It is summer, which means I order dozens of books to prep for Mock Caldecott, Mock Newbery, and Mock Sibert! These were my favorites from the past five weeks. All images and summaries from Goodreads.
Picture Books
Ploof is a puffy cloud who's a little lonely — but now you're here, and the fun can begin! Can you help Ploof overcome their shyness? Play pretend? Make Ploof laugh with your funny faces, find their hiding spot, give them a high five! Full of imaginative and interactive fun, each page of this perfect book for preschoolers offers a chance to play. By following cues to say hello, clap, blow, shake, wave or make a funny face, young readers will be delighted to see the effects of their actions on Ploof.
When Narwhal accidentally bursts Jelly's bubble with their tusk-tooth, Jelly is a little sad . . . until Narwhal shows him that there are lots of bubbles in the ocean! There are little-bitty bubbles and great big bubbles. There are bubbles up high and bubbles down low. There are bubbles that are pink and bubbles that stink. It's unbelieva-bubble!
This cheeky picture book debut from author-illustrator Jess Hannigan tells the darkly dry and utterly hilarious tale of fibs, cons, and JUSTICE! Perfect for fans of Jon Klassen, Ryan Higgins, and stylized cinema—from Orson Welles to Wes Anderson. Breaking Wishing Well Broken! The townspeople of Bad Göodsburg are up in arms. With their beloved well busted, none of their important, generous, kindhearted wishes are coming true! Time to send that good-for-nothing Newsboy to investigate. . .
Jack, Jill, and Rex are excited to play a game of Go and Get! The rules are simple: on the count of three, each player must go and get something that begins with a certain letter. While Jack’s and Jill’s picks always fit the bill (What starts with F,? Frog! Fish!), Rex keeps getting it wrong (a duck?)—or does he? David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka share a laugh-out-loud primer on subverting expectations that will have readers clamoring to play Go and Get themselves—and competing to see who can come up with the most creative answers.
For as long as she can remember, Joy has wanted a dog. It doesn’t matter what big, little, spotted, curly. She wants one so fiercely, she makes dogs out of snow, seashells, or whatever’s at hand! However, none of the dogs Joy makes are quite what she yearns for. The seashell dog washes away, and the snow dog melts into a puddle. Little does Joy know that her perfect dog friend is just around the corner—wishing just as fiercely for a kid—and waiting to be discovered.
Two kids build entire worlds out of blocks, cardboard, and imagination. From boats attacked by a sea creature to a castle crumbling into the ocean. And they don’t mind when these creations break apart and CRASH to the floor. In fact, they think it’s pretty funny! Every time, a creation falls apart, they pick up the pieces and keep building bigger and better.
But when their latest masterpiece tumbles down in spectacular fashion, the boys aren’t laughing anymore. Have these two friends reached their breaking point?
Early Readers
Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris “make the good and noble choice” (as the king on his prized sardine can might recommend) and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences?
Chapter Books
It's August 1999. For 12-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever—except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his 15-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby.
... Ridge reveals that he’s the world’s first time traveler, Michael and Gibby are stunned but curious. As Ridge immerses himself in 1999—fascinated by microwaves, basketballs, and malls—Michael discovers that his new friend has a book that outlines the events of the next twenty years, and his curiosity morphs into something else: focused determination.
Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can’t be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets “the itch,” and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. ... [H]is friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park. But things fall apart again when Joe is suddenly left to fend for himself. He doesn’t tell anyone he’s on his own, as he fears foster care and has hope his mom will come back. But time is running out—bills are piling up, the electricity’s been shut off, and the school year’s about to end, meaning no more free meals.
Nonfiction
There are ten quadrillion ants in the world, and yet I bet you never thought they could teach you anything. But these tiny creatures can do big things when they work together--just like people!
Before Marie Curie was the first woman in France to earn the highest degree in physics, before she discovered two new radioactive elements, and became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (and then the first person to win two!)— she was a little girl named Marie Sklodowska who dreamed of being a scientist—and was determined to make that dream come true.
