The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty & Thomas Docherty

Have you ever fallen in love with a book? Like, so in love that you've stolen it? I've never done this myself - I guess it's my inner librarian that quails at the thought of swiping a library book, since those are for *everyone*. But recently I was reading an interview with an author, cannot for the life of me remember who, and he/she admitted that as a child they had loved a book so much that they swiped it from the local library.

What?!

Honestly I suspect this probably happens more than we realize. After all can you really blame a child for doing this, when there is such literary richness on store in today's library. Certainly I'm not condoning the disapparation of public property, but I think we can all remember a time when we came across a book so perfect, so aptly suited to our place in life, that we just wanted to consume it. At least, I can relate to that (it happens to me sometimes still, which is why my bank account is so slim).

That's pretty much what's going on in Helen and Thomas Docherty's new picture book The Snatchabook, a title that, quite honestly, you may want to swipe yourself, it's that good. Eliza Brown, like the rest of the occupants of the forest neighborhood Burrow Down, is snuggling up with her bedtime reads when something strange happens -- Eliza's book vanishes. And Eliza's not the only one, for other families are experiencing the very same thing. It happens again, night after night, until Eliza vows to do something. Lying in wait, she catches the culprint. But rather than a big bad burglar, the villain turns out to be a little bat-like creature called a Snatchabook who steals the books because he loves them, and he has no one to read to him.

Luckily Eliza is able to come up with a plan to satisfy the Snatchabook's hunger for stories. Furthermore, she holds firm in her insistence that the Snatchabook return every last title he pilfered before the fix is to take place. And then, once all the tomes have been restored, Eliza and her friends agree to read to the Snatchabook, and include him in their nightly bedtime story rituals.

I adored The Snatchabook because of the prize it places on the books in the story. These are the most valuable things the forest folk own, and they're devastated when the books disappear. How many of us wouldn't love it if our kids grew up to feel the same way? I've already seen firsthand the devastation Sprout felt when we mislaid one of his beloved dinosaur encyclopedias (turns out we left it at school, and boy was that ever a long weekend). So the message here is one I really embrace with all my little kidlit-lovin' librarian heart. But The Snatchabook is terrific on multiple levels - it works as a morality tale, where the Snatchabook learns stealing is wrong and has to make amends, and it works as a cozy sweet bedtime story, with its deft rhyme scheme and charmingly classic illustrations. There's a lot to appreciate with this one, and I can't wait for more from this husband-wife team.

At the end of this story there was nowhere I wanted to be more than in the burrow with Eliza Bunny and her crew (including the Snatchabook), cuddled up with a book at the end of a long day. The Snatchabook is one your kiddos will clamor for again and again - just don't be surprised if it disappears!

The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty, published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Ages 3-5
Source: Library (but we didn't steal it, I promise!)
First lines: "One dark, dark night in Burrow Down, a rabbit named Eliza Brown found a book and settled down. . . / when a Snatchabook flew into town."
Recommended

30 Days of Picture Books - Moonday by Adam Rex

It's Day 22 of our 30 Days of Picture Books. Picture Book Month may be ending today, but our celebration doesn't stop - we still have 9 more picks for you, lucky readers! We've been hard at work reading new picture books every night and culling out only the best. It's a process for sure, and often the ones I like don't make the cut in Sprout's book, but we do seek to strike a balance.

Tonight's choice is one that's a hit with all three of us - Mama, Daddy and Sprout - Moonday by Adam Rex. The visuals are hands-down the big attraction here, as you can probably imagine. With that gigantic glowing moon right smack on the front cover, Sprout was drawn to it first thing, and frankly so was I. And the gorgeousness continues throughout. Some spreads are just pulsing with so much energy you feel as if the page doesn't exist, and you could be pulled right in to the story yourself.

Moonday reads like a "what if" -- what if the moon didn't disappear one morning, but instead settled into a family's backyard and stayed there? That's what happens to our protagonist, who wakes up to find that the full moon she saw so clear and bright the night before has come to rest outside her back door. It's intriguing but disturbing too, as the whole town's rhythm of the day is thrown off. Even the teacher is too sleepy to conduct class, and our heroine finds that a yawn she begins at one corner bounces around from person to person only to catch her on the way around. It's pretty clear that someone has to do something, and when the tide comes in, our hero decides she knows what to do to get the moon back where it belongs.

