Good Dog, McTavish by Meg Rosoff ill by Grace Easton

Books that are a delight for adults and young children to read together are a rare breed. Meg Rosoff has pulled off this feat with Good Dog, McTavish, a story brimming with wit and charm. Rosoff turns the familiar rescue dog trope on its head. McTavish is indeed a dog. But his task is to rescue a family.  When he decides to adopt the Peachey family, he knows that this going to take time and a great deal of work. Ma Peachey has announced that she is giving up on being a mother. No more cleaning. No more cooking. No more nagging. Pa Peachey and the three Peachey children are on their own. Needless to say, the entire household is in a state of chaotic disarray. McTavish and eight-year old Betty devise a plan, actually several plans, to restore order to the home.  ​Humans were puzzlingly dim. McTavish sighed. There was so much work to do.

Youngsters will chortle as McTavish puts his plans into action. Beginning with the piles of discarded clothing and shoes scattered throughout the house, McTavish systematically trains the family to clean up, pick up, be punctual, and feed themselves. The ongoing efforts of the father and his children are interspersed with descriptions of Ma Peachey, intoning "ohhhmmm" while executing near-perfect looping cobra and dancing warrior yoga poses. When the family takes ownership of the home and contribute to its order, Ma quietly rejoins the family. Humans make excellent pets, he thought. When you took on a rescue family, it often took some weeks for them to settle, but he was glad he'd decided to adopt the Peacheys.

Meet the Author

Meg Rosoff is the author of Guardian Children's Prize and Michael L. Printz award-winning How I Live Now and National Honor Book finalist recognition for Picture Me Gone.  She also received the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. With Good Dog, McTavish, readers can enjoy another side of Rosoff. Her sparkling writing with clever asides is tailor-made for entertaining family reading. Enjoy this brief interview with the author.

Meet the Illustrator

Grace Easton's illustrations add a fine touch of whimsy.  Love the details. Of special note is McTavish's eye roll.  It speaks volumes.

My Cat Looks Like My Dad by Thao Lam

Meet dad. Meet the family cat. Dad and cat are alike in many ways. Both have fluffy yellow hair, enjoy a tasty meal followed by a nap, even have similar fears. They make a great pair. ​But that’s just the beginning. ​The real story on these pages goes beyond a charming tale of a man and his cat. Readers wonder about the family member narrating the story. Who can it be? The storyteller's identity is discovered by carefully examining the illustrations. Observant readers will recognize that there is more to this family than a man and his cat. There will come an "ah ha" moment when it is obvious that the narrator i.e.  additional family member is a bird! That's right. The bird refers to its sibling as "my cat." Clever. Clever indeed. The complete family portrait with dad, mom, cat, and bird graces the final page.

Greeting the day with graceful tai chi.

Crooning tunes at the keyboard.

Snoozing: Nap time is lap time.

Bonus

The Becket List by Adele Griffin ill LeUyen Pham

Meet the irrepressible Becket. When her veterinarian parents decide to leave the city and relocate in the country, Rebecca is ready to go. She wants to take on a new country persona, requesting to be called Becket and creating a list of all the new experiences she plans to have on the farm. Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Older sister Caroline is devastated, as she must leave friends. Twin brother Nicolas finds that his perceived ailments are even worse. Then there's Mr. Fancypants, the pug that has always been a member of the family but has slowed down and isn't much fun anymore. Living with her family on grandmother's Blackberry Farm, isn't quite what Becket envisioned. Collecting eggs can be painful when Laying Godiva, Gran's prize New Hampshire Red hen, defends her eggs by viciously pecking Becket. There is a lemonade stand fiasco, when Becket discovers the importance of sweeteners. Summer day camp is not the friend-fest she thought it would be. And sometimes helping the launch of a camper’s miniature boat is not helpful.

This camp has been a bran muffin amount of fun, not a banana split with three cherries and sprinkles amount of fun.

Outside, the big old moon is glowing yellow over the fields.
​”Beautiful Alert,” I whisper.

Have You Met These Girls?

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer

​​Full disclosure: Initially I skimmed this book's  back cover and concluded that it was a remake of The Parent Trap. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the movie. So, no. I wasn't interested. But... this middle grade novel was by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer.  I reasoned that two extremely talented authors would write something more than a warmed-over Disney movie script. Once I started reading I was hooked.  ​​Reasons why I loved this book: Point one: The girls are interesting individuals, not plot contrivances. While they have a west coast vs. east coast point of view, they have enough unique traits to transcend the California and New York City stereotypes.  Point two: The dads.  These men are neither good guys nor bad guys. They are guys.  They are dads. They make some good decisions, arrive at some conclusions based inaccurate assumptions. They make mistakes. They love their families.

I Have Questions

Music of Love

100 Questions About Oceans by Simon Abbott

Simon Abbott's subject-specific trivia books are jam-packed with fascinating factoids.   100 Questions and About Oceans covers a wide range of ocean-related data including basic underwater geography and ecology, ecosystems, marine animal records, well-known marine biologists, historical shipwrecks, and protecting aquatic life.  ​Information is presented as a series of questions with corresponding answers, formatted in brief easy-to-read statements. How does the goblin shark hunt in the dark? ​Its snout is lined with natural sensors called ampulae, which detect weak electrical fields from living creatures. The shark simply tracks down its prey, open its retractable jaws, and ... chomp!

