FRANKLY FRANNIE: MISS FORTUNE by AJ Stern (Grosset and Dunlap 2012)marks the return of the indomitable Frannie. It is Dad's birthday, and Frannie's mother has hired a fortune teller for entertainment at his party. Now Frannie is sure what she needs to become, a fortune teller! She makes her own tarot cards, borrows a bowling ball from a friend, and off she heads to school to open her new business. Of course, telling fortunes has some possibilities of disaster. Can Frannie handle the consequences of her predictions? <311>

THE CASE OF THE DEADLY DESPERADOS by Caroline Lawrence (Putnam 2012) features the most unlikely of protagonists, P.K., "Pinky" Pinkerton. Pinky returns home to find her foster parents have been murdered. The desperados are apparently looking for something, something that holds great value. All Pinky owns is in one box.What could the murderers want? Lawrence's heroine is wonderfully rounded. Pinky is quick-witted but very poor at recognizing the emotions of others (perhaps a tad autistic?). She is a misfit, partly white, part Sioux, orphaned. The old West comes alive with Pinky's adventures as she pursues the murderers. <310>

Kate Messner provides readers with a fast paced mystery in CAPTURE THE FLAG (Scholastic, July 2012). Three kids are bored at a Washington DC reception attended by their parents. Little do they suspect that they will be embroiled in a mystery the following day as they wait for grounded flights to take off. Nor do they know initially that there is a thread that connects all three. Anna, Jose, and Henry are all children of parents who are members of an elite group known as the Jaguar Society, a group dedicated to the safety of works of art. Now that the first flag has been stolen from the DC museum the three kids attended the evening before, Anna, Jose, and Henry know they must help solve this crime. Interesting, classic mystery complete with red herrings, this is a book that should appeal to lots of readers who love a good mystery. <309>

MAY 2012 BOOKS READ

274. BAD KITTY FOR PRESIDENT
275. WONEKNSTEIN
276. BRIGHT ISLAND
277. I AM A POLE AND SO CAN YOU
278. JULIE ANDREW’S SEASONAL TREASURY
279. LOOK! ANOTHER BOOK!
280. THE THANKFUL BOOK
281. ALL THE AWAKE ANIMALS ARE ALMOST ASLEEP
282. NIGHTTIME NINJA
283. THE MONSTER’S MONSTER
284. INVISIBLE INKLING DANGEROUS PUMPKINS
285. THE FLY FLEW IN
286. JUST RIGHT FOR CHRISTMAS
287. WHAT WILL YOU BE GRANDMA?
288. PIG HAS A PLAN
289. SICK DAY
290. MICE ON ICE
291. RABBIT AND ROBOT, THE SLEEPOVER
292. AUNTIE YANG’S GREAT SOYBEAN PICNIC
293. LOVABLE DRAGON
294. ME AND MOMMA AND BIG JOHN
295. THE MOOGEES MOVE HOUSE
296. BLACK DOG
297. REVENGE OF THE DINOTRUX
298. BIG MEAN MIKE
299. RED KNIT CAP GIRL
300. THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE
301. THE SCARY PLACES MAP BOOK
302. THE BELL BANDIT
303. MUNCLE TROGG
304. DOLPHINS IN THE NAVY
305. A BUTTERFLY'S LIFE
306. KEVIN DURANT
307. MRS. NOODLEKUGEL
308. ZEPHYR TAKES FLIGHT
309. KING ARTHUR'S VERY GREAT GRANDSON
310. ONE SPOTTED GIRAFFE
311. PIP AND POSY: THE SCARY MONSTER
312. BEAR IN LOVE
313. BEARS IN BED
314. IN THE OCEAN
315. THE AVENGERS
316. ONE PERFECT DAY
317. LA LUNA
318. SECRETS AT SEA (AUDIO)
319. THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS UNDER THE SEA
320. HALLOWEEN FOREST
321. BODY ACTIONS
322. THE HELPFUL PUPPY
323. FIND A COW NOW
324. THE CASE OF THE INCAPACITATED CAPITALS
325. HELP ME LEARN SUBTRACTION
326. MAIA AND THE MONSTER BABY
327. MISS SALLY ANN AND THE PANTHER
328. OLLIE’S SCHOOL DAY, A YES AND NO BOOK
329. SNOW DAY FOR MOUSE
330. BUS DRIVER
331. WING WING BROTHERS MATH SPECTACULAR
332. TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR
333. PAPER COVERS ROCK (AUDIO)
334. TRACTION MAN AND THE BEACH ODYSSEY
335. SQUISH: POWER OF THE PARASITE
336. CASE OF THE DEADLY DESPERADOES (audio)
337. MIGHT MISS MALONE (audio)
338. BRENDAN BUCKLEY’S SIXTH GRADE EXPERIMENT (audio)
339. PEANUT
340. MOON MOTH
341. TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY
342. FRANKLY FRANKIE
343. CAPTURE THE FLAG
344. OCTOBER MOURNING
345. GRAVE MERCY (audio)
346. WIND IN THE DOOR (AUDIO)
347. I HUNT KILLERS
348. EXCUSE ME, I’M TRYING TO READ
349. PIGMARES
350. LIVING WITH MOM, LIVING WITH DAD
351. DRAGON BOOGIE
352. LUNCH LADY AND MUTANT MATHLETES
353. LAST LAUGHS: ANIMAL EPITAPHS
354. MONKEY COLORS
355. ALICIA’S FRUITY DRINKS
356. CLOTHESLINE CLUES TO JOBS PEOPLE DO
357. IT’S RAINING, IT’S POURING