This lovely bedtime read has the whiff of a tall tale about it, and it's definitely one that will spark a kiddo's imagination. After we read it the other night, Sprout started spinning his own tale about what would happen if the sun landed in our front yard and stayed there ("I think it would burn up all our grass, Mom!"). Rex demonstrates a much more contemplative side here, and I like that about him - he shows that for all the humor of some of his previous works (Chu's Day, his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, for one, which is funny even to the littlest reader), he's got a thoughtful aspect as well.

The moon is mystery and magic for so many reasons, and Rex captures a bit of that magic in picture book form with Moonday. Pair it with a book like David Wiesner's Tuesday for a storytime that's surreal and dreamy, just like a moonlit night.

Moonday by Adam Rex, published by Disney Hyperion

30 Days of Picture Books - Giant Dance Party by Betsy Bird

It's Day 21 in our 30 Days of Picture Books. What's that you say? Yesterday was actually Day 21 but I didn't share a post? Very astute -- well, that dreaded Thanksgiving turkey coma took over and I wasn't alert enough to post a new book last night. And that's all we're going to say about that. . . .

Anyhoo, it's no matter because you'll still get the benefit of yesterday's pick one day late. And what a pick it is, exuberant and colorful -- just take a peek at that cover and tell me you aren't excited about this one right from the get-go! Betsy Bird's Giant Dance Party is terrific in lots of ways, and that's not surprising since Bird herself is a children's librarian and author of the popular kidlit blog Fuse #8. The woman knows her kidlit, and because she knows what kids like, this one's a slam-dunk. But don't worry, it's not that kind of kid-fave that's also an adult nightmare. Giant Dance Party is read-aloud friendly and funny, with a message wrapped so deep it'll sneak by the kiddos without them even catching on.

Lexy lives to dance, but she's decided to quit. Her parents know why, and it's not even hard to understand - recitals. Who likes those anyway? Not Lexy, because once the lights go on she freezes up solid ("blammo! Ice pop.") But she finds she misses her favorite pastime, so she decides to become a dance teacher instead. It takes a little while, but at last Lexy has clients -- blue, furry, gigantic clients, to be exact. And giants aren't exactly known for their gracefulness. Still, Lexy's persuaded to teach them, and all goes fine until the night of the Giant Dance Recital, where the students turn into giant blue furry ice pops. Uh-oh! How will Lexy salvage the big event?

Brandon Dorman did the illustrations for Giant Dance Party and it has to be said that this is a big part of the book's charm. The giants are in no way intimidating, more like big fuzzy kids themselves, which of course makes their predicament all the more relatable. And Lexy herself is spunky and lively, the kind of girl who doesn't wait around for a solution to her problems but figures out how to work through it all on her own. My one disappointment would just be that I'd wish for more diversity here. But perhaps we'll get that with Bird's next go-around? One can hope, anyway!

When your kiddo's struggling with a fear that seems insurmountable, reach for Giant Dance Party. With humor, spirit and a whole lot of grace, this title shows young ones how to reach for the stars!

Giant Dance Party by Betsy Bird, published by Greenwillow Books

30 Days of Picture Books - Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen

Today is Day 19 of our 30 Days of Picture Books. Our book for today is one that just makes me smile every time I look at the cover, or even hear the title for that matter. Do you have a picture book that makes you happy right on sight? That's one of the things I love most about children's books - when was the last time a tell-all memoir or work of literary fiction made you burst into a smile?

Tonight we're sharing Jane Yolen's Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters. Yolen's a legend in the world of kidlit. It has to be the very rare child nowadays who hasn't heard at least one of Yolen's books before moving out of elementary school, and for good reason - Yolen captures the moments of kidlit like few other authors can. Whether she's addressing serious issues or just exploring the playful side of life, this is an author who knows what kids like and excels at giving it to them.

