Age: Preschool-2nd grade
Art: Drawing
Clothing: Hat

A unique way to approach the debilitating artist's block. Bridget loves to draw but she can only draw when her big, black beret--the kind of hat that lots of Great Artists wear. When it blows away in a great, big gust of wind, Bridget feels she has lost her ability to draw. Until one day her friends convince her to create a sign for their lemonade stand which--but only the letters! When she finishes with the words, she feels like the 'o' could make a great lemon and the white space should definitely be filled in with objects (not drawings, mind you).

The change of heart felt believable and this book provides a great way to demonstrate that skill comes from the artist, not a material item.

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Emotions: Anger, blame

Sometimes the Hueys don't get along, and when they start arguing over nothing, they seem to argue just to argue--until someone points it out. Very simple artwork draws attention to details, including their faces slowly turning red with anger.

Age: Kindergarten-1st grade

Very didactic and straightforward, but sometimes children need that. It has a cute twist when Jill tells her mother about her problem. Her mother explains that Jill has actually been saying "no" to herself all this time, without even realizing it. So, saying no to her friends should be easier with all that unintentional practice. I'm having a terrible time explaining it but the author does a much better job. Other than that twist, the rest of the story is quite choppy with Jill having no real personality outside of her purpose to instruct readers on how to say "no."

This was so bizarre and tried to fit too many picture book cliches into one storyline, including: lonely girl, hard-working dad, traveling girl, friendship between dog and child--and then the dog started talking in a French accent. He starts talking about 2/3 of the way through. "I am a French bulldog so I can speak French," she says as she continues to speak English with French phrases lightly intermingled. This bulldog is actually a French fashionista and they have a great time dolling themselves up. The writing is super awkward and typical children's book literary devices seem obnoxious and strained.

Author Melissa Gilbert hopes that the book "will inspire children to be brave, to sing, and to always shine brightly." P.S. This book has nothing to do with any of those things...

Age: Preschool-1st grade
Humor: Slapstick

The ducks are always organized, preparing meals, cleaning the house, and baking, while moose tends to accidentally ruin it all. But he is loved and the ducks prepare him a surprise party--but where is moose? Very cute, the illustrator does an excellent job with building suspense as we see clumsy moose approaching the carefully arranged projects of the ducks.

Age: Preschool-2nd grade
Emotions: Feeling different

Although the size is going to be real awkward on the library shelves, the story is a charming one.

"Digby was different. He sensed it...and it made him feel very alone."

This is a very interesting way to start this type of book because Digby feels excluded but the other lambs aren't necessarily excluding him. In fact, they are peering over at poor Digby as he sits alone off in the distance. One day a giant striped balloon passes by and Digby feels drawn by the balloon's similarities to himself, a striped lamb. The book goes on with Digby finding assorted striped objects until he is truly alone in a strange place. He longs for "someplace where it was okay to be different, where feeling different felt just right." He eventually finds his way to a seashore land full of sheep where he immediately feels at home, where everything is "beautifully different." You have to wonder if this is the same hill he chose to leave.

Another plus about this book is the artwork and Koch's ability to create a picture within a picture, oftentimes a zoom or a slight passage of time. All in all, a very attractive and delightful book.

I'm sure this would be very interesting for someone involved in making music in any capacity. For someone that enjoys listening to music, nothing really pulled me into this more technical history of music.

Age: Preschool-1st grade
Animals: Insects, frogs, lizard

You guessed it. It was super. I was somewhat blown away by the suspenseful plot line as superworm is held hostage by the wizard lizard and the crow. How will his insect friends save him? I also enjoyed seeing how super Superworm really is and what types of amazing things he can accomplish.

Age: Middle School-Adult

First line: "These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed."

This was such a delight! All the blood and gore and headless monster hunting and sharp, pointy teeth. Just splendid! The relationship between Will Henry and Warthrop, between an assistant and a doctor, is just fantastically written. It is complex and real, frustrating and believable. The suspense is so gripping that I read through this sucker remarkably fast. I literally forced my eyes to read faster, willing my mind to comprehend the words faster, in order to unravel the mystery. (This "faster reading" thing is just what I need to read through my to-read list of 80+ books!)