By Adrian Johnson
Publisher:  Bloomsbury

            It's not always easy for a child to discern the difference between slapstick comedy and real-life misfortune.  Following young Alfie as he spends the day out and about with his grandpa, we learn what he likes to laugh at. When a mean dog frightens the mail carrier, he chuckles.  Alfie giggles when a guard falls down and he cackles out loud when a window washer's bucket of water lands on a tourist. Alfie revels in 'schadenfreude' a German word defined at the book's end and means “taking a malicious delight in the bad luck of others”.  When Alfie encounters misfortune of his own and ends up on the receiving end of a crowd's laughter, Alfie doesn't think it's very funny – but the reader might.  While That's Not Funny is a nice commentary on the right and wrong moments for laughter, it's undeniable that a little schadenfreude from the reader is called for at the end of this story.

By Thierry Robberecht, Illustrated by Phillipe Goossens
Publisher:  Clarion

            When Sarah breaks the rules AND her mother's treasured necklace, she hides the evidence and hopes her mom won't find out.  Sarah begins to lie to hide her guilt and with each lie... a small white ghost pops out of her mouth.  Only Sarah can see the wee smiling ghosts as they float nearby reminding her of her lies.  The little spirits multiply, a new one for each lie the young girl offers to explain her bad mood and cover her aching conscious. It seems the ghosts will fill the house until Sarah discovers that correcting each falsehood with the truth makes the ghost of each lie disappear. Ideal for reading to kids who are struggling with honesty, Sarah's Little Ghosts gently explores cost of a guilty conscious while giving children a powerful tool to make things right – the truth.

by Josh Schneider
Publisher: Clarion

            Even though Samantha's parents tell her “Don't hit your brother or you'll be sorry”, she believes that she'll be more sorry if she doesn't give her younger sibling a punch.  But when the deed is done, her younger brother starts to cry.  He cries buckets of tears that fill the house before spilling out to flood the neighborhood. As the rising waters take their toll on the whole family, Samantha begins to see how her bad choice to hit her brother affects everyone.  Only her heartfelt apology may set things right. Rendered beautifully in ink and watercolor (naturally), You'll Be Sorry is a light-hearted look at the soggier side of being mean. 

Retold by Margaret Read McDonald, Illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma

Publisher:  HarperCollins

            Spending the night at Grandma's takes on new significance when she declares that Little Boy is old enough to sleep in the big brass bed all by himself.  He's very excited until Grandma kisses him goodnight (Smack!), turns out the light (Click!) and closes the bedroom door (Squeeeeeak!).  When Little Boy begins to cry in fright, Grandma quickly returns to comfort him by adding the cat to the bed.  But each time the door squeaks shut, the boy cries out.  So Grandma brings an increasingly absurd procession of animals to share the bed and comfort the boy.  McDonald's use of repetitive phrases. onomatopoeia (“sounds-like” words), and text effects make this version of the traditional cumulative tale ideal for engaging children in the read-aloud experience.

By Tess Weaver, Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

Publisher:  Clarion

            Someone has left the window open and when a cat jumps in, chaos follows.  With a “whoosh” the cat dives into the garbage can looking for something fishy.  Dashing into a closet, the cat and shelf come down with a “Crrraaaaackkk!” Each cat disaster is followed by the “tip-tap, pitter-pitter-pat” of the homeowner's footsteps nearby.  When the feline adventure ends up splattering paint throughout the home's art studio, the story (which could end badly for the cat) takes a heartwarming turn. Combining energetic watercolor illustrations with a broad array of word effects Cat Jumped In! is a resounding treat for young readers.

by Adam Rex
Publisher: Harcourt

            When a young girl visits the zoo, the last thing she expects is a conspiratorial “Pssst!” from a caged gorilla.  It seems he wants her to bring him a new tire to replace his broken swing.  As the girl continues her tour, she is beset with more “Pssst!” followed by increasingly off-kilter requests from a succession of animals.  While they offer reasonable explanations when the girl questions their eccentric needs, the zoo inhabitants may have different plans for the things they've requested.  Combining storybook style with comic book frames and callouts, Adam Rex includes a variety of artistic elements that make this title a hilarious and enchanting read.

