Notable Children's Books of 1971–1975 (ALA) Best Books of 1972 (SLJ) Outstanding Children's Books of 1972 (NYT)

William Steig's Spinky Sulks is a 1988 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year. Spinky is convinced that his family hates him and goes off to sulk in his hammock. His brother and sister try to make amends. His mom even brings him a beautiful tray of food. But nothing can get Spinky to stop sulking—not even a circus passing by on his street! Will Spinky ever cheer up? Spinky Sulks is another delightful tale from the incomparable William Steig that will leave readers of all ages smiling.

The second book in the Sarai Gonzalez illustrated chapter book series inspired by the life of 11-year-old viral video sensation and social activist Sarai Gonzalez. When Sarai's best friend suddenly moves away, Sarai has to navigate school -- and the unfriendly girls in the cafeteria -- all by herself. Then, new girl Christina moves to town and the teacher volunteers Sarai to show her around. But Sarai thinks Christina is not at all like her--she never wants to play at recess, she's always got her head in a notebook and she's so shy! But when Christina writes Sarai a spoken-word poem for her to recite at the class talent show, Sarai learns that sometimes winning teams are made from unlikely pairs!Inspired by the life of viral video sensation and social activist Sarai Gonzalez with the help of award-winning children's book author Monica Brown.

Appelemando loves to dream! The villagers think he will never amount to much, but his friends know better. They can see his dreams drift up from the top of his head and float into the sky. Then, one rainy day, Appelemando's dreams are blown onto all the wet walls and roofs of the town, covering the houses and stores with fantastic pictures. The villagers are astonished and angry: How could the children do such a thing! Not until Appelemando and his friends lose their way in the forest do the villagers recognize the wonder and value of Appelemando's special gift. With her vibrant folk-art illustrations, Patricia Polacco draws young readers into Appelemando's magical world, where they will discover the importance of dreaming and the power of true friendship.

A dog with a plan adopts a chaotic family in a wry comedy extolling the virtues of common sense. When Ma Peachey takes up yoga, the rest of the family finds themselves abandoned to chaos: no one cooks dinner, no one picks up the dirty laundry, the children are always late for school, and there is a good deal of squabbling and squalor. Ma may be off finding inner peace, but irritable Pa Peachey, glum Ava, and wannabe girl-charmer Ollie are falling apart. Only Betty, the sensible youngest child, is wise enough to see that this family is in need of rescue. Enter McTavish, a rescue dog who, true to his mission, is ready to teach this family some new tricks. Getting the Peacheys to behave will take work, but if anyone can do it, McTavish can. After all, he’s a very good dog — maybe even a psychological mastermind!

Brown-skinned momma, the color of chocolate milk and coffee pumpkin pie, whose face gets ginger red when she puffs and yells the children into bed. White-skinned daddy, not white like milk or snow, lighter than brown, With pinks and tiny tans, whose face gets tomato red when he puffs and yells their children into bed. Children who are all the colors of the race, growing up happy in a house full of love. This is the way it is for them; this is the way they are, but the joy they feel extends to every reader of this book. Black is brown is tan is a story poem about being, a beautiful true song about a family delighting in each other and in the good things of the earth.

Who would have believed that The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn could cause the worst crisis in the history of George Mason High School? Certainly not Barney Roth, editor of the school paper. But when a small but vocal group of students and parents decide that the book is racist, sexist, and immoral--and should be removed from reading lists and the school library--Barney takes matters into his own hands. When the Huck Finn issue comes up for a hearing, Barney decides to print his story about previous censorship efforts at school. He's sure that investigative reporting and publicity can help the cause. But is he too late to turn the tide of censorship?

From the team that brought us A Hole Is To Dig, here's another romp through the wild and wonderful imagination of children.

Splish-splosh, it's time for fun at the pond Make friends with Dimity Duck and her poolside buddies in their first frithy-frothy picture book.

Two girls become fast friends practicing witchcraft together. Just when they think they've perfected their special flying potion, Jennifer and Elizabeth quarrel over the main ingredient. Will it take a magic spell to make them friends again? A Newbery Medal winner.

During the struggle to create the state of Israel in 1947, Ruth Mendolsohn, who helped young refugees flee Poland in "After the War", is a member of the Haganah, a group of Israeli fighters that believes only in self-defense. Her brother thinks that terrorism is necessary to get results. War seems inevitable and both will have to fight. Will they find the security of a place they can call home?

