Toddler:
Countablock by Christopher Franceschelli (Abrams, August 2014)
After the success of Alphablock last year, artist Franceschelli follows up with Countablock, a feast for the eyes of all ages. Made out of hardy card stock, this number book will have your baby turning the pages over and over. You can read it as a lesson in numbers or a lesson in identification or a lesson in art. It’s a must for baby’s library.
Baby Bedtime by Mem Fox (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, September 2014)
In this lovely, lyrical picture book, it’s time for baby elephant to go to bed. Child and parent go through their bedtime routine, accompanied by illustrations in soothing colors and Mem Fox’s signature prose. This is a wonderful new addition to your bedtime collection. You’ll be happy to read it again and again!
Emerging:
I CAN DO IT MYSELF by Valorie Fisher (Schwartz & Wade Books, September 2014)
Whether your child wants to learn how to make lemonade or tie her shoes, this is the book he or she needs. In simple steps, Fisher guides readers through everyday tasks such as making the bed, holding a pencil and making letters. The illustrations are photographs of kids or dolls carrying out each activity. Great fun and very useful!
Tween:
Space Case by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, August 2014)
Life on the moon is nothing like they said it would be in the shiny brochures. The food is horrible, the apartment is uncomfortable, and it’s BORING! Dashiell Gibson, one of the first kids on the moon, is up late one night after the chicken parmigiana, and hears Dr. Holtz talking happily with someone about a great scientific announcement he will make in the morning. But the next morning, Dr. Holtz is found dead. Was it space madness? Or was it murder? Dashiell is convinced it was murder, but the grown-ups won’t listen. The base commander in particular wants him to be quiet. So Dashiell must get help from the new kid and another very unlikely source to prove his case before it’s too late.
Teen:
Skink by Carl Hiaassen (Random House Children’s Publishing, September 2014)
Richard knows that his cousin, Mally, did not go off to orientation at that girl’s boarding school in New Hampshire. When she finally calls him, Richard’s fear that she has run off with a guy she met online is confirmed. Mally swears him to secrecy, and she has a credible threat to hang over him. Richard must determine how far he will go to protect his own secrets, especially now that Mally is sounding more stressed out with each phone call. The police are dragging their feet, so Richard turns to an unlikely ally, a beach bum with plenty of secrets of his own. Mally has given them some clues, but Florida is a big place, full of hungry gators and venomous snakes. Then there’s the most dangerous creature of all… Hiaassen writes about some of the most unusual people with comic flare that all teens will enjoy.
