Crafting the Very Short Story: An Anthology of 100 Masterpieces

Editor: Mark Mills

First line: "I suspect," critic Charles Baxter has said, "that [the very short story] appeals to readers so much now because they are on so many thresholds."

Why you should read this book: This anthology gathers very short stories, usually under five pages, from ancient, modern, and post-modern sources, along with literary criticism and first-person author interpretations of their own work. It's a great book for readers and for writers, and provides a wonderful overview of the work of great writers, along with much useful information on crafting the very short story. For busy people who can't string more than ten minutes together for reading, very short stories are a perfect solution.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're ready to cozy up to a nice, long novel.

My Baby

Author: Jeanette Winter

First line: Whoosh! The hot wind blows across the savanna to my village.

Why you should read this book: This is a heartwarming, lovely, cozy story about a woman anticipating the birth of her first child. Inspired by the real-life art of Nakunte Diarra of Mali, it discusses the tradition of bogolan, mud-dyed cloth, an art handed down from mother to daughter. In this book, the young African woman learns to paint the most beautiful bogolan in the village, and when she prepares for her own baby, she frames her months of waiting with the act of creating the perfect cloth for the child.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think pregnancy is a dirty word, or you just can't handle the thought of a woman sitting on the ground when there are snakes, scorpions, and crocodiles crawling all over the place.

Five for a Little One

Author: Chris Raschka

First line: Smell is 1.

Why you should read this book: Raschka is the master of lively, rhythmic prose for youngsters, and this book tackles plenty of topics for little kids. It's a counting, book, a rhyming book, a book about senses, and a book about rabbits, full of rich descriptive language and funny, mixed-media illustrations. Observant kids will also note the little protagonist, a black and white bunny, is a perfect amalgam of its parents, one black and one white.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You just checked the menu, and it's rabbit stew tonight.

Jumanji

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

First line: "Now remember," Mother said, "your father and I are bringing some guests by after the opera, so please keep the house neat."

Why you should read this book: Chris Van Allsburg changed the fact of children's literature with sumptuous, detailed, realistic black-and-white illustration and an inventive perspective on a world both familiar and fantastic. Like so many awesome children's books, this one begins with siblings left home alone and bored out of their minds, until they find a mysterious board game, Jumanji, that brings all the excitement and terror of darkest Africa into the confines of their living room. Earning a Caldecott medal and inspiring a motion picture, this is an enduring classic.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Having recently been bitten by a tsetse fly, you are feeling very, very sleepy.

Eyewitness: Epidemic

Author: Brian Ward

First line: Infectious disease has always existed around both humans and animals.

Why you should read this book: Like all Dorling Kindersley titles, this book is full of surprising, colorful photographs, in this case, representations of viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and protozoa. Each two-page spread comprises a chapter, with short, informative blurbs giving an overview of the subtopic and further information for each of the numerous pictures. Great material for curious kids looking to learn about disease.

Why you shouldn't read this book: E-coli is not a pretty thing.

Plague and Pestilence: A History of Infectious Disease

Author: Linda Jacobs Altman

First line: March 10, 1997, started out as a typical Monday at Del Campo High School near Sacramento, Californa; busy teachers, crowded hallways, the bray of the morning bell.

Why you should read this book: This is a straightforward overview of infectious diseases with both a historical and modern perspective, written for adolescent readers. Text explains the evolution of medical understanding as well as the physical and social toll of deadly diseases. Includes an intelligent discussion of the real killers, those diseases against which we have neither immunity nor vaccination, and the constant possibility that some microbe will mutate just enough to destroy the human race.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Hypochondria.

Cliff Hanger

Author: Jean Craighead George

First line: Axel washed his tin cup at the hand pump outside the Teton Mountains Climbing School hut and looked up.

Why you should read this book: Newbery-winning author George is known for her sensitive depictions of children and their interaction with animals and the environment, and this book paints a masterful picture of a long moment in the life of a child who loves both. Axel, whose father runs the climbing school, is chagrined to learn that his dog, Grits, has been left on the mountain as a terrible electrical storm approaches. What follows is both a display of courage, love, and determination as well as a great technical description of a challenging climb under less-than-optimal circumstance.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Even the mere suggestion of height in an illustration gives you vertigo.

New Boy

Author: Julian Houston

First line: "It won't be easy, you know," said Cousin Gwen.

Why you should read this book: Rob Garrett is heading up north to integrate a snooty Connecticut prep school where prejudice takes on strange new forms, but back home in Virginia, his friends are fighting segregation on the front lines, and Rob is torn, trying to find his place in the struggle. On vacation in New York, he comes to understand a world view different from any he's known before, and when his friends organize a sit-in at the "Whites Only" Woolworth's lunch counter, he cannot stand on the sidelines. An interesting perspective on the civil rights movement of the late 50s.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You like easy endings that wrap all the details up in a pretty ribbon.

Follow the Leader

Author: Erica Silverman

First line: Follow the leader. Who should it be? I'm older. I'm bigger. You follow me.

Why you should read this book: Exuberant rhymes and amusing pictures detail the adventures of two young brothers. Although the older brother's imagination is thrilling at first, his bossiness soon drives a wedge into the relationship, until, at last, the younger brother discovers how he can assert himself. A nice solution to sibling rivalry and teaching the concepts of equality and sharing.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe firmly in teaching children to follow orders without question.

How Can You Dance?

Author: Rick Walton

First line: How can you dance when Spring is in your shoes?

Why you should read this book: With equal parts joy and good humor, the author presents various scenarios in which a child may desire to dance, and then uses different similes to illustrate how emotions can be expressed through movement. Lyrical text and entertaining illustrations amuse young readers. This book is particularly effective if your young person has enough room to emulate the children in the story.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are very, very tired.