BRENDAN BUCKLEY'S SIXTH GRADE EXPERIMENT by Sundee T. Frazier (Delacorte 2012) is the sequel to BRENDAN BUCKLEY'S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT. Brendan is in 6th grade now and a budding geologist. He keeps a log of all that he observes in his day to day life. And when he has the chance to enter a science competition, he jumps at the chance to explore the possibilities that cow manure might serve as an alternative fuel. He is paired with the new girl, Morgan, who has a crush on him. Brendan is uncertain about his own feelings, but Morgan is as scientifically inclined as he is. So, the experiment begins. What could possibly go wrong? Lots of great good humor here. Brendan has a wonderfully warm family who supports his curiosity about the world around him. <308>

Jenni and Matt Holm are back with SQUISH: THE POWER OF THE PARASITE, number 3 in the series of GNs featuring the amoeba named Squish (Random House 2012). It is summer time and Squish is consigned to swimming lessons while his best pals take classes in ballet instead. Squish does not want to learn to swim at all. Thankfully, there is someone else in the class who shares Squish's dislike of swim lessons. Basil is a Hydra and he becomes Squish's ally at swim class. However, there is something not quite right about Basil. Is he really a new friend? Can he be trusted? Fans of the series will be thrilled with this latest offering. Fun and science, who would have thought those two words might be used together? <307>

"Books fall open, you fall in," wrote David McCord. Here are books that allow readers to explore time and place and people of all kinds.



WHO'S IN MY FAMILY? by Robie Harris with illustrations by Nadine Bernard Westcott (Candlewick Press 2012) is subtitled ALL ABOUT FAMILIES. From single parents to grandparents to foster and adoptive parents, the story shows the variety that families come in. <301>




THE FIRST ADVENTURES OF SPIDER by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst with illustrations by Caldecott winner Jerry Pinkney (Little Brown 2012)is part of the easy reading series Passport to Reading. This book contains several tales about spider, always the trickster. Tie this to Eric Kimmel's Anansi stories. <302>




JUST RIGHT FOR CHRISTMAS by Birdie Black and Rosalind Beardshaw (Nosy Crow 2012) centers on one piece of fine red fabric purchased to make a cloak for the princess' Christmas present. The scraps from the cloak are left out for trash when along wanders a maid who makes a jacket from the pieces. One by one, different animals discover the shreds of fabric. each manages to make something special, something just right for Christmas. Tie this to Sims Tayback's JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT or SOMETHING FROM NOTHING. <303>




OH NO by Candace Fleming with illustrations by Eric Rohmann (Schwartz and Wade 2012)is set in a jungle where one by one animals have fallen into a pit (hence the OH NO of the title). Other animals come along and try to help the trapped escape to no avail. Finally, along comes a tiger. What will happen to the hapless animals trapped in the hole? <304>




THE MOOGEES MOVE HOUSE by Leslie McGuirk (Candlewick Press)is about the perils and pains of finding a new home. Even when you are a Moogee, this is tough work. Finding the just right home takes patience and perseverance and some help. <305>





MY HANDS SING THE BLUES by Jeanne Walker Harvey with illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon (Marshall Cavendish 2012) is about the childhood of artist Romare Bearden. Told in first person, readers will follow Romare through his childhood into his young adulthood and see the various influences on his art. <306>

The remarkable Kadir Nelson gives Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech a new vision in his latest picture book, I HAVE A DREAM (Schwartz and Wade 2012). Accompanied by a CD with the recording of the famous speech, Nelson has selected essential passages of the speech for this picture book. Bronzes, browns, and blues glow as pages turn and the words pour forth, still challenging us today to see the dream come true. Tie this one to MARTIN'S BIG WORDS by Doreen Rappaport with illustrations by Bryan Collier. Bder of biographies or a ladder of famous speeches brought to life in picture books, build a ladder for Black History Month. There are so many ways to connect this beautiful text to others. Just be sure to read it aloud to any age. <300>

ALL THE AWAKE ANIMALS ARE ALMOST ASLEEP by Crescent Dragonwagon with illustrations by David McPhail (Little Brown 2012)

Letter by letter
Follow the animals as
They all fall asleep.

<295>



BLACK DOG by Levi Pinfold. (templar Books 2012)

Black dog Black dog does not scare
Small who knows how to bring him
To perfect pet size.

<296>



HIDE AND SEEK by Il Sung Na (Knopf 2012)

Animals play games
Such as jungle hide and seek
Chameleon is best.

<297>



Mario the squirrel
And his pal Isabelle teach
Each other new moves.

<298>




OLLE AND MOON: FUHGEDDABOUDIT! by Diane Krendenson (Random House 2012)

Ollie and Moon tour
New York City from one end
To the other end.

<299>

SICK DAY by David McPhail (Holiday House 2012)

The boy is feeling sick
Stays home. Mother cares for him.
He cares for others.

<293>



I LIKE OLD CLOTHES by Mary Ann Hoberman with illustrations by Patrice Barton (Knopf 2012)

She likes old clothing
Wonders who owned them before
And what they were like.

<291>



NIGHTTIME NINJA by Barbara DaCosta with illustrations by Ed Young (Little Brown 2012)

He creeps out at night
Prowling through the room with stealth
Nighttime Ninja caught!

<292>



WHAT WILL YOU BE, GRANDMA? by Nanette Newman with illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark (templar Books 2012)

What would Grandma be
If she were not a grandma?
Possibilities rock!

<294>