2. Newfangled Fairy Tales   edited by Bruce Lansky. Classic stories with a funny twist. Picture Books 1. The hello, goodbye window     Juster, Norton A young girl takes us to her Nanna and Poppy’s house to see a very special window. Most of the time her Nanna and Poppy are there in the kitchen so she can tap on the window, then hide, or they can wave at her when she arrives. We share her joy in the fun she has with Poppy’s harmonica playing, watching reflections in the window at supper, saying goodnight to the stars with Nanna, looking through the window at the garden, playing outside. Sometimes through the window she sees people; sometimes her imagination fills it with other more amazing sights. Saying goodbye through the window when Mommy and Daddy pick her up is sad, but she looks forward to having her own “Hello, Goodbye Window” some day. Raschka turns the pages into scenes of innocent joy. His paints barely suggest objects as he applies intuitive areas of color, he then uses black lines here and there to define a face, a bicycle, a spouting hose. The personalities of the grandparents and their loving interactions with the narrator make this an engaging tale, while the artist’s imagination forms something special from a bit of childhood. 2. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy     Arnold, Tedd Buzz is visiting Grandma, and Fly Guy comes along for the ride. Oops! Grandma swallows Fly Guy, then a spider, then a bird--and so on.   3. Wait! No Paint!                                           Whatley, Bruce                      The three little pigs are in their usual trouble with the big bad wolf, until a mysterious Voice gets involved and mixes things up. 4. That's good! that's bad! in the Grand Canyon     Cuyler, Margery The little boy and his grandmother drive to the Grand Canyon for another round of "that's good" and "that's bad." As they hike down the trail, our hero embarks on a series of hair-raising catastrophes and rescues into the river, on a helicopter, over a cliff, and up the trail again, until he is safe on grandma's shoulders overlooking the majesty of the canyon. Catrow's frenetic pen-and-ink and watercolor double-page scenes add considerably to the sparse text. His goggle-eyed fish, frightened mule dashing along the trail on hind legs, puzzled fisherman with boy on hook, all keep the giggles going. A map brings a taste of reality to the canyon. 5. Strega Nona  De Paola, Tomie In his Caldecott Honor book, dePaolo tells the story of Strega Nona, who is the source for potions, cures, magic, and comfort in her Calabrian town. When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works. 6. Silly Sally     Wood, Audrey Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards, upside down," as this one does, is guaranteed to be an instant hit with very young children. As one might predict, Silly Sally meets a host of animals along the road. A pig comes along first and joins her in her backwards, upside-down antics. Then follow a dog, a loon, and finally a sheep, who puts the whole crowd to sleep (backwards, upside down, of course). It is Neddy Buttercup, dressed as a flower, "walking forwards, right side up," who rouses the group and then joins them as they parade into town "walking backwards, upside down." Wee ones will love the singsong rhyme and enthusiastically chant the nonsensical refrain. To the clever text are added distinctive watercolor paintings, exploding with whimsy, humor, and zest as the characters prance across the pages against sunny yellow backgrounds. 7. Finklehopper Frog     Livingston, Irene Finkelhopper Frog's jogging style and wild jogging suit meet with criticism until he runs into Ruby Rabbit. 8. The web files     Palatini, Margie Ducktective Web and his poultry partner are on the move in search of a stealer of vegetables: a hen's been robbed of a peck of purple peppers, some horses have been relieved of a tub of tartest tasty tomatoes, and a sheep's lost a load of luscious leafy lettuce. Web's keen instincts lead him to the lair of the Dirty Rat, who proves to have just consumed his purloined salad. 9. Tell me again about the night I was born     Curtis, Jamie Lee A young girl asks her parents about the first night of her life and why her parents decided to adopt her. Full-color illustrations. 10. Harold's trip to the sky     Johnson, Crockett Harold travels to the sky with the help of his purple crayon. 11. Frog and toad are friends     Lobel, Arnold Five very short stories told in a direct and ingenuous style, appealing because of their ease and the familiarity of the situations. 12. Cecily Parsley's nursery rhymes     Potter, Beatrix To celebrate Peter's birthday, Frederick Warne is publishing new editions of all 23 of Potter's original tales, which take the very first printings of Potter's works as their guide. The aim of these editions is to be as close as possible to Beatrix Potter's intentions while benefiting from modern printing and design techniques. The colors and details of the watercolors in the volumes are reproduced more accurately than ever before, and it has now been possible to disguise damage that has affected the artwork over the years. Most notably, The Tale of Peter Rabbit restores six of Potter's original illustrations. 