Share With Brother by Steven L. Layne, illustrated by Ard Hoyt

Big brother bunny has been patiently waiting for his baby brother to grow up. His parents promised him his brother would be fun as he got older. However, as his younger brother becomes an active toddler, lots of sharing problems occur between the two siblings. With each sharing catastrophe, big brother is always advised, "Share with brother and someday brother will share with you." This lesson is tested when baby brother gets sick and his big brother comes to the rescue. 

A sequel to Layne and Hoyt's Love the Baby, Share with Brother is a story about the trials children go through when learning to share their lives with a younger sibling. Layne's witty words and Hoyt's quirky watercolor illustrations combine to make a sincerely funny story many readers can relate to. The big brother protagonist does not like how his younger brother has taken away the attention he once had from his family and friends. But when his young brother stops receiving that attention due to his illness, big brother understands how he feels. He goes and shares his time with his brother. In return, his brother does share with him, but in an unexpected, cute way. A sweet, heartwarming read for ages 4 and up.

A Plague of Bogles (How to Catch a Bogle #2) by Catherine Jinks

Jem Barbary has left his thieving life behind since his past employer, Sarah Pickles, sold him to be bogle bait. With Sarah Pickles still at large, Jem is having a difficult time finding his place. But with Birdie leaving Alfred to live with Miss Eames, Alfred accepts Jem as his new apprentice. However, the two notice that one London neighborhood is swarming with bogles, an odd behavior for these solitary demons.

Jinks does it again by maintaining the same level of heightened suspense, wit, and pacing she started in How to Catch a Bogle. In this book, readers see Jinks’ world through Jem’s eyes. Jem has only known a life of petty crime. When that lifestyle betrays him, he has a hard time doing regular work for orphan boys his age. Luckily his bogling experience leads him back to the stern, but kind Alfred Bunce. However, Alfred tries to forgo his bogling job for a safer career, but too many missing children return him to his profession. Like Birdie in the first book, Jem starts to feel threatened his apprenticeship will be taken away by Birdie, Ned Roach, or by his own unwise actions. This fear is fostered by his past treatment from Sarah Pickles. Through Birdie, Jem learns that Alfred has a caring heart and he would never turn Jem away. Again, violence is only eluded to and not shown except when a bogle is destroyed. The final book in the trilogy is called The Last Bogler.

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz

After war destroys their home in Europe, a young boy and his parents find refuge in Central Asia. The boy’s small family live in a one-room house made from clay, straw, and camel dung. They share their home with a couple they do not know. Life is hard as they try to handle living in such a foreign place. At the end of a long, hunger-filled day, the boy’s father returns from the bazaar with a large world map and a very small piece of bread. The boy is angry at his father for not bringing home enough food. But after his father hangs the colorful atlas on the wall, the boy’s imagination ignites. He transports himself away from his hunger and misery to experience exotic locations all over the world.

How I Learned Geography is a simple but heart-felt story based on Shulevitz’s own life. At the age of four, Shulevitz and his family escaped war-torn Poland in 1939. As struggling refugees, his family moved to Turkestan—known as Kazakhstan today. This book is based on his years living there and the world chart his father brought home for him. In Shulevitz’s Author’s Note, he states that even though the wall map was lost long ago, his illustrations using collage, pen and ink, and watercolor help him convey his childhood memories of the places he dreamed about as he stared at the world’s colorful countries. The story’s theme seems to follow the old saying of “if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime”. With the gift of that atlas, Shulevitz feasted and thrived on his imagination to fuel his whole life. A beautiful, uplifting read for all ages.      

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks

Ten-year-old Birdie McAdam is in a dangerous apprenticeship working to destroy London’s bogles. These child-eating demons hide out in various places waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting juvenile victim. The bogler, Alfred Bunce, and Birdie have steady employment since it’s such a rare profession. Soon their work catches the attention of Miss Edith Eames, an educated woman who thinks there are more scientific approaches to killing bogles than using young Birdie as bait.

How to Catch a Bogle is an innovative, page-turning adventure with thoughtful character development. For Birdie, life as a bogler’s apprentice gives her purpose and direction, even though bogling is a life-threatening profession. But when Miss Eames enters Birdie’s life, everything seems to be turned upside down. Miss Eames tries to convince Alfred that Birdie should give up bogling for her safety sake. At first, Birdie feels threatened that her whole existence is being taken away. But as Birdie sees Miss Eames’ courage, intuition, and bravery in the face of perilous conditions, Birdie gives Miss Eames’ advice a second thought. Even though bogles thrive on eating children, Jinks has done a good job making this story element more suspenseful than gruesome. Parents, librarians, and teachers have no need to worry about their young readers coming across any violent or graphic scenes.

Snakes, Alligators, and Broken Hearts: Journeys of a Biologist's Son by Sneed B. Collard III

Sneed B. Collard III was born to biologist, Sneed B. Jr. and Patricia Collard. Naturally, Sneed was raised to love animals and be curious about his world. Unfortunately, his parents divorced when Sneed was in third grade. Sneed had a difficult time coping, especially when both parents married new spouses and moved to opposite coasts. For most of his childhood and into adolescence, Sneed’s life was split between living with his mother during the school year and visiting his father during the summer.

