Staff Favorites

		Staff Favorites For more complete booklists by age level, see the Newsletter section
		Gwen's Spring Favorites:
		Little Rabbit’s New Baby by Harry Horse Little Rabbit is on an emotional roller coaster when the sibling he was excited about turns out to be triplets. The rabbit maternity ward is one of the funniest illustrations to grace a picture book this spring. This is a solid and entertaining story of dashed and rebuilt expectations, sure to be enjoyed even if there is no new baby in sight.
			On The Farm by David Elliott Holly Meade's oversize woodcuts are a lively accompaniment to these deceptively simple verses about farm animals. A good choice for reading to a preschooler, or sharing with an early elementary class.
		Scaredy Squirrel At The Beach by Melanie Watt Scaredy Squirrel returns in another laugh out loud encounter with the unpredictable world. His aversion to hostile gulls and jellyfish (Scaredy, you forgot about the hot sand!) causes him to construct a private beach complete with plastic flamingo and kitty litter. Will he come to his senses and stick a paw in the ocean?
			Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen This may be my favorite Dessen novel yet, and that's saying alot because The Truth About Forever and This Lullaby are pretty hard to top. Ruby is temporarily living with a sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and although she should be relieved to share in her sister's good fortune and generous family, Ruby is most comfortable as a rootless outsider. Dessen hits all the right notes in Ruby's journey to unlearn the emotional lessons her difficult childhood has taught her.
		The Penderwicks On Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall If I had to join a fictional family, I think this is the one – although it might be hard to keep up with these 4 energetic and witty sisters. Their good intentions, be they to save Daddy from loneliness or combine talents at homework time, backfire in most humorous and spectacular ways.
			Tennyson by Lesley Blume When their unreliable mother leaves, Tennyson and her sister are sent to their father’s decaying ancestral plantation in 1932 Louisiana, and Tennyson’s scheme to bring her mother home intersects with a mystery from the past. A haunting, atmospheric novel.
		Theodosia And The Serpents Of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers My favorite new spunky heroine – Theo does whatever it takes to keep her parents' London museum free of pesky Egyptian curses (with the occasional misread hieroglyph resulting in a bespelled cat). Whether it is sleeping in a sarcophagus or stowing away in an ocean liner’s lifeboat, Theo bravely stands between ancient evil and the safety of the British Empire.
		Pat Purdy Recommends:
		Digby Takes Charge, Caroline Church. S&S, $14.99. Digby the sheepdog tries increasingly comical ways to herd the sheep into their pen.
			Anne Hutchinson’s Way, Jeannine Atkins. FSG, $17. In 1640 a mother and her family leave the colony of Mass. rather than compromise their belief in religious tolerance and freedom of speech.
		Young Pele, Lesa Cline-Ransome. RH, $16.99. Brazilian soccer star Pele’s determination helped him overcome many childhood obstacles.
			The Wall, Peter Sis. FSG, $18. In graphic novel format, with diary entries, the powerful story of what it was like to grow up behind the Iron Curtain in Prague.
		First Light, Rebecca Stead. Random, $15.99. Alternating chapters tell the stories of Peter, who accompanies his scientist parents to Greenland, and Thea, who lives in a society with rigid rules, hidden from the light of the sun under the Arctic ice.