the greatest sight in Peking, the Imperial Elephant. The poor animal is in a nasty mood from not having slept since the old Emperor died, so Sing Lo sets out to solve his problem. He finds the beast's favorite honey-glazed buns; fills a golden bowl with honey, ginger, and milk; commissions a yellow silk pillow bigger than the elephant; and scratches the Imperial Elephant right where it wants, behind the ear. Ah, sleep for the elephant, and the satisfaction for Sing Lo that comes from doing a good deed. The golden tones in the text are brought to life in vibrant paintings of yellows and reds and blues that have an ancient Chinese feeling. The Elephant's Pillow is a beautifully written, soothing bedtime story with museum-quality illustrations.

Brundibar, retold by Tony Kushner, pictures by Maurice Sendak; Hyperion/Michael di Capua; ages 4 and up.
The brilliant duo of Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak has pulled off the children's book publishing sensation of the season with this unique, wonderful and complex picture book. Playwright Kushner here retells a Czech opera performed 55 times by the children of Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp. Artist extraordinaire Sendak adds detail and life and jump-off-the page character to an old-fashioned European story of a brother and sister who go to town for milk for their sick mother. They decide to sing for the money they need, but a bully of an organ grinder named Brundibar prohibits them from encroaching upon his territory. Help arrives in the form of three talking animals and 300 schoolchildren. The brother and sister sing, the townspeople and animals chase the bully and thief Brundibar out of town, and the mother gets the milk she needs. Happy ending? Well, not really. Kushner reminds his audience in a postscript from Brundibar, which Sendak has handwritten across a ticket for the 1940's opera that big, bad bullies never really go away. Most of the children who performed "Brundibar," as well as its composer, were killed in the Holocaust. Please don't let that scare you away from bringing this important book into your family's life.

Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad, pictures by David Diaz; Scholastic/Cartwheel; $15.95; ages 5 - 10.
The stunning paintings in this book do not simply illustrate the familiar Christmas song, they illuminate it. An introductory page about the parranda, a Puerto Rican Christmas tradition, explains the inspiration for Jose Feliciano's lyrics. The book is filled with oversized, bold artwork that will make young painters get out their supplies in order to illustrate their own families' holiday traditions and gatherings, as Diaz has done for Feliciano's Feliz Navidad.

The Tale of Despereaux: being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering; Candlewick Press; ages 9 - 12 (younger when read aloud). Winner, 2004 Newbery Medal.
Parents who have been waiting for another entertaining family read-aloud from the author of the wildly popular Because of Winn-Dixie are in for a real treat. Short chapters and an intimate "Dear reader" style draw the listener or reader into this story of love, light, and forgiveness. And like all good fairy tales, it has the dark tones children crave. Despereaux, a tiny mouse with enormous ears and a big heart, falls in love with the young Princess Pea and lets her touch him. He also sits at the foot of the king. This unmouselike behavior causes the Mouse Council to banish him to the dark, smelly dungeon, where he's sure to be eaten by the rats. Despereaux saves himself, however, by telling a story to the human jailer. We then meet one of the dungeon's resident rats, who finds his way up to the light of the castle only to scare the queen to death when he falls into her soup. A poor, slow-witted girl with a fervent desire to be a princess ends up as Princess Pea's serving girl. The girl, hoping to trade places with the princess, follows the rat's orders and leads the princess to the dungeon. Ultimately, Despereaux fulfills his "once upon a time" destiny as Princess Pea's knight in shining armor when all the main characters come together in a satisfying conclusion. Some even have a change of heart. The classic quality of this story is enhanced by the book's striking design of feathered paper edges as well as soft, yet vivid pencil illustrations.