And it is that very playfulness that's at the center of Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters. Young fans of the Pixar franchise are the obvious audience for this title, which explores a monster neighborhood full of creatures at their leisure. We're following a pair of monster siblings as they take a trip to the park with Mom. They're sliding down slides, blowing bubbles, riding bikes and sailing boats. And at the end of the afternoon, everyone wants to cool off with a monster-sicle, of course - but unfortunately a little spat ensues, a scenario any parent will find oh-so-familiar.

Yolen's simple, direct phrases are brought to life with deadly cute illustrations by Kelly Murphy. Murphy's translated many of the characteristic behaviors of young children into a monster-verse populated with kids at play. Readers will love poring over the pages to see all the small details Murphy includes, and all the adorable facial expressions (Sprout loves the page where our starring characters fall on the ground during a three-legged race). And adults will see the humor in the parallels with  our own days out with little ones.

At days' end, the monster sibs are headed home with Mom, tired and full of great memories. And when you close the book, you'll share the monster mama's smile at another childhood day gone by.

Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen, published by Candlewick Press

30 Days of Picture Books - Journey by Aaron Becker

It's Day 11 of our 30 Days of Picture Books. A reader asked the other day if we read a new book every night - the short answer is no, especially lately, because we have been reading chapter books at bedtime more frequently (Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary is the current pick). But we do read quite a few new books every week, and revisit old favorites too. There are some picture books we just can't get enough of!

Today's title, Journey by Aaron Becker, is a bit different in that it's a wordless book. This type of picture book is tough for me, because my initial reaction on hearing that a particular title is to think "Oh, but I don't like wordless books." I don't know why I feel that way, since honestly I've enjoyed a number of wordless and near-wordless titles (Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse is probably the most notable of these). But that's always what goes through my mind. Luckily there are plenty of terrific titles out there to prove me wrong, and Journey is a notable recent addition to this sub-section of picture books.

The story Becker has laid out is a familiar theme in many kidlit titles (traces of Harold and the Purple Crayon linger in the mind), but it receives an entirely new and fresh treatment in this peerless pictorial. A young girl, bored and lonely, tries to engage her family members in some activity with no success. Slumped on her bed, she suddenly spies a red crayon in the corner of her room, and, thinking quickly, she draws an archway on her wall and escapes through the door that appears. Immediately she's transported from her colorless existence to a world of shimmering beauty - a forest with golden lanterns strung from tree to tree. There's a stream there, and a dock, so, doing what nearly anyone with a magic crayon would, our heroine draws herself a boat, and she's off.

This is the kind of book kids crave, in my experience. The fantasy world that Becker's created here is the stuff of a young child's dreams, and the pictures are such works of craftsmanship that one could easily lose oneself in them for a long time. Each new spread reveals a new turn in the story, and the fun is in seeing how the girl will use her crayon (and her wits) to keep the adventure going. The girl's everyday world is echoed in the realms of imagination she explores, and the final turn in the story provides an ending that's satisfying and yet completely unexpected. This may be Becker's debut, but I sincerely hope it's not the last we'll see of him - this is a fierce and uniquely talented artist.

For all those who think that picture books are just for very young children, Journey will prove them wrong. There is a depth and complexity to this narrative that is sure to mesmerize any adult. That is, if you can pry it away from your kids.

Journey by Aaron Becker, published by Candlewick Press

Guest Post - Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles) by Suzanne Collins

Eeeek! I'm in the throes of my final semester in grad school and things are getting a little, well, nuts. So my sweet husband Jacob took pity on me and wrote me this guest post, about a series he's just finished reading and which he cannot WAIT to share with Sprout.

In my lifetime of reading experience I have found that when a book gets turned into a series the sequels are usually never as strong or compelling as the first book. That however is not the case in the Underland Chronicles series of books. I tried to separate each book to review it on its own, but Suzanne Collins wrote this series so seamlessly it feels like one large continuous book (in a very good way).

In the first book, Gregor the Overlander, we are introduced to Gregor, a typical 12 year old boy who lives with his mom (Grace), and two younger sisters Lizzy and Boots, and his ailing grandmother. They live in a small apartment in a low income area of New York, where they struggle to make ends meet. The adventure begins when Gregor is not able to go to camp because he has to watch his grandmother and younger sister because his mother has to go to work. When Gregor goes to do a load of laundry, his sister falls through a grate. Gregor goes after her and quickly discovers himself surrounded by giant talking rats, bats, cockroaches, spiders, and a strange race of underground humans called Regalians. 

