by Susan Dove Lempke

From birth to death, humans focus on learning. Aesop wrote his moral fables more than 2,000 years ago, and children today still learn life lessons from the greedy foxes and foolish shepherd boys. In this month’s books, young readers will see that taking advice sometimes works—for instance, following a teacher’s recommendations. Sometimes, though, learning and growth are a two-way street and the adviser learns, too, as in the long-awaited new David Wiesner picture book.

Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj (Balzer & Bray, 2011, $16.99, ages 3–6)
If you’re going to give away cat secrets, you have to be sure your audience is only cats—no birds, dogs, boys, or mice. This hilarious cartoon-style picture book has a cast of cat characters, an invisible audience of kids who must meow, purr, and stretch like a cat, and even one sneaky mouse. Like Mo Willems’ Pigeon books, the kids are in on the joke, and lots of participation is required.

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman (Little Brown, 2010, $16.99, ages 4–8) The latest in the You Read to Me series features a complete Aesop’s fable on each double-page spread, with each story told in alternating voices: “I’m a tortoise. / I’m a hare. / You’re a slowpoke. / I don’t care.” Traditional stories such as “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “The Grasshopper and the Ant” still resonate today, and Michael Emberley’s small, action-packed drawings add appeal to every page. This would make a great series of classroom activities, with students reading the parts aloud as a group then discussing the moral of the story.

Thank You, Miss Doover by Robin Pulver (Holiday House, 2010, $16.95, ages 6–8) Jack is surprised by how many times his teacher, Miss Doover, makes him rewrite a thank you letter in this funny classroom story. Jack unintentionally insults his aunt or her gift in multiple drafts, but finally by the end gets it right. Illustrator Stephanie Roth Sisson uses word ballons to convey the talking, word bubbles to reveal Jack’s thought process, and lined sheets of paper to show each draft in her warm, multimedia pictures.

13 Words by Lemony Snicket (HarperCollins, 2010, $16.99, ages 4–8) Author Lemony Snicket (of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, aka Daniel Handler) and artist Maira Kalman share a love for the whimsical and the absurd. Here, the narrator teaches children 13 words, some they know (bird, cake) and some they don’t (despondent, panache), in a story about one friend trying to find something to make another feel less sad. It’s less a book to teach vocabulary and more a book to celebrate the joys of great, juicy words, and Kalman’s quirky little touches provide lots more to talk about.

Clementine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker (Disney/Hyperion, 2010, $14.99, ages 7–9) Delicious Clementine returns in another believable, funny, and heart-warming story. Here, at her friend’s advice, Clementine goes overboard complimenting her classmates in hopes of winning nice comments from them in her Friend of the Week booklet, but puts that aside when her beloved kitten Moisturizer goes missing. Through the beautifully written first-person narrative and Marla Frazee’s expressive line drawings, readers feel Clementine’s deep grief and fear, and (whew!) the happy ending. Not nearly as light as many early chapter books, the Clementine books depict a larger-than-life character who is still very real in the way she tries to sort out the puzzling world of relationships.

Art & Max by David Wiesner (Clarion, 2010, $17.99, all ages) A new book by three-time Caldecott Medal-winner David Wiesner is rare and always cause for rejoicing. Here, the exuberance of youth meets the decorum of age as young lizard Max is so thrilled by the painting he sees older lizard Art (“Arthur”) creating that he begs for a chance to create for himself. Wiesner’s every painting, arranged in panels, shows characters depicted completely realistically, but in an entirely new, imaginative way. The struggle be-tween the energetic young Max and the disapproving but ultimately re-energized Art is funny and eye-opening for young readers just learning about art.

Bonus Books
Bedtime for Bear by Brett Helquist (HarperCollins, 2010, $16.99, ages 3–6)
Cathy Williams, Buffalo Soldier by Sharon Solomon, illustrated by Doreen Lorenzetti (Pelican, 2010, $16.99, ages 6–9)
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin (Dial, 2010, $17.99, ages 10 up)
Mirror by Jeannie Baker (Candlewick, 2010, $18.99, ages 4 up)
Old Abe, Eagle Hero: The Civil War’s Most Famous Mascot

by Patrick Young, illustrated by Anne Lee (Kane Miller, 2010, $15.99, ages 5–9)

Susan Dove Lempke is head of the Children's Department of the Niles Public Library District in Illinois and a reviewer for The Horn Book Magazine.

Lessons learned by young and old (December 2010/January 2011) Reading Today 28(3), 30.