My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. Knopf Books for Young Readers (1996), Hardcover, 40 pages

"Some days are yellow. Some are blue. On different days I'm different too." More than a color book, this little known and lovely picture book by Dr. Seuss describes our changing emotions in terms of color. A great tool for starting a discussion about moods and feelings in a child friendly and age appropriate manner.

Shhhhh! Everybody's Sleeping by Julie Markes. HarperCollins (2005), Hardcover, 32 pages

Perfect for young children who have trouble at bedtime; simple rhyming text and softly colored illustrations remind young children that the adults in their lives (teacher, police officer, baker, etc.) go to bed when it is time for sleep, and encourages them to do the same. Sweet. Is it effective? Let us know!

Never Tease a Weasel (Picture Book) by Jean Conder Soule. Random House Books for Young Readers (2007), Hardcover, 40 pages

The rhymthmic rhyming verse is silly and fun, while the repetitive refrain "and teasing weasels isn't nice' helps to reinforce an important message.

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi. Pantheon (2004), Hardcover, 192 pages

Marjane Satrapi's honest and compelling memoir of her young adult (15-22)years--continues the story where Persepolis left off. A 15 year old Setrapi arrives alone in Austria only to find herself a virtual refugee in a country she has never visited and does not speak the language. Lonely and frightened, and later depressed, Satrapi uses various coping mechanisms--lying, drugs, cynicism--that leave her feeling unhappy and further isolated. At 19, she flees Austria to return to Teheran, only to find herself a refugee (of sorts) in her own country. And things have changed in Iran; politcal repression and war have taken their toll; Even her parents seen to be cynical and have lost much hope. Where in the West she was defined entirely as an Iranian, in Iran she was defined almost entirely as a Westerner and her angst continues. A coming of age story filled with angst; a young woman trying to find her way under a repressive Islamic fundamentalist regime. Painfully honest and thought provoking, we hurt for Satrapi as she tries to discover what is important and who she wants to be. **must be paired with Persepolis I for full impact. I loved it.

Babymouse: Heartbreaker (Babymouse) by Jennifer Holm. Random House Books for Young Readers (2006), Paperback, 96 pages

My favorite of the series, Babymouse loves Valentine's day but soon finds out (as we all do) that this holiday can be cruel! But never fear because as with all books in the series, Babymouse triumphs in the end--
A charming and playful graphic series for young -and young at heart- girls depicting everyday problems--like how to survive sleepover camp and what happens when you don't have a valentine--in a fun and lighthearted way. GO BABYMOUSE!

Andy Shane and the Very Bossy Dolores Starbuckle by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. Candlewick (2005), Hardcover, 64 pages

Andy Shane begins to dread going to school because of the behavior of one block head--Dolores Starbuckle. Dolores torments Andy--she tells on him, she bosses him around, she corrects him, and is especially mean to him while he withers submissively and begs not to go to school. As in Henke's Chrysanthemum, this verbal harassment goes unchecked by the classroom teacher--who does not like it but fails to intervene. It is up to Granny Webb to help Andy regain his confidence.
While i enjoyed the much of the story and found the situation poor Andy found himself in very realistic, I was dissatisfied with the ending. Unlike Chrysanthemum, where the main character regains her confidence AND the bully gets a well deserved come uppence, Andy and Dolores become friends with no explanation and no mea culpas from the bully. Not a good lesson for either child. Still, a good chance to start some very important conversations with our children.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books (2007), Hardcover, 784 pages

Aah...the final book in the series--number 7. Harry and the Hogwarts crew are 17 and missing their final year at school because He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named is back with a full army of death eaters, spiders, giants, and other forces of evil--and will stop at nothing to kill Harry and take over the entire (wizarding and muggle) world. We all waited for the finale and it is definitely worth reading, but it is my LEAST favorite of the bunch; it feels both rushed and overfull of detail--complex and convoluted plot twists and back story explanations that are kept for the final book clearly to prevent anyone from foreseeing the storyline; the price for this is a book over full of new details and characters and secrets that remind me a lot of a Sherlock Holmes movie mystery where no one but Sherlock could EVER have figured out the case. --Don't get me wrong--I love Harry and have read every book. I really like a lot of the characters and have enjoyed the series immensely. But this one was clearly not up to the standards of the first books. The love plots make Ron and Harry and especially Hermione and Ginny much more boring. Ron is inexplicably much more reasonable and heroic. Hermione is dull when he is around. Almost every character we have EVER met makes a brief appearance (including dead ones) and to be perfectly honest, i still can't explain everything that happened that led to the happy ending.