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If you think the economy is bad now, just imagine if chocolate was hard to find in the United States. Even worse that that: illegal! I think I would join Anya Balanchine's gangster family that deal in the illegal importing and selling of chocolate. (Me shuttering!!!) Coffee is illegal also, but that is not a big deal. (I used to believe it turned your knees black, so what is the allure? But I digress.) Anya's older brother, Leo, was permanently disabled in a "hit" meant for his father. In the same hit, their mother was killed. To add to the family trauma, as Anya and her little sister were playing under their father's desk, hit men broke into their home and executed him while he sat at the same desk. All over the control of chocolate and coffee. Anya's life is further complicated by a lousy boyfriend who is a villain. She is pursued by the son of the assistant DA, a star-crossed lovers situation if I ever saw one. Her grandmother, who should be the head of the family business, is slowly fading away. Even though Leo is older, Anya has to take on the burdens of her family. The lousy, now ex, boyfriend? He causes so much trouble that Anya ends up in jail at "Liberty House." The extended family are not helping Anya's dire situation either. I think the reader will really feel the pressure of a teenager who has far too many worries and responsibilities for her age, the horror of Liberty House, the economic decline of New York City, and the insanity that creates criminals.
ENDERS' Rating: ****
Gabrielle's Website

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Tough girl Ceejay wants to be bad like her older brother who is stationed in Iraq. She takes on anyone, verbally and physically, to prove her ferocity. Friends start reporting to her that they have seen Bobby in town, weeks before he is to be released from duty. Once Ceejay finds him, Bobby has begun to hang out with the local wacko who dodges through the battle zone of the nasty Nogo Gatu and the heroic Yimmies. Bobby makes other strange choices. Ceejay watches with unbelief as her brother and Captain Crazy come to terms with the horrors of war.

ENDERS' Rating: ***

Tim's Website

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Slightly Invisible: Featuring Charlie and Lola. Lauren Child. 2011. Candlewick Press. 40 pages.

I have this little sister, Lola.
She is small and very funny.
She always wants to know what I am up to, and she always wants to do what I am doing. She NEVER wants to be anywhere without me.
Most of the time this is fine. But sometimes I just want to be by myself
ON MY OWN with just Marv.
Marv is my best friend, and usually we like to spend our time looking for strange and tricky creatures.
Lola does not think this is fun.

I love Charlie and Lola, I do. I have loved many of their adventures. I was a fan even before the television show. My first Charlie and Lola adventure was I Am Too Absolutely Small for School. Other early Charlie and Lola titles are I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato and I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go To Bed. So I was quite excited to see Slightly Invisible.

In this Charlie and Lola adventure, Charlie is tired of having Lola intrude on his time with his best friend, Marv. He wants some time away from his little sister. Lola doesn't like it when Charlie wants this. She just loves and adores him and thinks he's great fun to play with! Marv too! But Lola doesn't always LIKE the way these two boys play. Like when Charlie and Marv go out looking for "strange and tricky creatures." Why can't Charlie and Marv realize that playing tea party is so much more fun!

But Lola is Lola is Lola. And if you're familiar with her at all, you can guess she may just have the last word! This time it's with the help of her good friend, her invisible friend Soren Lorensen.

This one is funny and cute and charming. In other words just what you'd expect from a Charlie and Lola book! My favorite thing? Looking for the *invisible* Soren Lorensen throughout the book--you'll find him on many of the pages!!!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Brand-New Baby Blues by Kathi Appelt. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. 2009. December 2009. HarperCollins. 32 pages.

Once upon a time
I was the only one,
I was the cat's pajamas,
I was the moon and sun.

It was me and only me--
I was the icing on the cake.
I was the royal pooh-bah,
the chocolate in the shake.

But everything changes when this little girl gets a baby brother. Now our little heroine has a case of the brand-new baby blues. While her life may never be quite the same again, can she find a way to count her blessings? Can she even learn to love him?


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Maggie's Monkeys. Linda Sanders-Wells. Illustrated by Abby Carter. 2009. April 2009. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.

Last week, a family of pink monkeys moved into our refrigerator. At least that's what my little sister, Maggie, said. She announced that the monkeys were in there and put a bowl of peanuts for them next to the juice pitcher. Nobody else could see any monkeys, but that didn't seem to matter to anybody except me.

