365 penguins

“Once you’ve reached the point of no return, one penguin more or one penguin less each day doesn’t make much difference anymore.“

Our madcap tale begins with an anonymous mysterious delivery on New Year’s Day—a penguin, of all things. With a note—“I’m number one, feed me when I’m hungry.”  Things get weirder and weirder and mayhem ensues as a new penguin arrives each day without fail.  Problems begin.  Especially since penguins eat 2.5 pounds of fish per day and they like to hog up the bathroom.  Complications arise with the advent of summer and the hot season.  Decisions need to be made and desperate times call for desperate measures.  A ridiculously funny and utterly enjoyable story with marvelous illustrations.

365 Penguins was written by Jean-Luc Fromental, illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

edgar allan poe's pie

Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie is a collection of math puzzles and riddles based on famous works by poets Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Lear, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, Hilaire Belloc, Robert Frost, Eleanor Farjeon, A. A. Milne, William Carlos Willams, Langston Hughes, Ogden Nash, John Ciardi and Shel Silverstein.  These amusing, lyrical word problems are on the challenging side and would be best for ages 9-12 (or younger children with advanced skills).  Brief biographies with highlights of the poets’ lives are included in the back matter.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems was written by J. Patrick Lewis, Children’s Poet Laureate, and illustrated by Michael Slack.  This edition was published by Scholastic.

What’s Cooking?

A curious and fun exploration of food and kitchen life.

“What’s in the cupboards and what’s in the drawer?  The bread on the counter, the crumbs on the floor, the smells of cooking, the sound of stirring, and the pleasant hum of mixers purring.  Enter, sniff, and feel the thrill.  The kitchen is a wonderland, wander in and understand.”

What’s Cooking? starts out by asking an unexpected question, “If I fry a strip of potato, and a slice of tomato, can I fry a scoop of gelato?”  Many more whimsical inquiries follow in this curious and fun exploration food and kitchen life.  What kinds of food can you throw?  What ARE clams en gelée?  Do frozen peas grow on frozen trees?  Sure to stir readers’ gastronomic curiosity and wonder (and produce a few chuckles along the way).

What’s Cooking? was written by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Julia Rothman and published by Phaidon.

the wolf, the duck & the mouse

“Oh woe!  Oh doom!”  If only all problems could be solved with “a hunk of good cheese, a flagon of wine and some beeswax candles.”  Hilarious and ridiculous, always an excellent combination.  For those of you in want of another brilliant Mac Barnett/Jon Klassen collaboration, you'll eat this one up.

The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse was written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen and published by Candlewick Press.  Here's a book trailer for it.

the snow lion

Probably the loveliest, most comforting book we've read all year.  Caro and her mum move to a new house at the top of a hill.  Caro is a little sad, lonely and reluctant to go out and explore her new environs.  But in the quiet of her house, a new friend appears just when she needs one most.  Both words and pictures are just the right amount of soft, magical and heartfelt.  If you buy one book this year, let this be it.

The Snow Lion was written by Jim Helmore, illustrated by Richard Jones and published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK.