SNOW by Uri Shulevitz (BB, $7.99)
The skies are gray, the rooftops are gray, the whole City is gray, and curmudgeonly grown-ups with elevated noses discourage one eager little boy from counting his chickens and indulging winter wishes for a big snow! “It’ll melt,” they say as flurries fall and they hurry off in their grown-up way. Even the TV says NO REAL SNOW! But this little boy won’t take nay for an answer! Will the snowflakes stay shy or will they show up and take his side–spinning, circling and twirling up a wonderland for every little city wisher! Enjoy this Caldecott honor classic with your snow babies in board book form for the first time!
THIS MOOSE BELONGS TO ME by Oliver Jeffers (HC, $16.99)
A new odd-couple story from the inimitable Oliver Jeffers! When Marcel the moose wanders into Wilfred the boy’s woodland life the two go through a somewhat bumpy friendship negotiation process! Although Marcel is happy to act as Wilfred’s umbrella in case of downpour, some of Wilfred’s human-y rules just aren’t working for Marcel, who is into more moose-y things like wandering off. One day Marcel moseys right onto the ranch of an old lady who welcomes him home as RODRIGO! To whom belongs this moose!? Read this children’s book wunderkind’s marvelous moose tale, accompanied by outrageously artful illustrations to find out!
PENGUIN’S HIDDEN TALENT by Alex Latimer (HC, $15.96)
Comic wonder Alex Latimer, author of much-adored The Boy Who Cried Ninja, returns with this knee-slapper about what constitutes talent in the animal kingdom! Penguin can’t rival Fox with his eloquent burps, nor albatross who gobbles up marlins bigger than bears, nor bear who juggles toasters and tea kettles like a king! Penguin resigns himself to skulking around behind the scenes party-planning the big talent show instead of participating! How will penguin discover how stellar the skills he possesses when everybody but him goes home with a medal!? Moms, dads, and kids will all chuckle at the humor hidden in Latimer’s art!
SHADOW ON THE MOUNTAIN by Margi Preus (HC $16.95)
Espen is coming of age in a Norwegian village under Nazi occupation! While fourteen year old boys with ordinary destinies might be immersed in studies, soccer, and crushes, Espen is busy risking life and limb, bicycling through snowdrifts to deliver messages for the resistance! As Espen bands together with some friends, loses others, and accumulates a heavy burden of secrets, his missions become increasingly perilous. As evidenced by the award-winning Heart of a Samurai, Preus is a whiz at historical fiction. She does not underestimate her audience and paints this harrowing piece of history in all it’s complexities with true-to-life details and military vocabulary, and even portrays collaborators as fully-formed characters. Green Bean was blown away by this snow-capped, suspense-filled, and especially important story!