Book Finder

Yolen wrote all of these varied entries about the delightful dragon, and relates the poems, and short stories from a variety of genres, complete with a background as to their inspiration.

Lonely and isolated, Lucy and Ezra build a robot that comes alive to become the Robot King. The Robot King leads the children on a fantastic, almost surreal adventure until the children return home when they see their father. Handsome illustrations make a complicated tale become tangible and real.

Because of a mix-up, best doll friends Annabelle and Tiffany are sent to the wrong house where they must deal with Mimi, a doll who thinks she’s the queen of all and whose behavior is perfectly ghastly. Readers who were first introduced to these characters in Doll People will enjoy seeing them again.

Though only 10 years old, Alonzo King wants to be the “boy of a thousand faces” just like his favorite actor Lon Chaney is the “man of a thousand faces” in the horror movies that Alonzo watches on late-night television. As Halloween approaches, Alonzo becomes an expert in using make-up and knowledge of The Beast.

The laughs begin even before a third grader’s science project – Super Slime – gets out, and things quickly get out of hand! Goopy, frumpy, and slightly gross illustrations accompany the rhyming text, and is sure to cause laughter as the school is almost consumed.

Red-headed and tiny, Sardine is a space pirate who takes off on adventures with her pirate uncle and their friend in a spaceship named Huckleberry. Their madcap adventures are fast–paced and punchy, with grotesque details to appeal to a younger crowd, and sophisticated cultural references and puns that will appeal to older readers. The story is told in a graphic novel format.

Richard knows he’s not in for an ordinary day when a tiny, wisecracking alien freedom fighter climbs out of his cereal bowl. The alien enlists Richard’s help to foil a deadly enemy who is cleverly disguised as the new kid in homeroom.

Eight-year old Joe is about to become a big brother when he meets Mika from planet Eljo, where children hatch out of eggs and life in general is quite different from what Joe knows. The importance of questioning everything, from what’s a pancake to religious beliefs, makes this gentle story fun to read as well as eye-opening.

Is Hanukkah really all about dancing dreidels and high-flying latkes? Maybe not, but Eric Kimmel and Jon Goodell have put these devilish phenomena to good use in a lighthearted story that teaches Hanukkah traditions — from kazatzkas to gelt — along with a wise, timeless moral.

Even young monsters on Mars can have trouble adjusting to the first day of first grade. Not only does Horus miss the comforts of Martiangarten, but a know-it-all student harasses him. At his mother’s insistence, a very reluctant Horus returns the next day. Once there, he is able to forget his own problems when he helps a new and even more timid Martian. Characters are vividly colored and peculiarly shaped to create a comical but sympathetic school story of adjustment and emerging friendship.

When a spaceship crashes nearby, Possum goes to explore and discovers Alien, a cautious creature in a nicely rounded space suit, who overcomes his initial suspicions to become Possum’s pal. A springy pace, lively dialogue, and Alien’s silly sound effects make this an ideal read-aloud.

Human kids will understand where little green, freckle-faced Henry P. Baloney is coming from. He’s late again, and is sure to serve detention forever if he can’t come up with a good excuse for his teacher as to why he’s late again. Words Henry uses sound truly alien, but there’s enough context to figure out their meaning — and a funny surprise waiting at book’s end.

The son of superhero parents, Max is frustrated when even his cape and encouragement from his parents aren’t enough to help him learn to fly. But everything changes on the day he saves ababy bird and discovers that he, too, is a hero. Gently lined and colored illustrations depict slightlyfrumpy, appealing, characters in this engaging andencouraging tale.

Minnie and Moo are surprised by a one-eyed, package-delivering, potatolike alien named Spud, who crash-lands his UPS (“Universal Package Service”) spaceship in their pasture. He needs another ship and five gallons of “space fuel” to deliver a tube of Anti-Bump Cream to prevent planets from bumping into one another-and he has 30 minutes to get the job done. Can Minnie and Moo help Spud build a new spaceship in time to save the universe?

Nergal and the other first grade Martians from Ms. Vortex’s pod participate in a running competition during health week. Nergal is nervous; he’s not a good runner. But he learns about healthy eating and that doing one’s Martian best is more important than winning. Zany illustrations and text convey a down to earth message in this book from the First Graders from Mars series.

Commander Toad and the crew of the Star Warts are back, this time to confront villainous space pirates. As in other Commander Toad books, puns and silliness are complemented by humorous illustrations.

Sort-of-serious illustrations are perfect for this comical parody of familiar science fiction films. The brave commander of the Star Warts spacecraft is a Toad who saves his ship from the dangers of a watery planet and its resident monster, Deep Wader.

Life as a paper-thin boy is not all bad as Stanley finds out. He was flattened by a bulletin board bit adjusts quite well with the help of his parents to his new dimensions — all of which makes for very funny reading (and travels in later books about Stanley and his family).