From Netgalley

I've been reading an eclectic mix this week of new things from Netgalley.  I must be craving a bit of variety or was really open minded when I was browsing the list of new books!  Anyway, here's some books to look for.

The first one is a picture book by Susan Eaddy called "Poppy's Best Paper".  Poppy is a little bunny who wants to be a famous writer (or maybe a brain surgeon).  When her teacher gives her a writing assignment, she finds many things to do while she's writing her story.  Her friend Lavender gets her paper read out loud and Poppy is very unhappy.  It's a great story to show how hard work and perseverance pay off.  The pictures are adorable and lots of kids are going to identify with Poppy's initial strategies for writing.  It reminded me a lot of "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" by Kevin Henkes.
Here's a book trailer for it.

I also read one called "After Dark" by James Leck and this one is completely different!  This one is a YA book about a boy named Charlie who is trying to break as many rules as possible and still stay in school.  Having a good time is biggest goal.  Unfortunately, summer break is coming and when his mom comes to pick him up, he finds that things at home have changed.  His mom has bought an inn and plans to spend the summer fixing it up (manual labor?  Horrors!).  The first night they are there, a young man comes running up to the inn saying that he's being chased by evil beings.  Charlie doesn't take Miles seriously at first, but as the days pass, Miles seems more and more credible.  It's kind of funny and scary at the same time.  It also has an ending that leads you to believe that this is the first one in series (or at least there's another one coming).  

The last one is also a picture book and this one is going to be my new favorite (for today!).   It's called "The Good Little Book" by Kyo Maclear.  It's about a boy who gets in trouble and when he goes to think about thinks, he finds a book.  It's a really good book and the boy enjoys it.  He finds that he keeps going back to the book over and over again and that each time it's a little different or maybe just the same, but it's still wonderful.  One day the book gets lost and the boy spends a lot of time looking for it.  He finds the book again but decides that the book is better off where it is and sets off to find a new book.  This one is one is going to be great for talking about how to find books and how books can be meaningful.  It will be great paired with Kate Messner's new book "How to read a story".