Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Summary:  Ever have one of those dreams where you suddenly realize you’re only wearing your underwear (or worse)?  Jeff the bear’s about to leave his house, and he can’t figure out what’s wrong.  He ate breakfast, he watered  his plant, he took a bath, he tried on his gift from his grandma…. Readers will notice right away what the gift was, but off Jeff goes into the forest, where bug-eyed animals ask “Why is that bear wearing underwear?” as he walks away.  Jeff tries to move forward confidently, but can’t help feeling that something is amiss.  Finally, he goes to his best friend, Anders the rabbit, who tells him what’s up, then addresses all the animals in the forest about it.  A little reverse psychology takes care of everything, and Anders tells him, “Good friends are like good underwear, Jeff.  They’re reliable and they’re supportive.”  40 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  Put this book on display before a first grade class comes into the library, and if it’s still there when they’re lined up to leave, start checking for pulses. Would pair well with Who Wet My Pants? in a “bears in compromising positions” story hour.

Cons:  It’s like a nightmare come true.

Published by Imprint

Summary:  When she was two years old, illustrator Robbi Behr’s family bought a piece of land in Coffee Point, Alaska to start a commercial salmon fishing business.  She and her sister and brother return every summer to keep the business gong.  This story is told from the viewpoint of Robbi (and her author husband Matt Swanson)’s oldest daughter who gets to be part of the fishing crew for the first time.  Starting with the bush plane ride that gets them there, readers learn each step of the salmon fishing process that is hard work but ultimately rewarding.  The last four pages are a note from Behr that gives the history of her family’s connection to Coffee Point, including photos and additional scientific information.  48 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  I really loved this book for both the beautiful illustrations of Alaska and the fascinating true story of this family’s summers there.  I can’t wait to share this story with kids at my school to give them a glimpse of an unusual way to spend the summer.

Cons:  I only know Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr from their excellent The Real McCoys series and have somehow missed their other picture books. 

Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  “My grandmother came to visit.  I had met her once before.  She lived far away.  Her hair was very white and very, very long.”  This somewhat mysterious grandmother proposes that she and her grandchild play jaguars.  And suddenly, they ARE jaguars, heading out into the night, where they hunt (“I didn’t want to eat a raw rabbit so I said I was allergic”), run, and travel to the Himalayas.  Suddenly remembering school, the narrator says he has to get back soon.  The grandmother gives him a long look with her jaguar eyes, but then they run back to the school.  “Who knew how much school I had missed?  But it was okay…my grandmother wrote me a note.”  The final illustration shows the silhouette of a jaguar sitting in class and a teacher holding a piece of paper with a paw print on it.  44 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  This ambiguous tale is beautifully written and illustrated, leaving open the question of whether the jaguar adventures were real or imagined.  As an aside, I only recently realized that Dave Eggers is a big deal in the world of adult literature as well as children’s (a line from April Ludgate in a Parks and Recreation episode tipped me off).  This story would make a good mentor text for teaching similes and other figurative language.

Cons:  Some kids (and adults) might not like the ambiguity.