He is befriended by the humans who believe that he is the “Warrior” of several ancient prophecies (written by Bartholomew of Sandwich, the leader of the Overlanders who came to live in the underworld). This puts his and Boots' lives in peril as they travel through this fascinating and dangerous underground world. They fight rats, carnivorous plants, dangerous ants, and lots of other things. They also make friends with some unlikely Underworld creatures on their mad rush to try to get back to their Overland lives, and their family.

The supporting characters are a wonderful hodgepodge of underworld creatures, which include the harsh future queen Luxa and her bat/bond Aurora; the precocious Boots, who is three and believes that this is a great game as she befriends the “Crawlers and Nibblers”; Tic and Temp, the two cockroaches who befriend Boots as a very strange set of nannies; Ripred a surly “rager” rat who is an outcast of the rat community; Howard, cousin to the future queen; Ares the giant bat; and Vikus who is Luxa’s grandfather. They are believably flawed and great fun to read as they react to fights and down time of this series. During the series these characters are revealed more and more, so that you discover why they are how they are. Just like in life you start liking some of them despite their short comings.

A nice plus about this series is that Gregor is African American. It's wonderful to find a series that is action-packed and full of fantasy, but that also has a main character and supporting cast with diversity. Gregor is your average city kid who is thrust into a world most unlike his own, and there is a lot of relevance to the experience of people of color who may be struggling to find their place.

This is a great book series for anyone to read. It has the perfect amount of action and mystery that is revealed at a great pace for the reader to potentially figure out things on their own. (Don't skip around though, you need to read these in series order! And for those who enjoy audiobooks, the narrator of this series is excellent - this would be a terrific series to listen to on a family road trip.) It is a rare thing that I mourn the end of a book series - but as I was nearing the end of this one, I found myself regretting the fact that I read the books so fast. If you have a tween or teen that likes adventure books this is a must-read, and you'll enjoy them too, I promise.

The Underland Chronicles series by Suzanne Collins:

Book 1: Gregor the Overlander

Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Book 4: Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Book 5: Gregor and the Code of Claw 

The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague {The Children's Bookshelf}

Not too long ago I read a review about a reprint of a children's book from way back when. In the blurb I read, the reviewer questioned whether or not modern-day children would be able to connect with the book, because it featured such unfamiliar scenes as children playing unattended in the yard, or walking to school without an adult.

The horror!

Seriously, though, I couldn't take that condescension. I think attitudes like that sell our kids incredibly short. Okay, so in the world today probably very few of us let our kids run around the neighborhood without a clue where they are -- yes, my generation has a whole lot of hypervigilence going on. But still, I think kids have the ability to extrapolate, and I daresay they won't chuck a book across the room if a character is listening to a phonograph or delivering newspapers sans grownups.

At least I hope they won't because if they do toss away books like that, kids would miss out on gems like today's pick, The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague. We love Mark Teague for his integration of diversity into his books, seamlessly and consistently. In the book, Floyd and Wendell make their own way to school -- wait for it -- walking! Without their parents!

Are you still with me? Whew! So the two boys are chronically late, and their teacher Ms. Gernsblatt is getting fed up with their silly excuses about being detained by pirates and so forth. (Readers see the scurvy naves; Gernsblatt does not.) On Thursday the boys are determined not to get into trouble, leaving very early just to be sure. For good measure, Wendell suggests they try his secret shortcut. Floyd's a little dubious, but he gives it a whirl - and very soon the two boys are off into the most harrowing adventure of the whole week, complete with crocodiles, a rocky gorge, and swinging like monkeys from vine to vine.

The Secret Shortcut is such a fun read, with a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that parents will love (kids might need to be clued in to the joke). Ultimately the boys do reach their destination, somewhat the worse for wear. Sprout's favorite part is when Floyd and Wendell land in a puddle of mud, a scene that's captured with Teague's trademark sense of whimsy. You can't really appreciate this one without looking at the pictures, as this is a title where illustrations and printed word join together to convey the whole message. Overall, this is a good choice for preschoolers who are beginning to get the sense that the world they see may not be the same as the one adults live in, after all.