13. Bubble gum in the sky     Everett, Louise A rabbit with a fondness for bubble gum blows a gigantic bubble which carrieshim up into the sky. 14. Mouse tales     Lobel, Arnold This delightful easy reader is a series of seven mouse tales told by Papa Mouse to his seven mouse boys at bedtime. There's stories about a wishing wells, clouds, journeys, and baths. Papa Mouse also tells of a tall mouse, a short mouse, an old mouse, and a mouse with the winds. Each story is accompanied by little illustrations that expand the stories in big ways. 15. More spaghetti, I say!     Gelman, Rita Golden   Minnie the monkey is too busy eating spaghetti all day, in all ways to play with her friend Freddie.   16. Aunt Eater loves a mystery     Cushman, Doug   Aunt Eater loves mystery stories so much that she sees mysterious adventures wherever she looks.   17. The great snake escape     Coxe, Molly Yikes! A king cobra has escaped from the park zoo. Now Maxie must race to find out if the snake eats geese like her or frogs like her friend Maxie-before it's too late! In this action packed page-turner, Mirabel and Maxie discover that sometimes things aren't as scary as they seem. 18. Newt     Novak, Matt In three related stories Newt, a small salamander, befriends a mouse, defines a bug, and comforts the moon. 19. Detective Dinosaur : lost and found     Skofield, James "Help! Baby Penny is lost!" This sounds like a job for Detective Dinosaur and Officer Pterodactyl! The prehistoric police pair from Detective Dinosaur is back on the beat with new cases to crack. But what will happen when Dective Dinosaur loses his way in the dark? 20. Billy the Ghost and me     Greer, Gery Young Sarah, with the help of her friend Billy the Ghost, proves herself as a deputy by planning the perfect capture of two bank robbers in her Western town of Cactus Junction. 21. Kick, pass, and run     Kessler, Leonard P. After observing a boy's football game, a group of animals organizes its own teams and game. 22. Captain Cat : story and pictures     Hoff, Syd A cat makes friends with a soldier and learns about military life when he joins the army. 23. Danny and the dinosaur     Hoff, Syd Danny loves dinosaurs. When he sees one at the museum, he thinks aloud that it would be nice to play with one. When a dinosaur answers Danny, they have a wonderful adventure together. 24. Little Bear's friend     Minarik, Else Holmelund One summer Little Bear makes friends with Emily and her doll Lucy. 25. Arthur's back to school day     Hoban, Lillian There's the school bell! It's the first day back at school for Arthur and Violet and all of their friends. Time for riding the school bus, going to class, and best of all, eating snacks and playing games at recess. But this year the first day is full of surprises. The bus ride to school is an unexpected adventure, and Arthur's friend, Norman, almost loses his lunch box. Just when things settle down, Arthur finds his snack has disappeared from his lunch box. What will happen next on this exciting first day of school? 26. Arthur's camp-out     Hoban, Lillian Bored with spring vacation, Arthur decides to go alone on an overnight field trip in the woods behind his house. 27. Alligator baby     Munsch, Robert When Kristen's parents get lost on their way to the hospital, her baby brother is born at the zoo. In their confusion, her parents bring back a baby alligator. They go back to exchange the baby, but end up bringing home a baby seal, and then a baby monkey. Only when Kristen decides to take matters into her own hands does she finally get to meet her real baby brother. 28. Wait and see     Munsch, Robert It is Olivia's birthday, and when she blows out the candles on her cake and makes a wish she gets exactly what she wanted! 29. Thomas' snowsuit     Munsch, Robert Thomas refuses to wear his new snowsuit despite the pleas of his mother, his teacher, and even the principal. 30. Playhouse     Munsch, Robert Rene loves to play "pretend." After convincing her dad to build her a playhouse, a play barn, and play farm animals, Rene feels something is missing--people! She wants a play mommy and a play daddy to go along with her new playhouse. But Rene's parents don't like the idea, and so she creates cutout-parents from cardboard instead. Her parents cleverly put a stop to Rene's bossiness when a playdaughter takes Rene's place at the dinner table! Fiction 1. Runaway Ralph     Cleary, Beverly Ralph, an energetic young mouse, is tired of life at the Mountain View Inn.  Over the Fourth of July weekend a boy named Keith gave him a mouse-sized motorcycle, but since thennothing exciting has happened.  Hoping to find adventure, Ralph hops on his motorcycle and zooms away to the summer camp down the road. 2. Flour babies     Fine, Anne When his class of underachievers is assigned to spend three torturous weeks taking care of their own "babies" in the form of bags of flour, Simon makes amazing discoveries about himself while coming to terms with his long-absent father. 3. Christina's ghost  Wright, Betty Ren The last thing Christina wants to do this summer is stay with grumpy Uncle Ralph in his old Victorian house.  She's sure she'll have an aweful time.  But on her very first day there, Christina meets a sad, mysterious little ghost boy who seems to need her help. 4. Our teacher's in a wheelchair     Powers, Mary Ellen Text and photographs depict the activities of Brian Hanson, who is able to lead an active existence as a nursery school teacher despite a partial paralysis requiring the use of a wheelchair. 