Collard’s autobiography is touching, witty, and honest. Even though biology is a unique part of his life, Collard’s main tale is blatantly familiar to readers who have endured or are enduring a divorce. Collard realistically narrates a child’s mind in feeling lost as his divorced parents move on to create new families. Collard struggles to find his place because he is a product of that dissolved marriage. Yet Collard credits a minimally rebellious life to sensitive teachers, adults, and friends who helped him handle his unpleasant situation. Aside from dealing with divorce, Collard also details his childhood reactions to political events, national tragedies, and societal changes. On the humorous side, Collard describes his awkward interactions with girls, accidents with animals, and fantastic adventures in Boy Scouts. Snakes, Alligators, and Broken Hearts is a thoughtful memoir written with love and keen reflection. Appropriate for ages 12 and up.        

A Pocket Full of Murder (Uncommon Magic #1) by R. J. Anderson

Isaveth’s world is turned upside down when her father is wrongfully arrested for murder. Isaveth and her new friend, Quiz, hunt for the real killer to prove her father’s innocence. As they find and follow clues, their evidence points to several untouchable political leaders. These heads-of-state and Quiz’s hidden identity, almost derails Isaveth’s investigation.

Anderson expertly mixes suspense, sleuthing, and sorcery for a successful start to her Uncommon Magic series. Readers are introduced to a complex world where a magical hierarchy reigns: the rich have access to all magic to make their lives prosperous and comfortable while the poor must fabricate second-rate magic through common materials. This division during an economic depression makes life incredibly difficult for lower-class families, like Isaveth’s. But when Isaveth’s father is arrested, people think he committed murder as a statement against their social structure. Anderson’s story can be enjoyed from many different levels: her world building, relationships between characters, and insightful narration. A great read for ages 12 and up. The next book in the Uncommon Magic series is A Little Taste of Poison.

The Passion and Perils of the Insatiably Hungry by Kirsten Joy

Adrian leaves behind her confining family to discover her life’s path in college. Yet homesickness creeps in on Adrian. Her cure? Healthy doses of fresh baked-goods crafted by her own gifted hands. As school progresses, she meets Charlie, a charmingly spontaneous guy who is attracted to both Adrian and her amazing culinary skills. A relationship blossoms, but Adrian can’t avoid some worrying signs with Charlie: his forgetfulness, his inconsiderateness, and his erratic temper. After holding on as long as she can, the two break up. But her old friend, Dale, re-enters her life to bring Adrian love, stability, and inspiration. With his urgings, Dale encourages her to pursue her baking passion by taking a job at a Vermont bakery. The distance proves a strain on their relationship and the two slowly drift apart.

In this young adult/new adult novel, Joy has beautifully captured the mental and emotional progression of a young girl entering her road to adulthood. Adrian’s character is endearing and relatable to anyone who has experienced loss, heartbreak, love, and hope. Readers will find themselves cheering, crying, blushing, and salivating as they follow Adrian to her dreams. The Passion and Perils of the Insatiably Hungry is in two parts: the first segment chronicles Adrian’s flight from her family and the second narrates her move to Vermont. At the end of the book, Joy also includes recipes and book group discussions. But Joy adds an extra treat with her “Backstory” section, giving readers a window into her creation process. A clean romance read for ages 16 and up.            

Top Five Favorite Christmas Books

As many of you might guess, one of my favorite ways to celebrate this time of year is to read Christmas-themed books. They help bring more wonder and magic to season and help me relive my childhood Christmas memories. Enjoy my top five favorite picks for the yuletide!

1. Santa Calls by William Joyce

Art, his sister, Esther, and their friend, Spaulding, are given a unusual present from Santa that takes them to the North Pole. Once there they meet the ingenious jolly man and see his Christmas Empire. But Esther is kidnapped and it's up to Art and his amazing intuition to save her.










2. The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrations by Steven Kellogg

Three mice are making their home in the toy department of Macy's during Christmas time. They notice the children flocking to see Santa in their department. But when Santa abruptly stops coming, the mice believe Saint Nick has been kidnapped.

3. A Wish for Wings that Work: An Opus Christmas Story by Berkeley Breathed

Opus has always dreamed that his wings might work to make him soar in the sky. During Christmas time, Opus makes a special flying wish. Late on Christmas Eve, Opus hears a commotion near his home and finds out that Santa has crashed into the bay and is sinking. Using his unique wings, Opus swims out to save Santa's sleigh.

4. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Late on Christmas Eve, a boy is invited aboard the Polar Express, to take a trip with hundreds of other children to see the home of Santa Claus. When the boy is there, he is singled out by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas.

5. Red Ranger Came Calling by Berkeley Breathed

"Red" Breathed believed he was the famous "Red Ranger from Mars" and to complete his role he needed the Red Ranger bicycle. He wants to ask Santa for the gift, but thinks he's too old to believe in Santa. So, he goes in search of the retired hermit, Lord Sander Clos, to ask for his bicycle.