"Captures the resilience of human dignity and optimism. . . . A powerful must-read." -- Booklist (starred review) During World War II, Tama is sent to live in an incarceration camp in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast--elderly people, children, babies--now live in camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, and Tama doesn't know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the incarceration camp's tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn't the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura's beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George--the author's grandparents--and an unflinching and necessary afterword that helps readers to learn more about a time in our history that continues to resonate.

A speckled horse wonders why he was made a horse. Can the sassy sheep, who claims to be a good tennis player, help him find understanding? And wait a minute: How can that sheep even play tennis if she doesn't have hands? Perhaps the bright light holds answers. Or the talking apple. Or the singing grass. We Need a Horse , the first children's book from author Sheila Heti and painter Clare Rojas, asks big questions with a gentle hand. We Need a Horse is a timeless book for quiet moods, and makes especially good reading for anyone who likes to ask "Why?" As a double bonus, the book's jacket is reversible, and also unfurls into a large square poster that invites the reader to fall into Rojas's quietly majestic artwork.

In the desegregation era of the 1970s, a first grader copes with being bused to a white school in this story for young children about racism and an essential time of change. "One of the Ten Best Books of the Year," The New York Times . Brewster is excited about starting first grade . . . until Mama announces that he'll be attending Central, a school in the white part of town. Mama says they have art and music and a library bursting with books, but Brewster isn't so sure he'll fit in. And he's right. Being black at a white school isn't easy. Brewster winds up spending his first day in detention at the library. But there he meets a very special person: Miss O'Grady. The librarian sees into Brewster's heart and gives him not only the gift of books but also encourages Brewster to believe in himself. This is an invaluable, unique, view into a tumultous time and the good that came into the lives of school children.

When a teenage girl’s single mom is taken by ICE, everything changes—all of her hopes and dreams for the future turn into survival. Seventeen-year-old Rania is shaken awake in her family's apartment in Brooklyn. ICE is at the door, taking her mother away. But Ammi has done everything right, hasn’t she? Their asylum case is fine. This was supposed to be Rania’s greatest summer: hanging out with her best friend, Fatima, and getting ready for college in the fall. But now, none of that is certain. Now, along with her younger brother, Kamal, and a new friend, Carlos, Rania must figure out how to survive. In this vivid exploration of what happens when the country you have put your hopes into is fast shutting down, award-winning author Marina Budhos shows us how one girl bursting with dreams navigates secrets, love, and the lure of the open road.

Bobby is the class clown. He can always be counted on to crack up his friends and sometimes even the teachers. But he can't always be counted on to stay out of trouble'and that's no joke when you're in danger of being shipped off to a special school for kids with ‘behavioral problems.' Bobby's got one last chance to prove to his teachers, his principal, and his parents'especially his super-sarcastic dad'that he can be taken seriously. His assignment: to put on a school-wide laugh-off. It's teachers vs. students'and may the best comic win. It's also a chance for Bobby to show his dad that mean jokes aren't just kidding around. Packed with kid-tested jokes and riddles, this funny novel is also a thoughtful exploration of the power of laughter to hurt'and to heal. 2000-2001 Georgia's Picture Storybook Award & Georgia's Children's Book Award Masterlist

Dear Parents, All parents understand the feeling of being willing to take on the pain of their child's stomachache, sprained ankle, or broken arm to relive their child of hurt. Most parents, though, would rather that their child have a broken bone than a broken heart. Seeing our chilren agonize over emotional pain brings up feelings of helplessness and desperation. As parents, we want to make it all better and save our children from the sometimes harsh realities of life. But if they are to learn how to cope effectively with the personal challenges in their own lives, our children need to acknowledge and understand their own feelings rather than act out on them inappropriately or stuff them away. That's why it's so important for parents to observe and gently inquire when their children are in emotional distress - usually evidenced by withdrawn or angry behaviors. It is vital for parents to be able to talk about these things and to teach their children how to communicate what they are feeling. Growing Up is Hard will help you help your child become stronger and more confident by exploring and facing disappointments, hurts, frustrations, and embarrassment. Shalom, Dr. Laura Schlessinger