If you want to spare your kids the trauma of reading about unchaperoned exploits on the way to school, pass this one by. Please. Because if you do, it's all the more likely to be there on the library shelf when we're in the mood for something lively and oh-so-imaginative.

The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague, published by Scholastic
Ages 3-6
Source: Library
First lines: "On Monday, Wendell and Floyd were late for school. / They had nearly been captured by space creatures, they told their teacher. "Ridiculous," said Ms. Gernsblatt, and she warned them not to let it happen again."
Recommended
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30 Days of Picture Books - The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray

It's Day 24 of Picture Book Month -- betcha didn't think we'd get this far with our one-book-a-day project, didja? We're still going strong though, mostly because we make time to read every day and night, despite the busy-ness of a holiday weekend and all kinds of other things going on. After all, that's how you teach kids what priorities are, by finding pockets of time to include those activities no matter what. And it's not always easy to squeeze in opportunities to read, believe me, but we make it work.

Today's pick is guaranteed to produce some serious laughter from Sprout every time we pull it off the shelf. Books like this one make reading fun, which in turn furthers our goal of having daily family book time. It's interesting that given the chance, Sprout will almost always choose books that represent a wide spectrum of reading moods, from hilarious to introspective and everything in between. That not only injects a good amount of variety into our nightly reading routine, but it makes for plenty of opportunities to reflect on how books, like people, have very different personalities.

The book of the day, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray, is a clever twist on a classic story. We love it because of that and also because of its theme (Sprout's nuts for any book set in a school). As the story goes, a class project results in the mixing of dough and baking of a gingerbread man. Gingie comes to life, but just then the class is called out to recess, leaving their poor Gingerbread Man behind. Undaunted, the Gingerbread Man heads out to find his friends. The route he takes gives him face time with teachers and even the principal. There are some dead funny moments here -- Sprout especially likes it when the Gingerbread Man ends up in the art teacher's lunch!

As Sprout's daddy is a big comic book fan, he appreciates illustrator Mike Lowery's technique of telling the story in panel form (anything to introduce Sprout to the mechanics of reading comics!). The illustrations are cute but not saccharine, with realistic backgrounds that give a peek into the world of elementary school. And the story is told in such a way that even the younger set will have no trouble following it, though you may have to explain who the various teachers are. Best of all, the resolution is satisfyingly funny, with the Gingerbread Man finding his place among the school children.

This would be a fun book to share at back-to-school time, particularly for kids just heading into kindergarten. We read it with an eye toward holiday baking time, and now Sprout cannot wait to make gingerbread men of our very own!

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Chapter Book Review - The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards

Fantasy has, post-Harry Potter, become somewhat of the stock-in-trade of the middle grade section. Series reign supreme, and there are magical elements in even the most seemingly ordinary stories. In fact, it sometimes feels as though realistic contemporary fiction is in the minority. And sometimes it's hard for me to distinguish one fantasy series from another: orphans with special powers being pursued by ubiquitous baddies. If you've read one of those, well, you just might have read them all.

And here's where Jasmine Richards' novel The Book of Wonders breaks from the pack. Because from the very first sentences ("I heard the noise first. A howl, which sounded like all the djinnis in the world were crying out as one") you know you're in for something very different.

In Wonders, Richards takes the Sinbad legends and other elements of Middle Eastern tales and spins them around, adding in characters and sensibilities that harken to another world but still are very much relatable to modern readers. Our heroine Zardi is fascinated by lore of days gone by - days when magic existed in the kingdom of Arribitha, before Sultan Shahryar came to power and banned any mention of mystical occurrences. Zardi contents herself with peering through the window of fantasy here and there, until her sister Zubeyda is captured by the sultan and made to serve as his praisemaker, a position whose only end is death. Zardi must save her sister, and she and best friend Rhidan set off to do the impossible: bring magic back into Arribitha and with it defeat Shahryar once and for all.