More Questions & Answers

Dear Santa, I Know It Looks Bad but It It Wasn't My Fault!
by Norma Lewis
ill Olivia Beckman

​Ten days before Christmas: The pet canary is missing, There is cat poop in the neighbor's sandbox. The cat's head is stuck inside an empty milk pitcher. A week before Christmas: Scalawag climbs up the holiday tree. The tree topples over. All the ornaments are shattered. The tablecloth catches on fire. Miss Violet is temporarily knocked unconscious.

Porcelain Ornament

Cotton Bandana

Pet Collar ID Tag

Teach Your Giraffe to Ski 
by Viviane Elbee  ill Danni Gowdy

When a task is daunting, you sometimes need a little incentive. Take skiing. It's a sport that requires training and a measure of courage. Meet a boy who is hesitates to try something challenging. Can he step away from his comfy chair and soothing hot chocolate? Giraffe wants to ski and she is not waiting another minute. She's heading out to the slopes. Now. Our young protagonist realizes that without basic instruction this rash impulse portends disaster. Grabbing his skis, he heads out in the snow. He teaches giraffe how to: put on a pair of skis, slow down "the pizza move," speed up "the french fry stance, "and turn "S shape maneuvers."

Viviane Elbee explores the anxiety associated with attempting something  difficult. It’s a story of overcoming one’s fears and being willing to take risks. She injects plenty of humor and whimsy, which prevents the story from becoming a heavy-handed moralistic tale. Grab a copy of Teach Your Giraffe to Ski. Then be brave and try something new.

Giraffe Gyrations

King Alice by Matthew Cordell

How does one follow up after an award-winning wordless book? Matthew Cordell ventures in a completely different direction, introducing readers to King Alice, a precocious girl who is filled with opinions, stories of her own creation, and ideas. Lots and lots of ideas. She does not want for words. It's a snow day, which means that everyone in the household is homebound. For one regal young lady, its a day filled with possibilities: make-over for dad, tea party, writing a story, watching the TV show "Unicorn Buddies," creating a unicorn stampede.  ​ Inevitably, Dad reaches his breaking point. The antics are too much. Alice is sent to time out. ​The King apologizes. ​Dinner. Bath. Bedtime stories. Peace restored. ​​ ​Dad and King Alice are the main attractions in this day's escapades, but a mother, infant, and cat have cameo roles.

More Matthew Cordell 

Sanity and Tallulah by Molly Brooks

Molly Brooks has done it.  Pink is now the signature color for action and adventure. This brilliant comic stars eighth-graders who are smart and resourceful, devious and daring and __ girls! Sanity Jones, along with her friend Tallulah Vega live onboard space station Wilnick. Tallulah’s mother, Science and Engineering Director, discovers the girls are deep into a clandestine scientific project. Sanity has created a three-headed kitten, affectionately named Princess Sparkle, Destroyer of Worlds. ​"Let me make sure I'm following your thought process here. You're feeding your carnivorous bioengineering experiment experimental bioengineered meat that you cloned yourself-" To everyone's horror, the kitten escapes and havoc reigns on Wilnick. A pet gerbil is murdered, something is chewing up major electrical system wires, and coolant leaks are wide-spread. Naturally everyone suspects the triple-headed feline.

Sneak Peek: More Sanity & Tallulah

Looking for more of the duo's adventures? ​View some sample pages. Head over to Comixology to order these webcomics.

Dear Sister 
by Alison McGhee ill Joe Bluhm

There is a unique quality to sibling dynamics. In the first place, there isn’t much mystery. You know all the secret little things that only two who share the same living space can appreciate. You have the same backstory. This can work for and against your relationship. Alison McGhee explores this complex bond in Dear Sister, an epistolary collection of messages from a brother to his eight-years-younger sibling, beginning with his sister’s birth and concluding when he leaves home for college. Required by his parents whom he often refers to as the wardens, he frequently composes cards and notes for his sister. Some celebrate important events such as birthdays. There are "report cards" grading her on characteristics ranging from crying to avoiding lima beans. There is more than one apology. Many are accompanied by his drawings. Readers follow the lives of both as they grow up and experience life’s challenges. ​ The evolution of their relationship is brilliantly chronicled. A running thread is the young girl's insistence on multiple readings of her favorite book, Never Too Clever. Her delight in hearing the story read aloud does not diminish with time.

How many "Been there. Done that" moments will you find within these pages?

Meeting the Creators

I have been a fan of Alison McGhee’s work for some time. What I Leave Behind, Maybe a Fox, Birdie and Pablo are three recently published titles that I completely and totally fell in love with. Not only is Alison a gifted author, she is also a very talented narrator. I had the good fortune to meet up with Alison and her sister Holly, literary agent and kidlit author. Wonder if these sisters ever had sibling issues?

At a picture book presentation I sat next to an unfamiliar face. I was fairly certain that he was not a librarian, nor part of a publishing team. Who was this guy? He introduced himself: Joe Bluhm, illustrator for a soon-to-be-released book. At the conclusion of the event, Joe produced a galley of a book based on an intriguing concept and filled with the most engaging illustrations. He shared a bit about the book and his illustration process. Thanks Joe for a copy of Dear Sister.

He signed the ARC.