Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Summary:  It’s Carmela’s birthday, and her wish has come true–today she gets to go with her brother.  Riding her scooter through city streets, she sees the fenced-off repair shop, the crowded bus stop, and the home improvement store where her father used to stand around and wait for work.  The two siblings go to the laundromat, then to the market.  Carmela knows she’s annoying to her older brother, who doesn’t want her hanging around, but she doesn’t care.  They go past their old apartment building, and Carmela imagines “her dad getting his papers fixed so he could finally be home.”  Carmela finds a dandelion, and her brother tells her she’s supposed to make wishes on it.  As they head for home, she falls off her scooter, and the dandelion is crushed.  Her brother helps her up and checks that she’s okay.  Then he takes her to a magical place by the sea where there are hundreds of dandelion seeds–wishes–floating through the air.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The award-winning team that brought you Last Stop on Market Street has done it again, with a story that doesn’t seem like such a big deal the first time through, but that grows on you with each rereading.  The two kids are resilient, despite their difficult circumstances that are subtly woven into the narrative.  This would be a great mentor text for showing character development; just like in Market Street, there are believable, likeable characters who slowly reveal their true natures as the story unfolds.

Cons:  I was hoping there would be some little intersection with C.J. and his grandma from Market Street.

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Published by Groundwood Books

Summary:  A little girl tells about traveling to Haiti, her mother’s birthplace, to visit her artist Auntie Luce.  Auntie Luce shows her niece around Haiti, driving through the city before heading to her home and studio in the country.  In the studio are paintings of some of the heroes from Haiti’s past like Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Catherine Flon, and Francois-Dominique Louverture, as well as portraits of the girl’s ancestors.  When it’s her turn to sit for a portrait, she finds it’s hard to sit still for so long; Auntie Luce distracts her with stories about Haiti and its history. At the end of her visit, her aunt gives the girl her portrait telling her, “These colors, this people, this place belong to you.  And you belong to them, always.” Includes an author’s note giving a brief history of Haitian independence and a glossary. 36 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  An ode to Haiti, celebrating its history of independence and its beauty, particularly with the vibrantly colored illustrations.

Cons:  I wish there was more information about the history of Haiti in the author’s note.

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Published by Disney-Hyperion

Summary:  Poor Penelope!  It’s tough enough for a young T. Rex going to school for the first time, but when she discovers her classmates are all children, she can’t resist eating them…because children are delicious!  The teacher makes her spit them all back out, but that first impression lasts, and Penelope finds herself without any friends. Her parents explain to her that she can’t eat her classmates, reminding her that “children are the same as us on the inside.  Just tastier.” Penelope tries, but she still has an occasional slip-up until she attempts to make friends with Walter, the classroom goldfish. When she sticks her finger in the water, Walter takes a bite, and Penelope does not like being someone’s snack at all!  Just looking at Walter reminds her to practice self-control, and before long Penelope has turned things around at school and is making friends. 48 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  A funny story about a T. Rex that also conveys good messages about treating others how you want to be treated and practicing self-control.

Cons:  I thought Penelope could have been a bit cuter; her head is kind of a cross between a beach ball and a football helmet.

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  The little red chicken and her father are back with their bedtime story routine.  This time, Little Chicken has been told by her teacher that every story has an element of surprise….only she heard this as an elephant of surprise.  So in each story her father reads to her, she is on the lookout for that elephant.  Just like in Interrupting Chicken, the father reads a classic fairy tale, and his daughter interrupts, inserting herself and the elephant.  The illustrations for the stories are a bit more dignified, with paler colors and classic-looking characters; the elephant and Little Chicken herself appear in the stories in the style of the rest of the book.  Dad is still awake at the end of this story; on the last page, Little Chicken asks him for help with her math homework.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Fans of the first Caldecott-honored Interrupting Chicken will no doubt enjoy some chuckles as they revisit Little Chicken and her patient, loving father.

Cons:  The premise of the interrupting chicken felt a little tired to me in this one.

A copy of this book was provided to me by Candlewick.

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