The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910

Written by: Alan Moore

First line: Fraters and sorers...beloved fraters and sorers...we are gathered in the process-house.

Why you should read this book: I think I missed a book in here somewhere, because I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Cultists are trying to create a moon-child and bring about the end of the world,  Mina's in a menage a trois with Orlando and Quartermain's son; Nemo's daughter hates him and runs away from home. There's a guy who's unhinged in time and talks in riddles, stuff blows up; potentially, this is all going somewhere.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're too busy bringing about the end of the world.

So Far from the Sea

Written by: Eve Bunting

First line: My mom and dad, my little brother Thomas and I have been driving since early morning.

Why you should read this book: An American girl of Japanese descent travels with her family to the former internment camp where their grandfather was buried during World War II, since they are moving to the east coast and will not be able to visit anymore. The pages alternate between colorful, but stark, images of the present in which the girl walks with her family through the ruins of Manzanar War Relocation Center; and crowded, black and white images of the past. The girl and her father explain to the younger brother why Japanese Americans were relocated during World War II and how to deal with the moral implications, concluding that the past is immutable and the future means moving on.

Why you should read this book: You're the type to hold a grudge.

Duckat

Written by: Gaelyn Gordon

First line: Why you should read this booOn Monday morning, Mabel opened the door.

Why you should read this book: The friendly animal that comes into Mabel's life is clearly, by looks, a duck, but equally, by behavior, a cat. It meows, pounces, plays with yarn, and catches mice. Mabel goes out of her way to prove to the duck that it is, in fact, a duck, but it takes a moment of necessity to get the duck to acknowledge the truth. Of course, Mabel's odd adventures don't end with the duck's change of heart.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe anyone can be anything they want.

Color Dance

Written by: Ann Jonas

First line: This is our dance.

Why you should read this book: Three little ballerinas with colored fabrics demonstrate the properties of the color wheel. Primary, secondary, and even tertiary colors are covered here. Then, a surprise appearance by a boy dancer with neutral cloth adds depth to the performance.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're color blind.

George Washington's Breakfast

Written by: Jean Fritz (Paul Galdone Drew the Pictures)

First line: George W. Allen was proud of two things.

Why you should read this book: Young George is an expert on his hero, George Washington, but there is one question he cannot answer: What did George Washington eat for breakfast? His grandmother promises to cook the dish for him if he can discover what it is, but George's research, while exhaustive, yields no useful data. A fit of pique and serendipitous discovery of an old source finally leads to George's elucidation as well as his grandmother keeping her promise.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You feel like kids should accept what they're told and not try to learn more than you.

The Ballad of Valentine

Written by: Alison Jackson

First line: In a cabin, in a canyon/Near a mountain laced with pine,/Lived a girl who was my sweetheart,/And her name was Valentine.

Why you should read this book: I asked a librarian for a Valentine-themed children's book that was not insipid, and this is what I got. The narrator is desperate to send a love letter to his darling, but over and over again, it goes astray, despite his reliance on the postal service, homing pigeons, smoke signals, morse code, a sky writer, and other methods. Set to the tune of "Oh, My Darling Clementine," it's a funny piece whimsy for kids who want to laugh.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Unlucky in love.

Space Race

Written by: Sylvia Waugh

First line: The village of Belthorp lay sleeping like the little town of Bethlehem under the dark December sky.

Why you should read this book: Thomas Derwent has just learned that he and his father were not born on Earth, and in fact are aliens from the planet Ormingat, to which they will be returning soon, so soon that Thomas will miss the opportunity to play a shepherd in his Christmas pageant. Thomas is still trying to deal with the news of his transition when a horrific car accident causes his father to disappear into thin air, leaving Thomas alone in a hospital room. If he can't find his father soon, he realizes, he may never see his father again.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't want to go home again.

Stealing Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Modern Western Magic

Written by: Nevill Drury

First line: Magical thought is commonly identified with superstition and regarded as a form of pre-science—an earlier and less sophisticated phase of human intellectual development.

Why you should read this book: Researched with loving dedication and expounded upon in depth, this book explains the modern magical revival in the west, beginning with its medieval origins and discussing Kabbalah, Freemasonry, and Rosicrucians before moving on to the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley. Many modern magicians and schools of thought are profiled, enabling the reader to take a broad view of paths to esoteric knowledge. Chaos Magick, Setians, techno-pagans, and magical artwork are only a few of the topics that are covered here.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The above paragraph strikes you as blasphemous.

Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel

Written by: Patricia Storace

First line: Come, sit on the balcony and look out over the sea.

Why you should read this book: This lovely picture book offers a gorgeous version of the Rapunzel story set in the warm and lush environment of a tropical island. Some lovely inventions of this version include a sweet-loving monkey, precious gifts of jewelry with transformative powers, and a device that allows Sugar Cane to reunite with her parents after she reunites with her prince. Much development and details in both words and illustrations.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't think there's any excuse for stealing.

Y: The Last Man—Cycles

Written by: Brian K. Vaughan

First line: I have to get out of Boston.

Why you should read this book: Yorick, Dr. Mann, and their personal deadly covert agent 355, are desperate to get from Boston to California to recover Dr. Mann's backup notes, and settle on hoboing their way across the country in a freight train. Meanwhile, Yorick's sister, Hero, and the rest of the Amazons are hot on his trail, equally desperate to wipe out Yorick's horrifying Y chromosome (and everyone is ignoring a sad, Russian woman who is just as desperate as everyone else to establish contact with the Y chromosomes everyone else has forgotten: the astronauts living on the space station). The situation comes to a head in Marrisville, a former prison colony, where the women have created a little slice of paradise, Yorick kisses a girl who is not his putative fiancee, and violence ensues.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't trust your sister.