Maggie's Monkeys is narrated by an exasperated older brother (a middle child, by the way) who just can't fathom why his parents (and older sister) are going along with his younger sister Maggie's wild-and-crazy imagination. Pink monkeys?! Really?! In the refrigerator?!


Yet when his own friends start to tease her...what's an older brother to do but lend a hand?!

I found this one to be a cute book, a funny book, with some heart! I loved the story of this one. How a brother and sister can not get along, and yet, when it really matters, when it really counts, they can be there for one another.

I enjoyed the illustrations. Readers should be on the look out for the pink monkeys! They might just find a few!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Barrett, Tracy. 2009. The Sherlock Files: The Beast of Blackslope. Henry Holt. 174 pages.

This is the second in a mystery series. The first is The 100 Year Old Secret. Xander and Xena are a brother-sister detective team. Descendants of the great Sherlock Holmes. They inherited his book of 'unsolved cases' in the first book, and are back for their second adventure. These two (along with their parents) are visiting a not-so-cozy bed and breakfast in the country. They hear a strange and frightening noise one day, and then begin to hear rumors of a beast. Thanks to a superb memory, one of the two remembers that Sherlock Holmes tried to solve this case a hundred years ago--a case of a strange beast in this area--but couldn't. Can these two figure out both mysteries--the identity of the beast then and now?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Trueit, Trudi. 2009. Secrets of a Lab Rat: No Girls Allowed (Dogs Okay). Simon & Schuster. 118 pages.

I think this one might work for the younger crowd (especially boys). But the immature humor could limit the appeal for everyone else. What this one has working for it is some kid appeal. I think the easy-and-obvious jokes (bantering) could appeal to some readers. Not to this reader. But to some readers. Our hero is a young boy, Scab, who loves, loves, loves to drive his sister (his twin sister), Isabelle, crazy. He's always thinking of a hundred different ways to annoy, frustrate, and/or torture his sister. These pranks and inventions are never-ending. (Which is tiresome in a way.) This book is about one of his inventions. He wants to invent a spray (or perfume) to drive away sisters. He accidentally is successful on this one when he starts selling this sister-repellent to other boys at his school. Unfortunately, it's named after his sister, and she's not laughing about it. Can this brother grow a heart and work up an apology? Or is he a hopeless case?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Durand, Hallie. 2009. Dessert First. Simon & Schuster. 151 pages.

I don't know if Mrs. Howdy Doody is her real God-given name or not, but on the very first day of third grade, our teacher told us to call her that She also told us, on that very first day, to march to our own drummers.

This book was satisfying. Dessert Schneider, the narrator, just charmed me through and through. It's one of those books that I wished I could have read as a kid. Because I know that while I liked it now as an adult, I would have been crazy about it as a kid. I'm not sure exactly why. Sure it is a great book that is passionate about food--about desserts to be exact--but I think it goes beyond that. I think it is Dessert herself. I can see myself in her. She's so perfectly imperfect. So lovably flawed. She doesn't always do the right thing, say the right thing. She makes mistakes. And, on a good day, she recognizes that and tries to fix it. I like that she's unique. That she has her own way of seeing the world.

I don't know that I can pinpoint exactly what this one is about. It sounds silly to say it's about an 8 year old learning some important life lessons. Because while Dessert does learn from some of her mistakes, the book isn't about her learning from mistakes. (In an oh-so-didactic way). It's about Dessert, about her family, about her teacher, about a school project, about life itself.

The project is asking the students to give up something that they love for two weeks. Each day they succeed, their sponsor(s) give a designated amount of money. ($2 a day for not doing whatever it is, for example.) Dessert struggles with what to give up. Because while she thinks the prize is good (they're raising money for something for the playground I believe), she doesn't want to give up something too big (like desserts), but she can't be too obvious about giving up something too small. (Like mayonnaise.) What's a girl to do?

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Kirsch, Vincent X. 2008. Natalie and Naughtily. Bloomsbury.

Natalie and Naughtily Nopps lived in a house on top of the greatest department store in the world. Did you notice that it is a department store with their name on it? Well, did you?