13: Thirteen stories that capture the agony and ecstasy of being thirteen, edited by James Howe; Simon and Schuster/Atheneum; $16.95; ages 12 and up.
The original stories in this collection show that the best writers for children haven't forgotten what it's like to be a child or a young teen. Thirteen is a time of questions: Who am I? What are the rules? Who decides them? And for many, why am different? Thirteen is about making choices, and mistakes, of feeling invisible one moment, and the next as if the whole world is staring at you and not liking what they see. It's about misconceptions and experimentation. It's about discovering the opposite sex, or that you may be attracted to your own sex. Thirteen means dealing with clueless parents who have forgotten what it's like to be thirteen. There are humorous, thoughtful, and touching stories in this book about all kinds of kids, and for all types of middle school readers and their clueless parents.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling; Scholastic/Levine; $29.99; ages 9 and up.

It weighs in at over 2.5 pounds, fills 870 pages (in 11.5 point type), and is a publishing phenomenon extraordinaire: a first printing of 8.5 million copies, none to be sold before 12:01 a.m. on the date of publication. Midnight parties added to the magic of the release of the most-anticipated children's book ever. Is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix magic, or is it just hype?

It's magic. (Beanie Babies, on the other hand, were hype. So were the Harry Potter movies.) This book is worth every penny of the cover price and the time it takes to read it. I have been writing about the Harry Potter books for the Weekly since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone first caught my attention in 1998. Four books later, J. K. Rowling still hasn't let me down: the amazingly imaginative details she conjures up about the wizarding world (Extendable Ears, anyone?) are matched by masterful storytelling and fillips of humor.

Unlike characters in most other children's series, Harry Potter grows up from book to book. He's 15 in Phoenix, and very much a teenager-this is certainly a young adult book. Younger readers may not like the angry Harry, but he is as real as a fictional wizard can be as he lashes out at his friends and then regrets it, acts recklessly, and entirely misunderstands the opposite sex. Yes, this book is darker than previous installments. It's a tough year for all fifth-year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, what with piles of homework in preparation for the dreaded O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams at year's end. Harry is also being ridiculed in the press and in the portrait-lined halls of Hogwarts, endures the wrath of the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor (a cross between Saddam Hussein and JohnAshcroft), and is haunted by a recurring nightmare. Rowling let it be known in interviews that a main character dies in this book; guessing that person's identity has become a popular speculation among fans and is one of oodles of reasons to keep reading till the end.

The the best thing about The Order of the Phoenix and the Harry Potter phenomenon is that kids aren't going to want to stop reading, even after they finish this book. Here it is, the beginning of summer, and children and teens are wanting to read! If they're looking for other books to plunge into on these homework-less and O.W.L.-free nights, check out the titles below.

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byne; HarperCollins; $16.99; ages 8 - 12.
This entertaining British import should find a wide American audience this summer. Molly Moon, a self-described awkward and ugly orphan who is picked on by (almost) every child and (almost) every adult, finds an old book about hypnotism that turns her life around. Molly begins by hypnotizing the ornery pug kept by the head of the orphanage, and soon she is an expert, hypnotizing audiences in England and New York to think she's the greatest actress ever, and taking up residence in the Royal Suite at the Waldorf. Yet right behind her is the evil Professor Nockman. He wants the hypnotism book, and if he can't get that, he'll get Molly to pull off the biggest jewelry heist in American history. Molly needs all her skills, wits, and the help of her best friend Rocky to extricate herself from that predicament, and return home where she's needed. A few major plot twists keep the story moving along to a surprising conclusion. Children will be mesmerized; Hollywood movie to follow.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau; Random House; $15.95; ages 9 - 13.
Menlo Park author Jeanne DuPrau's first novel for children will keep kids reading late into the night to find out what happens in this intriguing and satisfying story. The sky has always been dark in the 200-plus year-old City of Ember. Supplies and time are running out, however, and it's up to a couple of curious, thoughtful 12-year-olds, Lina and Doon, to save humanity. Lina has found a list of what she is certain are instructions for how to get out of Ember, but they're nearly impossible to decipher because her baby sister ate holes in the paper on which they were written. Doon, who works underground in the Pipeworks, helps Lina plan an escape before their world plunges into a permanent blackout.