5. Welcome to dead house     Stine, R. L. Amanda and Josh move with their parents into an old haunted house located in the strange town of Dark Falls where people are unlike any they have known before. 6. The great Gilly Hopkins     Paterson, Katherine Gilly Hopkins is a sixth grader who has been in foster care since she was five years old, and dreams of her mother returning to her. While she acts feisty and aggressive, inside she is often scared. A new and loving foster family makes a difference in Gilly's life, and she learns that she needs people, too. Although the subject is serious, Gilly's sense of humor makes this an entertaining story. 7. Junie B. Jones is a beauty shop guy     Park, Barbara Junie B. knows what she wants to be when she grows up, a beauty shop guy. Allshe needs is a little practice and a few volunteers--like her bunny slippers, her dog, and even herself. 8. Jingle bells, Batman smells! (P.S. so does May.)     Park, Barbara Ho, ho ... uh-oh! It's holiday time, and Room One is doing lots of happy things to celebrate. Like wearing elf costumes! And singing joyful songs! Only how can Junie B. enjoy the festivities when Tattletale May keeps ruining her holiday glee? And here is the worst part of all! When everyone picks names for Secret Santa, Junie B. gets stuck with Tattletale you-know-who! It's enough to fizzle your holiday fun! Hmm ... or is it? Maybe-just maybe-a Secret Santa gift is the perfect opportunity to give May EXACTLY what she deserves. 9. Junie B., first grader : boo!--and I mean it!     Park, Barbara. Halloween with Junie B. has got to be a scream! Get ready for a "Halloweenie" adventure with the world's funniest first grader! 10. Junie B. Jones and the mushy gushy valentime     Park, Barbara. It's a mushy gushy mystery! Hurray! February 14--Valentime's Day, as June B. calls it--is just around the corner. Junie B. can't wait to see all the valentimes she'll get. But she never expected a big, mushy card from a secret admirer! Who is this secret mystery guy, anyway? 11. Junie B. Jones and the stupid smelly bus     Park, Barbara Junie B. Jones is ready to start kindergarten. This book is written in Junie's very own words, telling all about her first big kindergarten adventure, including the ride to school on that "stupid, smelly bus." Young children will relate to seeing kindergarten through the eyes of this five-year-old and adults will remember what it was like when they were young. A super funny book! 12. Junie B., first grader : aloha-ha-ha!     Park, Barbara. Junie B. and her family are going on a vacation to Hawaii--and Mr. Scary is giving Junie a real, actual camera to keep a photo journal of her trip. But taking good vacation pictures is not always easy. 13. Junie B., first grader : shipwrecked     Park, Barbara. Junie B. takes center stage in her 23rd book. Room One is putting on a play. And guess what? It's about explorers looking for the New World. Best of all, Junie B. Jones thinks she might be the star of the whole entire production. 14. Junie B., first grader : one-man band     Park, Barbara It's time for the first-grade kickball tournament, but Junie has hurt her big toe and can't play. She could be in Sheldon's halftime show--and she would be the star. What could go wrong? 15. Junie B., first grader : boss of lunch     Park, Barbara Something very wonderful is happening to Junie B. Jones--she's getting to be a professional lunch lady! And that means hanging out with Mrs. Gutzman in the cafeteria, standing behind the counter, and even wearing a real actual hair net! 16. Junie B., first grader (at last!)     Park, Barbara It's a new school year, and everything is different. Junie B. Jones has a new class, a new teacher, and even some new friends. She also has a new problem -- she might need to get glasses! 17. Junie B. Jones is (almost) a flower girl     Park, Barbara Six-year-old Junie B. is disappointed to find out that her aunt has asked someone else to be the flower girl at her wedding. 18.Junie B. Jones is not a crook     Park, Barbara When Junie B. searches for her missing mittens, she discovers that they are not in the Lost and Found, but a wonderful pen "is". It's only right that she should get to keep it, right? 19. Junie B. Jones loves handsome Warren     Park, Barbara Unable to compete with her friends' fancy clothes and running ability, irrepressible six-year-old Junie B. finds her own way to make the new boy at school like her. 20.Junie B. Jones and her big fat mouth     Park, Barbara When her teacher announces Job Day at school, Junie B. gets carried away, coming up with the best--and strangest--job description in Room Nine. 21.Harriet the spy, double agent     Gold, Maya Harriet is impressed to learn that the girl she has befriended, now called Annie Smith, is the person who not only created three names-Rosarita Sauvage, Yolanda Montezuma, and Zoe Carpaccio-but also three distinct personalities to match. This girl has potential. Being a spy has always been rather solitary, so Harriet is glad to have a new friend and spy partner. But then Harriet realizes that Annie reveals very little about herself, and indeed, is not telling the truth about where she goes and who she meets on the weekend.