Clorinda Takes Flight

Written by: Robert Kinerk and Steven Kellogg

First line: Clorinda the cow took the sun now and then in the back of a friend's house, the farmhand named Len.

Why you should read this book: Inspired by the flight of birds, Clorinda the cow becomes determined to fly herself, and enlists her friends, Hop the pig and Len the human to construct a flying machine to achieve her dream. Their initial efforts enjoy only limited success, but eventually they settle on the sensible solution of a hot air balloon. The balloon works like a charm, but poor Len is accidentally left behind as Clorinda and Hop fly over the country, across the ocean, and eventually make their way to England, where they take tea with the Queen and bring back a souvenir for Len.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's very silly. 

Llama Llama Time to Share

Written by: Anne Dewdney

First line: Llama Llama playing trains, driving trucks, and flying planes.

Why you should read this book: This is a read-aloud story in rhyming couplets for very young children, about the importance of sharing and the perils of not sharing. A new neighbor, Nelly Gnu, comes over to play with Llama Llama, and for a while he manages to handle this stranger playing with his toys, but when Nelly involves his favorite doll in the game, Llama finds he cannot share, with disastrous results. Eventually, the catastrophe is rectified and Llama learns it is more fun to share, and that doing so results in making new friends.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are over the age of seven and you know how to share. 

Leave Me Alone!

Written by: Vera Brosgol

First line: Once there was an old woman.

Why you should read this book: An old woman lives in a small house with a large family, and cannot seem to get a moment's peace to do her knitting without children interfering with the process. Winter is coming and her task is important, so she packs up and ventures through the land, looking for a little peace and quiet, but everywhere she goes, creatures seem determined to interfere with her work, even when she climbs onto the moon (where little green moon-men examine her with handheld scanners that go "beep boop"). Finally, the old woman finds an empty dimension where she can work alone, and the solitude of that strange place helps her appreciate the noise and commotion of her big family when she returns. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you found an empty dimension, you would never go back. 

Amazing Grapes

Written by: Jules Feiffer

First line: What's up? Mommy is staring out the window.

Why you should read this book: This deeply surreal graphic novel tells the story of three siblings, Shirley, Pearlie, and Curly, and their mentally absent mother, Mommy, who spends most of her time staring out the window, insensate to the world. When their father leaves and Mommy decides to remarry, a giant two-headed swan comes to carry the children off to another dimension, but Shirley refuses to heed the call, leaving the younger siblings to take a nightmare journey through another world populated by a strange assortment of companions. Eventually Mommy and Shirley (and Shirley's fiancé, Whatzisname), are able to catch up with Pearlie and Curly in this other world, and everyone sorts out where they belong and can finally move on with their lives, presumably happier than they were at the beginning of the book.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It feel allegorical and the internal logic is more complex than any of Feiffer's other work; it's very strange and in some places hard to read due to the bizarre nature of the subject matter and the characters' decision-making processes, and also due to the pervasive themes of abandonment, loneliness, and alienation. 

The Wild Robot Protects

Written by: Peter Brown

First line: Our story begins in the sky, with a bright sun and puffy clouds and a large flock of geese.

Why you should read this book: After returning to her island with her new, improved body, Roz the wild robot hopes to live a peaceful life with her animal friends, until a new threat comes to her home: a poison tide seeping through the ocean, killing all life as it goes. With Brightbill grown and mated and her new grandbabies on the way, Roz is determined to save all her friends, and when she learns that her new body is waterproof, she goes on an underwater journey to seek out a new ally, the Ancient Shark and to find the source of the poison tide. Along the way, she learns from many new animal friends and discovers her own strengths as well as the power of large groups to tackle the problems of large infrastructures.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not as good as the first one but I thought it was better than the second one; however, some readers took issue with its progressive messages regarding the environment and gender, so if you're the type of reader who gets bent out of shape by progressive messages regarding environment and gender, maybe this delightful story about a wild robot protecting the planet isn't for you. 

Kindred

Written by: Octavia Butler 

First line: I lost my arm on my last trip home.

Why you should read this book: This is a groundbreaking novel about the perilous history of Black Americans and their relationships to the white people who enslaved them, cleverly framed as a time traveling story about a young woman named Dana who, like Billy Pilgrim before her, becomes unhinged in time. Over and over, Dana is called back from 1970's LA to the antebellum south, where she must repeatedly save the life of her distant ancestor, Rufus, a rich white man who owns slaves, including another one of her ancestors, Alice, a Black woman who is the object of Rufus's obsession. As Rufus grows up, Dana must protect him to ensure her own birth, but at the same time, she cannot protect Alice from Rufus without preventing her own conception. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Slavery is brutal.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu

 

Written by: Susanna Clarke

First line: Above all remember this: that magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger. 

Why you should read this book: These short stories are all set in the same world as the author's award-winning novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but even without prior knowledge of that paracosm, a general interest in fairy tales should be enough for the reader to glean a proper conception of the British Magic referenced within. Told in different styles and voices through different time periods, in these pages we meet the witches who protect children, young women who make deals with fairies, common men who call the irritation of the gods down upon kings, and magic all around. On its own or as a companion to the original work, this is just a delightful collection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You might like it more if you read the other one first. 

Heaven No Hell

Written by: Michael DeForge

First line: The massage is my favorite part.

Why you should read this book: The varied stories that make up this graphic collection are simultaneously surreal and relatable, showcasing subtle truths about the inner lives of humans against strange backdrops of quiet nightmares. Imposter syndrome, unspoken love, murder, nostalgia, family, and the afterlife all undergo precise but rapid dissection. It's crazy but it makes sense but it's confusing but it feels complete. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't like stories that make you think. 

Twins

Written by: Varian Johanson and Shannon Wright

First line: Sixth grade! First day of the rest of your lives!

Why you should read this book: Identical twins Maureen and Francine have always done everything together, but on the first day of sixth grade, it seems like Francine doesn't want to do anything together anymore. It's bad enough that Maureen feels like her best friend is slipping away, but when the sisters end up running against each other for class president, their relationships starts to feel ugly. How can each sister find a way to shine separately, when they've been practically the same person for so long?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never worried about your identity. 

Smaller Sister

Written by: Magie Edkins Willis

First line: Olivia, darling, meet your new baby sister.

Why you should read this book: Lucy has always counted on the friendship of her big sister, Livy, but lately Livy has been changing and pushing her away and behaving in other ways that Lucy can't understand until she finds out that her sister has been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Lucy can't understand her sister's anorexia, but she's determined to help her through her recovery. But Livy's body dysmorphia eventually impacts her sister's self-image, and Lucy has to handle her own problems as her body changes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Possibly triggering for those with eating disorders.