Zardi and Rhidan's fates become inextricably intertwined with that of Captain Sinbad, a figure that will be familiar to many but whose role in this novel is unlike anything else I've ever read. Djinnis, medicine women, mysterious amulets and powers beyond compare -- Richards' originality comes through on every page, as she brings the legends of Sinbad to life in a whole new way. Sinbad isn't what he seems, as Zardi and Rhidan soon discover, a lesson that is to serve them in good stead as they journey toward magic and salvation for Zubeyda.

The plotting in Wonders is tight, the pace brisk and the characters as complex as they are believable. Richards makes us care about Zardi, Rhidan and the rest in a way that some fantasy writers, preoccupied perhaps with their magical realms, never quite do. But readers can identify with Rhidan's struggle for identity, with Zardi's drive to save her family, and that connection is what makes this novel truly shine.

And the setup for a sequel? You'd better believe I'll be back for more.

The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards, published by HarperCollins
Ages: 9-13
Source: Library
Sample quote: "She surveyed the columns ahead, each one sitting a bit higher than the last, huge rocky steps rising upward. All we need to do is reach the middle. She looked down at the river and the spiky clusters of rocks that stabbed out of the water within the shadow of the arch. And not fall off. . . "
Recommended

Bonus: Interview with Jasmine Richards from Doret at The Happy Nappy Bookseller blog

Here Be Dragons

It's a new year -- let's start it off with some fantasy and ferocity, dragon-style!

What is it about dragons? Cuddly or scaly, friendly or forbidding, they make excellent fodder for some really engaging picture books. In an effort to add some whimsy to our bedtime routine -- and to balance out all those truck/train/car/airplane books we seem to end up checking out -- I recently brought home a couple of dragon-themed titles to share with Sprout.

The first choice, A Dragon Moves In by Lisa Falkenstern (whom we love from her illustrations for The Busy Tree), caught Sprout's attention from the get-go. I'm pretty sure it was the artwork, which is sumptuous and oh-so-inviting. Really, this is the kind of book that defines the phrase "feast for the eyes", as every spread has yet more visual delights. And the story's a winner too: Hedgehog and Rabbit stumble on an egg, which promptly hatches into a baby dragon. The pair are thrilled and decide to bring their new friend home, but they aren't prepared for just how thoroughly Dragon will fill up their house. The solution comes pretty easily, as it often does in picture books, but it's just the thing to bring the friends together. Magical and endearing!

And then there's Jack -- King Jack and the Dragon, that is. It's easy to fall in love with this title, right from the first moment, just for the sake of Helen Oxenbury. But Peter Bently's tongue-in-cheek storytelling kept us turning pages. Jack and his band of intrepid knights must protect their castle at all costs. Monsters and dragons can be easily fought, but it's giants that cause the real trouble, as they pull the knights away one by one. Soon Jack is all alone, but he's not scared, exactly. Still, it's a good thing Jack has his own giants. . . to take him home for bath and bed. The clever, subtle humor here will appeal to older preschoolers, while little ones will thrill at the thought of fighting dragons and beasts themselves. And Oxenbury's artwork is of course beyond charming (naturally I find the chubby-cheeked Zack the most appealing, but Jack and Caspar are pretty cute too).

He's a little young for it yet, but one dragon title I can't wait to introduce Sprout to is Ruth Stiles Gannett's My Father's Dragon. I still remember hearing this one read aloud when I was in elementary school, falling under the spell of this inviting tale and its quirky, old-fashioned artwork (that cover - what is it about that cover?? Retro fabulousness!). Though there are other books in the series, this is the one that grabbed and held my attention from the first lines. I'm thrilled that there are new editions of this one still around, that I can share with my own kiddo in the not-too-distant future.

What's your favorite dragon title? Add it together with one of these newer choices for a fun (and fierce) storytime experience!

Chapter Book Review - Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

So wouldn't it be great if you could hand your child a thrilling, well-crafted, engrossing novel in which neither race nor adoption were the driving force behind the plot?

Thought so.