From the time they were born, Natalie did things one way and Naughtily did them another.

On rainy days, these two are allowed to play in the store. On sunny days, they wish it would rain. (They'd rather play in the store than on the beautiful roof-top garden.) This story takes place on a rainy day. The girls' parents have asked them not to play in the store. But the girls decide that they should ignore those instructions. They're not going to "play" in the store, they're going to help in the store. But how much can help can two small--and sometimes naughty, but always stubborn--children be? Read and see in Natalie and Naughtily.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Selfers, Suzanne. 2007. To Catch a Mermaid. Little, Brown Young Readers. 246 pages.

This is a quirky little book great for fourth to sixth graders (ish). Here's how it starts off, "Boom Broom awoke to find his little sister, Mertyle, looking for spots. 'It's a good day for spots,' she announced, examining her knobby knees with a magnifying glass. The Broom family is a mess. Ever since Mrs. Broom (good-old mom) was blown away by a freak twister, the family has been following to pieces. Mr. Broom has quit painting. Which means he's stopped selling his paintings. Which means their in financial stress. Mertyle, the little sister, hasn't left the house since the accident. (Not that Mr. Broom has much either. In fact, he seems to be stuck to hiding in the attic and/or closets.) Boom Broom has been trying to manage himself--with only a little help from their Viking cook, Halvor, but the Brooms are far from happy.

One day when Boom is supposed to be bringing home a fresh fish to eat for supper--Halvor loves fish--he brings home a freebie reject fish instead. This 'fish' turns out to be a merbaby. A wild, squealing, ugly as all get out, merbaby. And this one little act will set the course for a quirky and odd adventure that will either be the catalyst for great change (and happiness) or doom them all with an ancient curse.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Landolf, Diane Wright. 2009. What A Good Big Brother. Ilustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Random House.

What do babies do best? Well, babies do many things, really, but one of the things they do best is express themselves. They cry. A lot. Cameron, the little boy in the story, is a good big brother. He loves his baby sister, Sadie. He's learning what there is to know about babies. He's finding out quickly that babies cry for many different reasons. The book shows that taking care of a baby is a group effort. There are jobs for mom, dad, and a big brother. (Dad does diaper duty, for example. Mom breastfeeds.) There's a whole lot of crying going on in this book, but there is a surprise there at the end. A happy surprise! Can you guess what it is?

I thought this was a good book, a realistic book. (I enjoyed the illustrations!) Babies can be loud. And crying can be frustrating. But babies are cute--Cameron loves to kiss baby toes--and they're worth it. I like that it has Dad getting involved, being involved. He isn't just passing the baby to his wife and saying, you take care of it, you make it be quiet.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Charlie and Lola: You Can Be My Friend! The book is based on a TV show which is based on characters created by Lauren Child. I love Charlie and Lola. I do. I LOVE them. I love the show. I love the books.

In this episode, we see Lola making a new friend. (Not a new best friend, but a friend.) It's a bit tricky there for a while, but soon Lola's bubbly personality--okay the bubbly pink milk--brings out the giggles in her very very very shy acquaintance...and friendship isn't that far away once the giggles begin.

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Madison, Alan. 2008. 100 Days and 99 Nights.

Everyone calls me Esme, which is five letters short of my given name, Esmerelda. My middle name, Swishback, is my mother's last name before she got married. And my last name, McCarther, is spelled with two C's--the first one is a baby and the second one isn't. That's me all over: I'm Esmerelda Swishback McCarther. (1)

Esme has a younger brother, Ike, and quite a few pets. Esme is used to moving around quite a lot. Her father is in the army. She's lived in Korea, Kenya, and Germany. And the U.S., of course, where she is living now. Virginia to be exact. But her father's last assignment is a place where his family can't come with him. He'll be away on tour of duty for 100 days and 99 nights. This is Esme's story of how she copes with his absence, and copes with life in general--getting along with her brother, going to school, etc.

Esme's uniqueness manifests itself early on. She's got a "bedzoo" of animals living with her. Stuffed animals on her bed all the way from A to Z. Each chapter features an animal from her bedzoo. But Esme's uniqueness is also illustrated in her narrative voice. It's strong; it's spunky. It's vulnerable. It just feels right.

138 pages.

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