I originally bought Abby Hanlon’s Dory Fantasmagory for my older daughter, who liked it at first then lost interest. My younger daughter (turned 5 today) picked it up and had me read the whole thing to her over 2 reading sessions. It’s an absolutely adorable tale of a little girl with a big imagination, and the illustrations are a lot of fun. She has all these imaginary friends and enemies who tend to take over her life and make her do things that her family find mystifying. It’s very funny and sweet.

A Necklace of Raindrops is a collection of short stories by Joan Aiken that travel all over the world, but also have some modern elements. It all really works well together. Our edition has silhouette illustrations by Jan Pienkowski and oh they take my breath away. The stories are whimsical but deep, and have things like a flying pie and a house that lays eggs. Both girls loved them and so did I.

I’m a little annoyed with myself for actually reading all of Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie, because it was SO BAD. But I get sucked into bad things sometimes and that’s when being able to read fast really comes in handy.

Oh, hi, Norma Fox Mazer! You have a new book out and all of a sudden I’m eleven again and breathless with excitement. Out of Control is told mostly from the point of view of a boy who does something unforgivable to a girl because he’s caught up with his no-good friends. Game of Thrones had me expecting the worst, but thankfully Mazer preserves the dignity of all concerned, and offers a novel take on sexual assault.

Not for kids but sort of about a kid–A Fatal Gift of Beauty is a deeply researched examination of the Amanda Knox case that managed to convey the complexity of the case without pandering over the salacious details.