If you'd like to do just that, Anne Ursu's Breadcrumbs is a must-have. I was excited to read this one not only because the main character, Hazel, is part of a multiracial family formed by adoption, but also because I've read and loved Ursu's adult novels Spilling Clarence and The Disapparation of James. Both were favorite handsells back in my retail days, for the clever mixing of intriguing characters and fantastical turns of everyday reality.

And Ursu didn't disappoint me in Breadcrumbs, which I think is a strong contender for the Newbery this year (please please please). In the book, Hazel and Jack are two peas in a pod, sharing everything from a love of fantasy to a talent at superhero baseball (a game of their own invention). But one day Jack just -- goes away. Oh, he's there in body, all right, but he's no more Hazel's best friend than a stranger on the street. Jack just looks right through Hazel like he doesn't even see her. Hazel's crushed, and she can't accept what her mother tells her, that "these things happen". And when Jack disappears for real, Hazel doesn't believe for one second that he's with his elderly Aunt Bernice. No, Hazel's going to get to the bottom of this -- and for that, she must set off into the frigid Minnesota woods to rescue her very best friend.

Now, I could go on and on about all the things there are to love about Breadcrumbs, from the way Ursu interweaves fantasy into common events and how she turns fairytale conventions upside down, while never betraying their essence. Particularly well-done are the scenes once Hazel enters the woods, so evocative that I was amazed to look up from reading them and find myself at home tucked up in bed. But what many readers will take away from Breadcrumbs is the sense of holding fast to your sense of self and letting that be your compass. Hazel never wavers from the notion that Jack, the real Jack is still in there, and that he needs her now even more than he ever has. Quite a commentary on growing up but not away, this one.

Breadcrumbs is that rare thing, a novel that's not genre- (or gender) defined, neither wholly fictive nor entirely true. Honestly, I can't say enough about this smart, funny, surprising novel, which I found so compelling that I truly regretted turning the last page. For kids who feel on the outside, either because of something like adoption, or because they're finding their way across that looming chasm between childhood and growing up, Breadcrumbs will be a great gift. And if you feel that way as an adult? Guess what -- it'll speak to you too.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, published by HarperCollins
Ages 10-13
Source: Library
Sample Quote: "Hazel blinked. It occurred to her that Mikaela was being nice to her. She did not know how to react, for when your heart has been poisoned and someone picks a dandelion for you -- because it is bright and yellow and you seem like you could use something like that -- all you can do is contemplate the funny ways of weeds."
Highly recommended

Want to read more? Check out this guest post from Anne Ursu at The Book Smugglers blog, or visit her official author site.

Audio Review - Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

One of the reasons audiobooks are popular, it seems to me, is that we all really enjoy having someone read to us. I don't know what it is, exactly. Maybe the heritage of storytelling in days gone by simply sunk into our collective DNA, so that we respond to a tale read aloud in a different way. Or maybe it's just the luxury of sinking completely into a story as it unfolds around us.

Such was the case for me with the new book Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner. This is a fantasy in the truest sense of the word, as Tanner gives us an alternate-reality tale taking place in a world somewhat like our own and yet vastly different. In the city of Jewel, children are kept under adult protection at all times, linked either to their parents or to the Blessed Guardians by a silver guardchain until the age of Separation. For Goldie Roth, this is altogether normal, though restrictive, and she lives for her own Separation. But then Separation Day is canceled, and Goldie impulsively runs away from her Guardian. She washes up at the Museum of Dunt, a bizarre building that seems to have a personality -- and secret life -- of its own. Here Goldie meets a most  unusual cast of characters. Gradually Goldie realizes that her own fate is drawing her to the Museum, for she is one of only a few who can interpret the mysteries that lie within its walls, and stand in the way of forces that might destroy her world.

This story worked for me on many levels -- the unique slant on the child-destined-to-save-the-world formula, the truly original voices of the characters, the wry humor that pervades Tanner's vision of a world devoid of any potential dangers (at least on the surface). But as an audiobook, what made it truly spectacular was the narrator, Claudia Black. Black does a full complement of voices and she is compelling at each of them, from the imperiousness of Guardian Hope to the reasoned wisdom of Herro Dan to the fearfulness of Goldie's parents. She sustains the drama of Tanner's plotline while never giving away a hint of the secrets yet to be unveiled. Black has plenty to work with here -- a tightly plotted story peopled with memorable characters and delicious mysteries -- and she puts her considerable vocal talents to good use. It was a true pleasure to listen to Museum of Thieves, and I'm eagerly awaiting City of Lies, the next book in the series, due out in September.

