In this loopy, fun debut, a boy tries to convince his gray-haired teacher that an armchair with a powerful beak ate his homework, but fails to mention that his so-called "vulchair" also loves to munch on old ladies.
Even though Jeremy's gorilla-faced house looms large in the neighborhood, no one seems to believe that his house is any different than anyone else's, let alone that it's genetically spliced with zoo animals.
It wouldn't be a big deal, except that his animal house, with its giraffe roof and monkey chimney, is always getting Jeremy into trouble in class.
While other kids only worry about dogs eating their homework, Jeremy has an entire house that gets into mischief -- every inanimate feature, from the roof to the bed, has eyes, a mouth and appendages, not to mention natural curiosity.
As a result, Jeremy is always coming to class with his homework half-gone or missing things entirely. Take the day his "snailbox," a mailbox with a snail head jutting out the front, devoured the class plant, or the day his "shrewler," a shrew with a ruler running down its tummy, gnawed his Statue of Liberty project.
Until now, Mrs. Nuddles shrugged off Jeremy's wild excuses, saying he had an overactive imagination, but this time Jeremy's gone too far and unless Jeremy can prove to Mrs. Nuddles during a home visit that a "vulchair" really does exist, he won't be going on the class field trip.
Of all three boy dogs, Zoomer's the one who doesn't waste a minute of his day. He's always leaping off something or turning mundane objects into fanciful things.
But now he's being obstinate about doing something he likes to do and Dad can't figure out why.
With Mom away, Dad has to round up the boys and get them ready for school. The problem is, Zoomer says he's not going to school and now he's running through the house getting into mischief.
Every time his brothers, Cooper and Hooper, head off to get their bubble bath and put on clean collars as they were told, Zoomer finds something else to do and distracts them too, making it almost impossible for Dad to get them ready.
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Brett Helquist, HarperCollins, $17.99, age 4-8. Helquist makes you feel every scowl, and look of regret and glee that passes over Scrooge's face in this wonderful picture book adaption of Dicken's classic about a miser who is taught the meaning of Christmas by spirits of the past, present and future. Helquist is the illustrator of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Blueberry Girl, written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess, HarperCollins, $17.99, ages 4-8. Gaiman's words float off the page in this enchanting New Age prayer. The author of Coraline asks the "ladies of light and ladies of darkness and ladies of never-you-mind" to guide the world's girls to be wise and safe, bold and brave. Don't miss Gaiman's magical recitation in the trailer below!
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, Hyperion Books for Children, $16.99, ages 3 and up. When a buck-toothed mole rat named Wilbur defies convention and puts on clothes, other bare-skinned members of his species rat him out to wise old grandpa in this delightfully goofy story about striking out on your own by a three-time Caldecott Honor author-illustrator.
Leon and the Place Between, by Angela McAllister, illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith, Templar Books, $16.99, ages 4-8, 48 pages. A venturous boy leaps into a box where magic is kept and discovers a wondrous world of flying carpets, shadow puppets and fantastical tricks in this mesmerizing book about the power of believing. Illustrator Baker-Smith, who also designed the covers of Robert Plant's albums Mighty Rearranger and Nine Lives, works magic on the page.
Bridget Fidget and the Most Perfect Pet, by Joe Berger, Penguin Young Readers Group, $16.99. ages 3-5. Hearing the doorbell ring, a lovable little fireball named Bridget races downstairs and rips open a box she assumes is a unicorn or a penguin or some other grand pet in this sparkling debut about the thrill of getting a package, even when it's small. Bridget's exuberance is infectious and will delight fans of Ian Falconer's Olivia.
Robot Zot!, by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by David Shannon, Simon & Schuster, $17.99, ages 3-7, 40 pages. A brash little robot with uneven teeth invades a suburban kitchen, blows up appliances, then falls in love with a cell phone toy in this wildly silly book by a Caldecott Honor-winning author. (Watch this spring for Scieszka's new chapter books series, Spaceheadz, about aliens who invade earth.)
Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex, Hyperion Books for Children, $16.99, ages 4-8. As punishment for ignoring his parents, Billy is saddled with a blue whale as long as a block and is shunned by classmates who think the whale dampens their fun in this imaginative story about making the most of a bad situation. (Barnett is also the author of the wonderful new detective series The Brixton Brothers for ages 9-12.)
Princess Hyacinth (The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated), Schwartz & Wade, by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith, $17.99, ages 4-8. Tired of wearing pebbles in her socks and other contrivances to keep her from floating away, a lightweight princess pulls off the heavy garb she's been forced to wear and ties a balloon to her ankle, only to find herself rising too high in the sky in this charming story by the author of The Shrinking of Treehorn.
The King of Quizzical Island, by Gordon Snell, illustrated by David McKee, Candlewick Press, $16.99, ages 4-8. A king sets sail for the edge of the world and finds himself in a topsy turvy land of jigsaw pieces, going over a vertical river and being tossed into a sea of nightmares, before being washed ashore at his own backdoor in this fanciful story that bounces along like a poem by Eugene Fields.
The Odd Egg, written and illustrated by Emily Gravett, Simon & Schuster, $15.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. Seeing other birds laying eggs, a drake tracks down a giant, green-speckled egg of his own, only to be razzed for having such an odd egg until a baby alligator hatches out and scares the birds off the page in this delightful tale by the author of Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears.
Written by Nan Forler, illustrated by Francois Thisdale
Tundra Books, 2009
$19.95, ages 4-8, 32 pages
A skinny girl with wobbly legs finds the courage to stand up for a classmate who is being picked on in this poetic story about believing in what can be.
Eliza is as frail looking as a newly hatched bird, but is told by her mother that she can do anything she puts her mind to. Ever since she was a baby, her mother has told Eliza she can fly.
"Look down and see what is," her mother says. "Now, look up and see what can be."
Then one day Lainey, a new girl with a big smile bounds up the steps of the school bus, and Eliza must dig deep inside herself to learn what those words really mean.
Lainey has a friendly face, but looks different from the other kids. Her yellow hair sticks out like straw. Her coat is frayed and torn. The buttons on her coat are mismatched. And soon the kids are taunting her and making her feel unwelcome.
At school, Eliza sits next to Lainey without saying a word. She peers over Lainey's shoulder to watch her paint pictures of a beautiful castle in the sky. But as the teasing picks up, the sunlight and birds begin to fade from Lainey's artwork.
On the schoolyard, a boy tosses Lainey's hat into the snow and other kids join in, kicking it deeper into the snow. Then the boy squishes snow into Lainey's face and wipes away what was left of the smile she had on the first day of school.
Eliza stands in the back of the group, with her chin tucked in her collar, and does nothing to help. She feels like a statue in the snow, her mouth is as dry as wool. She knows she should say something, but she can't get herself to speak up.
It is deep into winter and the suffering both girls feel is made more acute by the cold outside: the sting of loneliness that Lainey feels and the chill that is going through Eliza when she watches the bullying without coming to Lainey's defense.
When Lainey walks with her head down back to class and draws sad pictures that afternoon, Eliza feels shame and it shows in her face; without moving her head, she steals a glance at Lainey, as if pretending she's not looking.
The next day, Lainey doesn't show up for school and Eliza can no longer bear the guilt inside her.
Eliza goes to her mother and tells her about Lainey's sad drawings and the silence that occurred when no one stood up for her. Instead of admonishing Eliza for not coming forward, her mother helps Eliza realize what she should do: reach out and show Lainey how to fly.
Forler's lyrical words capture so well the trepidation a child feels standing up to bullies, as well as the guilt that comes with doing nothing to help, then offers an inspiring example of a child doing what is right and feeling uplifted by it.
Thisdale uses photographs of real faces enhanced by paint to convey emotions, at times so honestly they're painful to see, as when Lainey scrunches her eyes shut after being hit in the face with snow. Other times expressions are exhilarating, as when Lainey looks with a faraway smile at her painting of a castle.
Any child who's ever found themselves at a crossroads, deciding between standing up for what is right or looking the other way, will find the courage to fly after reading this lovely book.
By Candace Ryan
