New favorite on the sidebar.

For a year or two my sidebar has said this: "My latest favorite illustrator is Barbara McClintock. Of her books, my favorite is Dahlia. She also deserves credit for drawing the cutest Gingerbread Man in town. I think he's even cuter than Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby, and that's saying a lot!" Time to update, I have a new favorite! See new sidebar for details.

Now a solid fan of Gary D. Schmidt!

What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A blend of Tolkien-esque battle and history, the Golem story from Jewish folklore, and contemporary realistic fiction, all of which are done well! This writer continues to impress me.

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Also quite good.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like real life, a chronological progression of small defeats and victories, with no climactic "final battle between good and evil", yet enjoyable in its verisimilitude. I absolutely loved that it was Holling who rescued his sister.

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A powerhouse of a good read!

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The events flowed and fit together in an unavoidable fate. Characters were villains sometimes, and other times not, because of their human frailty.

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Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler might have filed this under U or pee.

Boot and Shoe by Marla Frazee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The surprise element at the story's climax provides the kind of aha moment I so enjoy in many picture books, and is the reason I read them!

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Sweet (but not sappy).

Charley's First Night by Amy Hest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A child narrates the events of the first night a puppy spends in the house of his new family. Just-right sweetness.

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Loads of fun

Black Jack by Leon Garfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoy the ride as you are swept through a dark 17th-century England with Dickensian characters.

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