Bottom line: great audiobooks are a marriage of excellent writing paired with enthusiastic narration. Museum of Thieves has both, in spades. And how can you not love a writer who names a character Toadspit?!

Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner, published by Delacorte Press (audio by Listening Library)
Ages 8-12
Source: Library
Sample quote: "She knew that she mustn't linger in this strange place. She took one last look around the office, and her eyes fell on the coins. There were so many of them, and they were in such untidy heaps that she was sure the owner wouldn't miss a few. And they would make her trip to Spoke so much easier. I'm already a thief. I might as well steal something else."
Recommended

Audio Review: The Emerald Atlas

At first glance, John Stephens's The Emerald Atlas seems pretty familiar, with all the classic elements of fantasies like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Orphans? Check. Grim orphanage with heartless administrator? Check. Transport to a mystical realm? Check. Cruel villain accompanied by requisite toady? Check. Objects imbued with magical powers? Check. Mysterious creatures, both friendly and fearful? Check and double-check.

It's true that The Emerald Atlas shares a lot of thematic elements that readers of these iconic books will recognize. But there's also a lot of unique twists that make the story wholly individual. For starters, the siblings are far from being waifs in need of rescue. Instead, they learned early on to rely on themselves and it shows, as they take matters into their own hands whenever possible. The three children have very distinct personalities, from caretaker Kate to analytical Michael to scrappy Emma. These qualities lead each of them into circumstances that rapidly escalate beyond their control, and each is faced with situations that test their bonds of loyalty, forgiveness and love.

The villain, too, has shades of the tried-and-true formula, but with a spin all her own. The Countess is more frightening when she is oozing politeness than many other baddies are at their most evil. (Having listened to the audio version, I can tell you that no one could possibly capture this quality better than the masterful Jim Dale.) Naturally the Countess has her sidekick, the secretary named Mr. Cavendish, whose greasy obsequiousness will make your stomach turn. And of course, these two pop up at the worst possible moments, and refuse to be easily dispatched, even by the children's magical allies.

There are a few elements that feel a bit thin -- the magical objects, in this case books; the children who are destined for greatness; the kindly wizard who looks out for our heroes and heroines at great personal risk. But to be honest I don't think kids, or adults for that matter, who are in the mood for an engrossing fantasy epic will mind all of this terribly much. And if the ground does seem a bit well-trod, there's always Stephens' remarkable pacing to keep you moving along (Stephens worked in television prior to turning to books, and it shows). A huge plus for me is Stephens' sly sense of humor. I especially love the housekeeper, Mrs. Sallow, with her snark-infused commentary. The plot drags a bit toward the end, an instance in which listening to the audio was a huge benefit, as Dale's masterful narration keeps it interesting.

A key point in Atlas is that Kate, Michael and Emma are not really orphans. They believe firmly that their parents will come back for them, and that belief sustains them throughout the course of the novel. At first I worried about how this would all play out, but it becomes clear that their parents did what they had to do for the sake of the children. As an adoptive parent, this plot point provides a perfect opportunity to talk about the difficult choices that birth families make, and why they may elect to place their children in the care of others. Time will tell how Sprout will react to novels like this, with characters who are orphans and struggle with not knowing their birth parents. But I anticipate that this will give us a lot to talk about and to think about, on many levels.

One other thing that occurred to me when listening to The Emerald Atlas -- where are the fantasy epics that feature multicultural storylines? Guess that gives me something to keep looking for.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, audio published by Books on Tape/Random House

Ages 10 up

Sample quote: "His voice and that image -- the tall man silhouetted in the doorway -- would haunt Kate for years, as it was the last time she saw her mother, the last time her family was together. Then the man said something Kate couldn't hear, and it was as if a heavy curtain was drawn around her mind, obliterating the man in the doorway, the light, her mother, everything."

Recommended listening