Autobiography of a Face

Author: Lucy Grealy

First line: My friend Stephan and I used to do pony parties together.

Why you should read this book: At the age of nine, Lucy Grealy began five years of treatment for a cancerous growth on her jaw, after which she spent twenty years undergoing reconstructive operations to restore her "real" face. This is the considered, intimate, and honest reflection of her journey to acceptance as she examines the notions of beauty, ugliness, love, and loss with the eye of a studied observer and the ear of a poet. A very powerful memoir of a powerful life, written without facade or apology, only truth and hope.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never felt ugly, and you've never looked at anyone else and thought they were ugly either.

Spinners

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

First line: Late afternoon heat strokes the young man's belly.

Why you should read this book: Love! Betrayal! Insanity! Textiles! An affair gone wrong transforms an optimistic tailor into the twisted, obsessive Rumpelstiltskin, condemned to watch from afar the daughter only he knows is his. When the girl grows up to be a talented spinster and is exploited by the drunken miller and then the king, Rumpelstiltskin lurches into action, intent on claiming the love he lost long ago.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You feel that people who have premarital sex deserve to die in childbirth or turn into angry, outcast dwarfs.

Indonesian Fables of Feats and Fortunes

Author: Kuniko Sugiura

First line: In Indonesia, there is an animal about half the size of a small deer.

Why you should read this book: Here are three stories where small animals triumph over greater might and intelligence always carries the day, and ignorance and greed fail. These animal heroes may be tricksters or helpmates to hapless humans put upon by tyrants, but they always come out ahead, creating messages of justice. With lovely colorful illustrations, a great read-aloud story.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't want anyone to think that cock fighting is ever acceptable.

Indonesian Tales of Treasures and Brides

Author: Kuniko Sugiura

First line: Long, long ago there was a lake whose surface was as calm and smooth as the glass of a mirror.

Why you should read these books: Three Indonesian fairy tales with themes familiar to Western readers are compiled here, along with adorable line drawings in ink and watercolor. Each story stresses the importance of devotion, honor, and honesty, and while the endings aren't always happy, the messages are clear. Keep your promises, give freely and without pride, and always be kind to strangers.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would never let your daughter marry a poor man.

Danny the Champion of the World

Author: Roald Dahl

First line: When I was four months old, my mother died suddenly and my father was left to look after me all by himself.

Why you should read this book: At the age of nine, Danny is about to learn that his father, the most marvelous and exciting father in the world, harbors some wicked secrets; in fact, he is about to learn that pretty much every adult in town enjoys poaching, or stealing pheasant from the forest stocked by the wealthy and unpleasant Mr. Hazell. When Mr. Hazell goes too far, even Danny wants to teach him a lesson, and with the help of the people he trusts most, Danny concocts the greatest poaching scheme the world has ever known. Fast-paced, intelligent, and magically realistic, this is a delightful novel sure to enchant readers of all ages.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't want kids to get the idea that robbing from the rich and giving to the poor can be fun.

Lucky Breaks

Author: Susan Patron

First line: Eleven, Lucky thought from her seat at the back of the school bus, eleven, eleven, eleven, and the idea of it, the sound of it, threw off sparks in her head.

Why you should read this book: Now that she's almost, almost eleven and has an officially adopted new mom, Lucky has big, grown-up things to worry about, like her best friend Lincoln disappearing to England on the basis of his superb knot-tying skills, and the coffin-like package delivered to Short Sammy's water tank, and a tragically romantic lost artifact at the bottom of an abandoned mine, and the gland inside her that occasionally makes her do something mean and shameful, and the self-conscious question of how her life appears to people from outside Hard Pan. When a group of big-city geologists show up at her mom's new cafe, Lucky finds something a growing girl needs: a best girl friend who can make her laugh until it hurts and doesn't mind a little adventure now and then. This sequel to the Newbery winner The Higher Power of Lucky is another smart, introspective voyage through the mind of an intelligent child forging her way across a rich and rocky landscape of youthful desire and wonder.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Fear of the rampaging wild donkey, devastator of innocent desert tomato plants.



(Note: Susan Patron kindly sent me an advanced reader's copy of this book, which will be commercially available March 10. Orders placed through Amazon before that date will be shipped next month when the book is released.)

Emergence: Labeled Autistic

Authors: Temple Grandin and Margaret M Scariano

First line: I remember the day I almost killed my mother and younger sister, Jean.

Why you should read this book: The renowned animal behaviorist's memoirs recount her arduous journey through autism to empathy, opening a window into the perceptual difficulties of an autistic child who craves affection she is unable to accept. Told with grace and good humor, the narrative is tied together by Grandin's quest for a device capable of inducing the sensations of safety and comfort, the controversial Squeeze Machine that became her life's work, her contribution to the world, and her salvation. An excellent resource for those seeking to understand the phenomenon of autism as well as those interested in the autobiography of a remarkable person triumphing over astonishing odds.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a militant vegan.

Slow Food: The Case for Taste

Author: Carlo Petrini

First line: In Bra, a small city in Piedmont on the edge of the territory known as the Langhe, a group of young people were involved in social issues in the middle of the 1970s.

Why you should read this book: Inspired by a group of left-leaning Italian youth intent on preserving the best of recreational culture and fired in the crucible of anti-McDonald's activism, the Slow Food movement is a radical expression only in regard to the radical degradation of modern global culture it seeks to cure. Based on an ideal of conviviality, Slow Food is a movement dedicated to the preservation of culture, flavor, and the environment through the recognition of promotion of exquisite, historical, local specialties, breeds, and cultivars. This book documents the history and ideals of the movement, showcasing the philosophy, literature, and above all, the work that emphasizes tradition and excellence in food production, which ought to be available to the entire world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're working in your garden.

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Author: Vivian Vande Velde

First line: Once upon a time, before pizzerias and Taco Bells, there was a troll named Rumpelstiltskin who began to wonder what a human baby would taste like.

Why you should read this book: The problem, as identified by the author, is that the original story just doesn't make sense: what would compel humans to behave as the humans do in this old tale? In six original, humorous, yet focused stories, Vande Velde finds six solutions to attribute believable motivations to the characters. Light-hearted, but intelligent fantasy for young readers.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've ever sacrificed your only child in a misguided attempt to make yourself look important.

The Higher Power of Lucky

Author: Susan Patron

First line: Lucky Trimble crouched in a wedge of shade behind the Dumpster.

Why you should read this book: Talk about misnomers: Lucky's father never wanted her; her mother accidentally stepped on a live wire, electrocuting herself while admiring the landscape after a storm; and Lucky's guardian, her father's beautiful, sophisticated, first wife, Brigitte, hates the hardscrabble town of Hard Pan (population 43) and is certain to abandon Lucky to an orphanage and run home to France any day. This is the rare book where the child narrator's voice dovetails seamlessly with exquisite writing, every sentence heavy with meaning, humor, and life, inspiring real characters moving through real landscapes to deal with real conflicts. Just a perfect novel (the Newbery committee thought so too).

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're offended by the concept of a Higher Power.