The feisty young heroine of Little Frog and the Scary Autumn Thing is back with a new adventure--being a big sister! Little Frog is no longer the littlest frog. Some new family members--the spring polliwogs--are so much trouble for the former "Only Frog," and Little Frog is all out of sorts. But when that polliwog trouble becomes nothing compared to a real threat---boys with nets!--Little Frog has to remember all that she's been taught in order to save the tadpoles from disaster. This charmer of a sequel is by multi-award winning author Jane Yolen, author of On Bird Hill, Owl Moon and the How Do Dinosaurs...? books. The wonderful spring palette and adorable pictures are by illustrator of the first Little Frog, Ellen Shi. About the LITTLE FROG Series Fear comes in many shapes and sizes. Seasons change. Families change. And change can be a scary thing for a little mind exploring the complicated emotions of facing the unknown. With gentle sweetness, Little Frog makes them laugh and breathe a sigh of relief through life's natural cycles. Little Frog shows young children they can muster up courage in the face of all things strange and new. With a little love, patience, and acceptance, big fears can be turned into bigger discoveries. Praise for LITTLE FROG "Vivid autumn foliage is generally considered to be a thing of beauty, but those unfamiliar colors spell danger to a young frog. Yolen doesn't rush Little Frog's emotional turnaround. Shi's inviting mixed-media landscapes make it clear that the amphibian is never in danger...reasoned reactions to her own nervousness hint at ways readers might tackle their own fears." -- PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY "This book is great for new/older siblings. It is cute and relatable." -- GOODREADS

"Rich colors underscore the intensity of Little Frog's feelings...a low-key way of introducing the idea of change, in nature or otherwise." - KIRKUS REVIEWS Most things that are scary are just new... Little Frog and the Scary Autumn Thing helps families embrace the new and unknown through the story of one little frog learning that change doesn't have to be frightening--especially when families face it together! It's Little Frog's first autumn, and she doesn't like it one bit. It is not the green world she loves so much, but something scarier and ominous, filled with red and gold and yellow. And noise! WHIRRRRR. CHIRRRR. BAROOOOOOM. But encouraged by her Mama, who reminds her that "Most things that are scary are just new," Little Frog bravely sets out into this world. When her courage waivers, she starts to run and soon is lost, miserably lost. She finds her way to Papa Frog, and he shows her what Mama Frog means. In a warm and satisfying ending: At last, arm in arm, Little Frog and Papa Frog happily hopped and danced all the way home to The Pond where Mama Frog had made a fresh shoo-fly pie for dinner, something all three of them knew well. This charmer of a story is by multi-award winning author Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon and the How Do Dinosaurs...? books. The wonderful autumn palette and adorable pictures are by newcomer Ellen Shi, who is not afraid of trying something new herself. About the LITTLE FROG Series Fear comes in many shapes and sizes. Seasons change. Families change. And change can be a scary thing for a little mind exploring the complicated emotions of facing the unknown. With gentle sweetness, Little Frog makes them laugh and breathe a sigh of relief through life's natural cycles. Little Frog shows young children they can muster up courage in the face of all things strange and new. With a little love, patience, and acceptance, big fears can be turned into bigger discoveries. Praise for LITTLE FROG "Vivid autumn foliage is generally considered to be a thing of beauty, but those unfamiliar colors spell danger to a young frog. Yolen doesn't rush Little Frog's emotional turnaround. Shi's inviting mixed-media landscapes make it clear that the amphibian is never in danger...reasoned reactions to her own nervousness hint at ways readers might tackle their own fears." -- PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

Justin has two goals for sophomore year: to date Chuck, the hottest boy in school, and to become the king of Cool U, the table in the cafeteria where the "in" crowd sits. Unfortunately, he has the wrong look (short, plump, Brillo-pad curls), he has the wrong interests (Broadway, chorus, violin), and he has the wrong friends (Spencer, into Eastern religions, and Mary Ann, who doesn't shave her armpits). And Chuck? Well, he's not gay; he's dating Becky, a girl in chorus with whom Justin is friendly. But Justin is determined. In detention one day (because he saw Chuck get it first), Justin comes up with a perfect plan: to allow Becky to continue dating Chuck, whom Becky's dad hates. They will pretend that Becky is dating Justin, whom Becky's dad loves. And when Becky and Justin go out on a fake date, Chuck will meet up with them for a real date with Becky. Chuck's bound to find Justin irresistable, right? What could go wrong? Seth Rudetsky's first novel for young adults is endearingly human, and laugh-out-loud funny, and any kid who ever aspired to Cool U will find Justin a welcome ally in the fight for popularity.