David Boring

by Daniel Clowes

Self-indulgent. Delightfully bleak.

The World of William Joyce Scrapbook

by William Joyce.

Really visually engaging. This would keep a child occupied for a long time. Or for a short time over and over again.

Coraline

by Neil Gaiman.

This would make a wonderful Nightmare Before Christmas-style animated film.

Babymouse, Queen of the World!

by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm

Cuteness with a side of awesome. I had to put it on hold to get it, so I read it really fast and returned it right away so more kids could enjoy it.

The Tulip Touch

by Anne Fine

Ugh. This really made me feel bad.

The Tale of One Bad Rat

by Bryan Talbot

Really excellent, very well suited to its form.

Days Like This

by J. Torres, illustrated by Scott Chandler

An interesting way to explore girl groups of the 1960s. Left me wishing for a sequel.

The Cradle Robbers

by Ayelet Waldman

This one was pretty lame, Ayelet. I hope you redeem yourself with Bye Bye Black Sheep.

Happy Birth Day

by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley

Another book I need to own, but more because I am a mom and it made me all weepy.

Squids will be Squids

by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, designed by Molly Leach

A goofy book of fables and morals. One of those kids books that has a tongue-in-cheek "for the parents" attitude so you can read it aloud ten billion times and not hate it.

A Splendid Friend Indeed

by Suzanne Bloom

Oh the cuteness! So much love.

Move Over Rover

by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer

I thought this was lame. But the kids probably dig it.

Always Remember Me

How One Family Survived World War II

by Marisabina Russo

Touching. Heavy.

ETA: Husband mocked me for this post. But I had to wrap it up real fast and shut down my computer. So I'm redoing it:

This is a touching story, but also a potential gateway for some real difficult questions about how human nature can possibly be so very evil.

Families

by Susan Kuklin

This is such an excellent book. Everyone should own this book.

Double Identity

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Oooh, cloning.

On Earth

by G. Brian Karas.

Bored now.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

by Kate DiCamillo.

Hello, AWESOME! Bring on the buttered toast! And it's a whole freakin' SERIES!!!

Jack's Run

by Roland Smith

The sequel to Zach's Lie, which I just learned was an ALA Quick Pick for reluctant readers. I can see that. Because, again, this would have been AWESOME if I were a ten year old boy.

Oscar's Half Birthday

by Bob Graham.

Words cannot express... I need to own this one. I love this little family with their hipster parents and awesome kids. Yes. It is good.

Zach's Lie

by Roland Smith.

Kind of a boy book... which is good. I would have liked it a lot more if I were ten. Which I am not.

Back to the Bedroom

By Janet Evanovich.

Doesn't this sound like it's going to have a steamy sex scene?

It does not.

My beloved Stephanie Plum is over at someone else's house (someone who is keeping their copy of Four to Score well past the due date... AHEM), so we went for this audio selection instead. A nice romance is good once in a while.

Hot Air

The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot Air Balloon Ride

by Margorie Priceman.

v. bored, thx

Traction Man is Here!

by Mini Grey

LOVE. Want to own Traction Man's all-in-one knitted green romper.

Walter Was Worried

by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Learn about weather... AND letters! Ooooooh...

There's a (Slight) Chance I Might be Going to Hell

by Laurie Notaro

I read this for the MamaPop book club. It was pretty good. I look forward to the discussion.

Shakespeare's Secret

by Elise Broach

I haven't read anything written for this age group (9ish) since I WAS that age group.

This was excellent. If I had read this when I was young, I might have been much more amenable to reading Shakespeare in high school.

On the Run

by Iris Johansen

An audio mystery as I wait impatiently for the 4th Stephanie Plum book to be returned to the library. This one had horsies.

Bitter is the New Black

Confessions of a condescending, egomaniacal, self-centered, smart-ass, or why you should never carry a Prada bag to the unemployment office

By Jen Lancaster.

I initially thought I wouldn't be that into this book what with having zero in common with Ms. Lancaster. Well, that's not exactly true. She also has a blog.

I was wrong. This book was awesome, totally relate-able and made me laugh out loud.

Yay, Jen.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8: The Chain

I like this more now than when I first read it a couple weeks ago.

I was just caught off guard because I thought the Faith arc was starting now. But that's next month.

Everyone Worth Knowing

by Lauren Weisberger

I didn't dislike this book enough to stop reading it, but I did want it to hurry up and be over so I could start on something else.