Sea Sirens: A Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure
​by Amy Chu & Janet K. Lee

California surfer Trot spends her summer days with Cap’n Bill, a one-eyed rescue cat wearing a tiny red life vest who joins her on the surfboard and her Vietnamese grandfather who is in the early stages of dementia and sometimes wanders off.   One day Trot and Cap'n Bill sneak away to catch a big wave. Her board capsizes, sending them into a magical world in the briny deep. When sea serpents threaten a bevy of lovely sea sirens, Cap'n Bill lashes out, sending away the serpents. In gratitude, the seahorse-riding sirens give Trot and her cat the ability to breathe underwater and transport the duo back to their mother Queen Aquareine and her opulent kingdom, or more accurately, queendom. They are honored with a lavish celebration. A special guest arrives for the festivities: grandpa!  He slipped into the ocean and wandered into this enchanted aquatic paradise. ​

More Underwater Adventures

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

What happens after Cinderella slips her dainty foot into the glass slipper and is whisked away by the prince? What will become of the step mother and her two daughters? Donnelly begins this fractured fairy tale with the scene in which each stepsister cuts off a part of her foot in an attempt to fit into the crystal shoe. Each fails and is left with a maimed foot, a heart full of resentment, and no prospects. What will become of them? This retelling contemplates the future. Who or what influences one’s fortune? Is it the Fates, three women who spend their days determining the destiny for every person? Writing with magical inks, they create individual life maps, which they believe are unalterable. Chance questions this supposition and wagers that it is Chance not Fate which will decide the course of a stepsister’s life. Which will prevail: Fate or Chance? There is Magic in this sad, hard world. A magic stronger than fate, stronger than chance. And it is seen in the unlikeliest of places.

Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins

What inspired Rowboat Watkins to create Most Marshmallows? Was it exploring new ways of looking at the world, celebrating the wonders of creativity, or was it delight in these pillowy confections most often found floating in a cup of hot chocolate? The picture book’s introductory pages characterize marshmallows as common folk, born as sweet little puffs into homes with loving parents. They celebrate birthdays, watch TV, play outdoors. Weekdays are spent in school where they learn to be squishy and stand in rows. Evenings, the family sits down to dinner before young ones are tucked into bed.  It’s a pleasant, predictable existence.

It's a Marshmallow World

Taking my cue from Watkins carefully arranged settings, I decided to try making my own surrealistic scenes. I discovered these amazing big boys: Giant Roasters aka jumbo-sized marshmallows. The photo at right gives a sense of just how large these puff balls are. With a few craft supplies, a handful of old F&G's (unbound, not-yet-published picture book pages), and my trusty glue gun I was ready to create my own marshmallow worlds. I imagined my own fantastical scenes. This was so much fun!

See marshmallows clowning around, soaring across the sky in a parachute, and bravely befriending a dragon.

This book and the accompanying activity would make a good project for classrooms and after school projects. ​ Taking it one step further, it would make a terrific summer camp program. After reading, try making whimsical marshmallow scenes and then celebrate your creation by toasting up some gooey treats. Triple the fun by adding chocolate and graham crackers for s'mores.

Firefly Forest by Robyn Frampton  ill Mike Heath

Small Wonders

Smoke and Mirrors by K. D. Halbrook

Weaving a tale of wonder filled with pain, regret, resolve, hope, and a generous dose of magic is difficult. K. D. Halbrook's words seem to flow effortlessly, creating an illusion that is enchanting, while simultaneously heartbreaking.   Sasha and Toddy are children of Cirque Magnifique performers. From infancy, their lives have revolved around the wonder of daring aerial acts and dazzling costumes. People come from afar to marvel at these performances. Everyone, that is, except for the residents on the other side of the island. They will have nothing to do with this strangeness Sasha is devastated when their parents decide that the siblings must attend school with the island children. She believes that she won't fit in. She doesn’t. ​The Cirque kids were color in a gray world, they were many languages and strange accents, they were children of bizarre grown-ups who didn’t have normal jobs or wear normal clothes or carry the same tired expressions in their eyes, like the other island parents did.

You remember every nice thing that's happened to you. The people who hugged you when you were sad. The ones who invited you to their birthday party and gave you nicest piece of cake. You think about the most beautiful sights on the island.

The Lifters by Dave Eggers read by Dion Graham

Gran, short for Granite, and his family have moved to Carousel, living in his great grandfather's old home. Everything seems lonely and a bit off balance. No one at school speaks to him. It's as if he doesn’t exist. One day he comes upon classmate Catalina entering a hidden door in the ground. Gran is intrigued and follows her. He discovers a series of subterranean tunnels, crisscrossing the earth beneath the town. He watches as Catalina labors underground, propping up the tunnels with all manner of items to keep the town from sinking. The two join forces, working to defeat The Hollows, powerful winds which sense sadness and threaten to tunnel deep underground, blowing away the foundations of Carousel.

