Age: K-3rd grade
Emotions: All
Sports: Yoga

A delightfully simple presentation of nine introductory exercises to do to center yourself, rebuild confidence, be open to the world. Kids may still need an adult to guide them through these, but the illustrations do offer a visual representation of abstract emotions and behavior for the younger grade school crowd. Stewart is encouraging throughout the book without feeling wordy or fake. A well thought out meditation guide.

A complex storyline written with precision and intrigue about death's daughter and a mysterious girl with two different colored eyes. The story weaves itself together so well that any description of the plot is best left for the reader to discover. While I usually push away from gritty, abstract artwork (Sandman, Scalped), Rios and Bellaire's artwork felt full of emotion and movement and I could actually follow along with the fight scenes. I'd highly recommend this to people that enjoy magical realism, the mythology around Death, abstract artwork, and smart writing.

Age: 5th-middle school

I reeeeally wish I didn't watch the movie before reading this book because it is almost identical--which made a great movie. That being said, the book is an excellent suspenseful read as readers try to unravel the mysteries of the maze and the Creators. Characterization takes a bit of a back seat for the plot, but the story moves fast with plenty of action scenes.

Age: Preschool
Familiar Experience: Moving
Bugs: Butterflies

Soft, almost glowing illustrations depict a girl that moves from the country to the city. Missing the flora and fauna of her past home, she discovers a Butterfly Park--without any butterflies. With the help of her neighbors, she soon finds a way to solve the park's problem.

Age: Kindergarten-1st grade
Familiar Experience: Moving

Arto's family moves South for only one year for his mother's job. Provides nice diversity to books on moving since the move is not permanent--however, this idea might be harmful to a child allowing them to hope they will eventually move back.

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Emotions: Being shy
Familiar Experience: New Kid in town

Florence is happy with her new surroundings but becomes nervous when she must introduce herself in front of her classroom. Flo makes friends with a Panda and he gives Flo instant celebrity status as her friend, causing her to meet up with another shy girl. The semantics of the plot are all garbled but this little girl finds a friend in the end. Replicating her success might be a bit hard for listeners/readers.

Age: Preschool-1st grade
Familiar Experience: Moving

Although this moving trip starts out pretty sour, Underwood depicts moving as an adventure full of new, familiar, and good things. With his new friend, maybe this move won't be so bad after all.

Age: K-2nd grade
Toys: Balloon
Familiar Experience: Moving

Will this traveling balloon connect two strangers? Molly ties a note full of curiosity to a stranger far, far away. We follow the balloon as it travels what we think is the world, only to end up a few doors down.

Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Familiar experience: moving

A straightforward look at moving away and dealing with everything new. I liked the drawings on the left page that Augustine drew of his experiences, and even tying that love of drawing into the story was well-balanced. It also added an extra level of interest to the older crowd.

Age: Preschool
Friendship: Making new friends
Familiar Experience: moving, being shy

Melody loves her dreams and she loves her dream best friend. But, try as she might, she cannot get her dream friend to come into her real world where she is lonely and without friends. As she thinks about her dream friend one day she starts dancing. Another girl sees her and asks to join in, fomenting a new friendship.