The Canning Season by Polly Horvath; Farrar Straus Giroux; $16; ages 12 and up.Winner, 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
This gem of a book, like Horvath's award-winners The Trolls and Everything on a Waffle, is a read-aloud natural and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Caveat: unlike the others, this novel, if it were a movie, would be rated PG-13. So read it with your teenagers! (I'm not kidding.) You'll all enjoy the story of 13-year-old Ratchet, sent by her self-absorbed mother to spend the summer with her twin great-aunts on the Maine coast. Tilly and Penpen, age 91, live in their run-down mansion on a "big chunk of land surrounded by the sky and the ocean and the forest." Oh, and servant-eating bears. Tilly sips a bit too much after-dinner liqueur and Penpen has just taken up Buddhist philosophy. They plan to die together. That summer, they entertain Ratchet with humorous, often dark stories about their long and surprisingly eventful lives in the woods, including how they supported themselves canning blueberries after their father died (their mother had killed herself by chopping off her own head). Another girl, 14-year-old Harper, arrives on their doorstep, and before long the teenagers whom no one had loved before have a place where they really belong. The aunts also have girls to help them with the frenzy of the canning season, when everything is ripe and the work never ends.

Ruby Electric by Theresa Nelson; Atheneum/Jackson; $16.95; ages 9 - 12.
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter; Philomel; $17.00; ages 9 - 12.
California is a fairly common destination in historical fiction for children (think Gold Rush and orphan trains), but contemporary literary fiction that so clearly takes place in the California landscape is both rare and refreshing. Ruby Electric and The Boy Who Saved Baseball are beautifully written new novels about California kids facing life's issues head-on.

Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, the witty, likeable star of Ruby Electric, has screenplays popping into her head. Her San Fernando Valley neighborhood could be any suburban California town. She goes to bargain matinees at the cineplex, and restaurant treats mean In-N-Out Burger or Chinese dives in the mini-mall. Her single mom works as a receptionist at a podiatry center. Ruby hasn't seen her policeman dad for five years, though he keeps promising to show up. Mama keeps secrets about Daddy that Ruby can only imagine. Like many children, she wants to save the environment - in her case, it's the Los Angeles River, which is more concrete than water. So why not a mural of prehistoric, native animals? Her partners in crime (literally) are the Dumb and Dumber of Hayes Middle School. One has a crush on her. Their high-stakes summer doesn't turn out like anything even Ruby might have written for a Hollywoood script. It's better.

Head south about 100 miles, and you could very well find the coed Dillontown Wildcats Baseball Camp, a motley crew charged with saving their town as they know it in The Boy Who Saved Baseball. Most folks in Dillontown do not want to become San Diego's version of L.A.'s San Fernando Valley, with the hills of yellow mustard plants paved over with highways, malls, and driveways to fancy new homes. But a real estate developer is offering big money to Doc, who owns 320 acres and thinks maybe the kids could use a new ballpark instead of the 100-year-old field of dreams off his back porch. Doc decides to let "a good old-fashioned baseball game . . . settle the matter." Tom, Doc's 12-year-old friend, predicts disaster for his team and therefore the town.

The best baseball books (and movies) blend reality with fantasy as seamlessly as a Rawlings hardball. Here, a 10th camper named Cruz de la Cruz rides into town on horseback, bringing a wicked swing perfected by a new computer program. Cruz and Tom convince a local outcast and former major league slugger to coach their team, and suddenly the whole town has hope. Spanish phrases and mouth-watering Mexican food are as much a part of the landscape of this page-turner as wind-whipped tumbleweeds and line drives to center field. Fans of the book can continue the story by checking out the web site www.cruz-on.com.

Copyright © 2003 - 2006 Debbie Duncan - email: debbie@debbieduncan.com Web site created by Palo Alto Design Inc.