by Gillian Shields & Gary Blythe

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

             He was the perfect, pristine bear.  With soft snow white fur, a little red hat and a key that turned in his chest to play music, he was understandably proud of his condition.  But when the bear is lifted from his gift box by a young girl who makes him her constant companion, he quickly resents the indignity of being played with and carried about.  As his fur suffers from the girl's play and bathwater ruins his music box,  the bear laments the loss of his finery.  But when events temporarily separate the bear from the girl, he realizes that being loved is the finest condition for any toy to be in.  The Perfect Bear with its wonderfully poignant illustrations perfectly underscores the adage that toys are meant to be played with.

Too Many Toys

by David Shannon

Publisher:  Scholastic

            Spencer is a young man who is flush with toys.  Armies of soldiers, convoys of cars, a zoo's worth of animals and a bonanza of weapons are just the front ranks of all the toys that populate his house inside and out.  And every single toy is declared his favorite, especially when his mother reaches her clutter limit and tries to reduce the overflow.  Spencer's eloquent defense against the toy culling and the following dramatic negotiations per item will be at once familiar and hilarious to children and parents who repeat these moments in their own lives.  A must-read for every parent who has ever stepped on a Lego (or ten) in bare feet and for the child who left them on the floor, Shannon's Too Many Toys is a charming nudge to clean out the toy box.

by Alison L. Randall, Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth

Publisher: Peachtree Publishers

            On the nineteenth-century western frontier, Mary Ann and her doll Betty, a homemade fabric doll stuffed with seeds of wheat, are inseparable until a strong storm forces Mary Ann to flee to safety leaving Betty outside in the rain.  Later, Mary Ann searches the muddy ground for Betty, but there is no sign of her beloved toy.  The following winter is long and bland without the whispering sound of Betty's wheat-filled body in her pocket. But when Mary Ann discovers a small, doll-shaped patch of wheat emerging from the soil the next spring, the potential for a resurrection of their friendship blooms.  Balanced perfectly with luminous illustrations and rich frontier settings, The Wheat Doll is a loving testament to the true value of a treasured toy.

by Laura Amy Schlitz

Publisher: Candlewick

When eleven-year-old Maud, an orphan with a reputation for mischief, is adopted by elderly sisters who promise her a life of comfort and adventure she looks forward to a life on easy street.  But she soon discovers that she is expected to play a pivotal role in the family business --  conducting fake seances as they travel a circuit of wealthy resort towns to lure in bereaved families.  At first Maud is willing to play tricks on the unsuspecting patrons, but as she begins to discover the emotional cost to those reaching out to the dead, Maud learns the value of a life worth living.  Set in New England during the wane of America's fascination with the Spiritualism Movement,  the period's post-Victorian culture is vividly brought to life in A Drowned Maiden's Hair.

by Kathyn Lasky

Publisher: Viking (Penguin Books for Young Readers)

Freedom in whole or in part is valued by those who have it, but young Julia and her slave, Sura, both realize they are about to lose the small freedoms they have.  Born with a withered arm and considered unfit for gainful  marriage, Julia, the daughter of one of Pompeii's leading families is to be given as a servant to one of the city's temples.  Julia's personal slave and friend, Sura is to be sold as a concubine at the same time.  Both young women plot to escape their fates when a shocking volcanic eruption signals the end of life as they know it. The Last Girls of Pompeii is an engrossing tale that leaves the reader with an appreciation for they freedoms they enjoy.

by Margaret McCullan

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Abandoned by her mother at a neighbor's wedding, Addy chalks the event up to one more hardship that accompanies her difficult life as part of the troublesome O'Donnell clan of No-Bob, a disreputable patch of Mississippi woods.  The newly wed couple take Addy in with grim hope they can tame her backwoods wildness.  But it's not long before Addy's roaming ways give her a ringside seat to a heinous crime that threatens the fragile peace of her rural community and Addie's chances for normalcy. When I Crossed No-Bob is a rich and lyrical portrayal of the choices that many people had to make during Reconstruction as they strove to create communities from fractured societies.