Listen Up

Bonus

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

Welcome to the world of Victorian England’s chimney sweeps. Jonathan Auxier has created a tale that is part historical fiction, part fantasy, part social commentary, and pure magic. ​Nan Sparrow has only known life as a chimney sweep. From infancy she was nurtured by a man she calls the Sweep. Together they did more than simply survive a grubby, demanding life of toil and deprivation. Instead he taught Nan to find joy in what others might deem a joyless existence. ​The Sweep had never understood how a person could sleep through the sunrise. 'It's like Heaven itself is offering you a gift you're too lazy to open,' he used to say. Then he'd wink and add, 'Ah, well. More for us.'

​And yet, here in the dusty crawl space, she held a miracle in her hands.

"A sage or rabbi--​ that is, a Jewish priest— forms a body out of mud or clay and then brings the creature to life with a sort of magic word called a Shem"...
"In your stories, why did the rabbi make his golem?"
"Why does a person create anything? Out of necessity... The golem is made to help people who fear for their lives.”

Stories to Tell. Stories to Share.

Sometimes on nights when there was no food to eat, the girl and her Sweep used to make Story soup. The girl would fill her pockets with trash she found on the streets - scraps of paper or trampled strings or bits of colored glass. At the end of the day, she would present these things to The Sweep. “Make Story soup!” she would tell him.’
​”Oh-ho!” The Sweep would always exclaim, rubbing his belly with both hands. ‘You’ve brought us ingredients for a right feast!’

​It's a very private thing to open a present and a person deserves to do it on his own way.

Bonus: The Wit and Wisdom of Sweep

​What is a year?
A year is a bunch of days put together.
Oh, it's much more than that! ...A year is a little lifetime.

The Book Tree by Paul Czajak ill Rashin Kheiriyeh

Imagine a world without books. Paul Czajak invites youngsters to visit the fantastical world of Arlo, a boy who loves to read. One day, while nested in the branches of a tree with his book, misfortune strikes. The volume slips from his hands and lands upon the head of the mayor. Furious, the mayor immediately calls for the destruction of all books, as he deems them dangerous. Arlo is bereft  when all books are torn apart and the pages float away. He is not the only one missing books. There are no more stories for children at nap time. Meals become dull, as there are no cookbooks to consult. The theater ceases to perform as there are no scripts to enact. Arlo determines that perhaps he can create stories of his own. His writing germinates a torn book page, buried deep within the earth. A book tree begins to grow, nourished by the stories Arlo writes and shares. Eventually the book tree is filled with books and the town springs back to life.

Meet the Author

​"​When it comes to science people have this idea that it is all numbers and equations, but in fact science is filled with creativity.  Go look at a picture of the Hadron Collider and try to tell me that didn’t take some serious imagination."

He is the author the Monster and Me series.  Monster Needs Your Vote might be an appropriate selection to read during this national election cycle. ​Paul has created coloring pages, which may be downloaded from his website.

Meet the Illustrator

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Ah, the stuff that fairytales are made of: a handsome young prince, overbearing parents who seek to marry off the heir to the throne, a glittering ballroom filled with all manner of royalty, and a shy young commoner with a heart of gold. ​But wait. Things take an unexpected turn. The prince, it seems, enjoys wearing gorgeous gowns. He covertly employs Frances, a lowly young dressmaker with a flair for the spectacular to create custom creations for him. When she learns the identity of her employer, the dressmaker is nonplussed and continues her work, making stunning works of couture for her client. Eventually his private passion for dazzling attire becomes public and his parents must come to terms with this aspect of their son's identity. Wang injects a humorous conclusion at the story’s reveal that is fanciful and immensely satisfying. Cross-dressing is only one aspect of The Prince and the Dressmaker story line. For me, the development of the relationship between the prince and the dressmaker is at its heart.

Let's talk Coulture

Wait... There is More to Love

Journey Across the Hidden Islands by Sarah Beth Durst

A story of two sisters.  A story of a lion.  A story of a dragon. The sisters are twins. Princess Seika and Princess Ji-Lin are daughters of the emperor of the Hundred Islands of Himitsu.   At the age of eleven they were separated. Seika, the older sister remained in the palace and was trained in royal protocol, taught to be a ruler over the kingdom. Ji-Lin, the younger twin was sent far away from the palace to the Temple of the Sun to train as a protector and warrior.  The lion is not just any lion, but instead a magnificent beast with massive wings who serves as Ji-Lin's companion and transport. The dragon resides of the volcanic island of Kazan and safeguards Himitsu with a magical protective barrier. The sisters must unite to find the dragon and renew a bargain to protect the Hundred Islands. This venture proves more difficult than either girl anticipates and is fraught with unexpected dangers: some serious disturbances in the earth as well as creatures in the form of wild unicorns, mer-minnow,  terrifying valravens " and a ​hundred other monsters, each probably worse than the one before."