The Schmutzy Family

Written by: Madelyn Rosenberg

First line: First thin Sunday morning the Schmutzys rolled up their jeans and went wading in the malodorous Feldman Swamp.

Why you should read this book: If you know just a little bit of Yiddish, you can imagine what the Schmutzy family's primary passion is: getting dirty. Even Mom and Dad get in on the fun and don't mind the filth, up until Friday afternoon. When it's time to prepare for the Sabbath, the entire family cleans their home and their persons and enjoy a schmutz-free holy day.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If a speck of schmutz dares enter your sparkling home, you attack it with the nearest schmatta.

The Heart and the Bottle

Written by: Oliver Jeffers

First line: Once there was a girl, much like any other, whose head was filled with all the curiosities of the world.

Why you should read this book: Both subtle and sublime, the text speaks of an almost existential dilemma regarding thinking and feeling, while the illustrations put the story in context in a way that younger readers may not grasp. It's an allegory about emotional openness, but it's also a very realistic story of loss and growth; the language is metaphorical but the images are grounded in reality. A little girl's curiosity is always satisfied by her loving father, but when her father dies, she protects herself in such a way that she loses some of that love of learning, until her own child reawakens her spirit of inquiry so that she symbolically takes her father's place.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You find it's safest not to give anyone access to your heart.

The Monstore

Written by: Tara Lazar

First line: At the back of Frankensweet's Candy Shoppe, under the last box of sour gum balls, there's a trapdoor.

Why you should read this book: A real crowd-pleaser of a picture book, this is the story of a boy named Zack who purchases a monster named Manfred to keep his sister, Gracie, out of his bedroom. Gracie, apparently a cut above the typical little sister, instead befriends the monster, and the two of them torment Zack exponentially. The Monstore does not offer refunds, and instead baits Zack into purchasing increasing numbers of ineffective monsters until Gracie commands a virtual army of them and Zack is displaced to the basement. At last, Gracie develops a terrible fear of something (not a monster) and requires her big brother's assistance, allowing the world to shift back into balance.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're looking for an effective way to keep a sibling out of your personal space.

All Those Secrets of the World

Written by: Jane Yolen

First line: In this seemingly biographical story, a little girl watches her father go off to fight World War II, learns a lesson about perspective, and then welcomes her wounded father home again after two years apart. It's a small drama tailored for young minds, full of family relationships and a child's-eye view of the world, with a happy ending. A good choice for readers dealing with separation issues.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The kids are handling your spouse's deployment better than you are.

Rainy's Powwow

Written by: Linda Theresa Raczek

First line: The Thunderbird Powwow was about to begin.

Why you should read this book: This story offers a picture of a beautiful cultural practice while simultaneously telling a universally accessible story about a little girl unsure about how she fits in to her culture at large. Rainy and her brother are watching the dancers, and Rainy is acutely aware that her little brother is so young that he can dance however he wants, and their friend Grandmother White Hair's dancing days are past, but that she, Rainy, is old enough to choose a dance. Lacking relatives who could help her learn her dance and induct her into society, she talks to the other dancers and then seeks solace in the woods before finally figuring out where she belongs.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't know what it's like to have a club want you for a member.

Owl Moon

Written by: Jane Yolen

First line: It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, what Pa and I went owling.

Why you should read this book: A little girl recounts her experience of going out with her father to look for owls for the first time. She knows she must be quiet, and brave, and inured to the cold, and that, even then, there might not be an owl, but her excitement at being taken on this adventure by her father is enough to give her strength, and, of course, in the end, there is a beautiful owl to look at "For one minute, three minutes, maybe even a hundred minutes." Written in delicious prose just as cool and pure as the snow that covers this Caldecott-winning book, it's a good choice for reading aloud.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your kids are already bringing home wild animals they find everywhere and you're running out of space.

Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences

Written by: Mark Siddall

First line: We tend to think that our world is, on the whole, a safe place.

Why you should read this book: A lot of great things come out of the American Museum of Natural History, and this light-hearted and somewhat tongue-in-cheek catalog of poisonous creatures, comprising many anecdotes the author researched for, but was not able to include in a museum exhibit on the Power of Poison, is one. Although there is a great deal of chemistry and biology laid out here, by and large it's a wholly accessible work for those without scientific backgrounds, divvied up amusingly into 4 parts: "Things One Shouldn't Touch," "Things One Shouldn't Eat," "Things That Bite," and "Things That Sting," with jokes and commentary enlivening the death and agony that runs through the narrative. Includes a glossary of scientific terms and dozens of sketches of various creatures to avoid eating, touching, and being bitten or stung by.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Many deadly poisonous creatures.

Landed

Written by: Milly Lee

First line: On his twelfth birthday, Sun's parents gave him an American fountain pen.

Why you should read this book: In the early 20th century, racist immigration laws sought to stem the flow of Chinese workers into the US, and young men who were allowed in to help their fathers in business were subjected to rigorous testing to ensure that they were who they said their were. When Sun is old enough to accompany his father to Gold Mountain, he must memorize salient details about his home and family to prove his legal standing, and he worries about mixing up his cardinal directions or forgetting how far it is from his house to his school. This historical text shows the details of a Pacific crossing and the reality of detention at Angel Island, as told to the author by her father-in-law, who lived through it.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Patrolling the Mexican border.

How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty

Written by: Nathan Zimelman

First line: The second grade collected two tons of all kind of paper for which we were paid thirty dollars by Mr. Abner Carmody, recycler of everything.

Why you should read this book: With a quiet hilarity, it recounts the increasingly unsuccessful efforts of a bunch of seven-year-olds to raise enough money for a social studies class trip, detailing the money they make, the expenses required to earn that money, and the trail of destruction they leave in their wake. Cats will be doused in lemonade, diets will be ruined, and even the principal's car will not remain safe from the well-intentioned antics of these young entrepreneurs. In the end, of course they'll get to go see the Statue of Liberty, and while there are surprises along the way, adult readers will most likely not be shocked to learn where the class trip money ultimately comes from.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're too busy buying overpriced wrapping paper/cookie dough/candy bars to finance your local PTA.

Sleeping Ugly

Written by: Jane Yolen

First line: Princess Miserella was a beautiful princess if you counted her eyes and her mouth and all the way down to her toes.

Why you should read this book: Very, very few offerings in the easy reader category actually tell worthy stories, but Yolen, a talented writer in multiple genres, succeeds in crafting an intelligent and entertaining fractured fairy tale. Miseralla, lovely to behold, possesses an ugly personality, while Plain Jane is kindness itself. Their encounter with a disguised fairy, three wishes, and a handsome prince offers enough twists to keep even jaded readers interested.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're uneasy with the idea of forcing other people to fall in love with you.