You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Andre Carrilho

In this picture book biography, an old-timer tells us what made Sandy Koufax so amazing. We learn that the beginning of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers was rocky, that he was shy with his teammates, and experienced discrimination as one of the only Jews in the game. We hear that he actually quit, only to return the next season--different--firing one rocket after another over the plate. We watch him refuse to play in the 1965 World Series because it is a Jewish high holy day. And we see him in pain because of an overused left arm, eventually retiring at the peak of his career. Finally, we are told that people are still "scratchin' their heads over Sandy," who remains a modest hero and a mystery to this day.

Pokemon Adventures, Volume 1

Pokemon Adventures, Volume 1 by Hidenori Kusaka
Anyone familiar with children’s television has probably seen the animated version of Pokemon. This new series from VIZ tells the story from the start, without some of the bad jokes which fill the TV screen. The central character, known simply as Red in this manga version, is out to catch and train Pokemon, the strange wild creatures that exist in the world around him. From childhood, he had befriended one who had saved him from possible death. Now he has begun his personal quest, to become a skilled trainer of these strange creatures. Along the way in this first volume he encounters the friends and enemies who will make the story interesting. In this manga version, both are far more interesting than in the Americanized anime. Team Rocket are villains in the style of something from Tezuka’s work, rather than being comic relief. Pikachu, destined to become his best fighting Pokemon, is portrayed more in the tradition of the untamed creature who might someday be a friend. Even Brock and Misty have actual personalities… Some may question Red’s career choice, but not his dedication.There is cartoony violence in these stories, but no gore. Suitable for all ages.-- Nick Smith

Magic Trixie and the Dragon

Magic Trixie and the Dragon written and illustrated by Jill Thompson

Here's what the author has to say about her character Trixie: "Magic Trixie is a combination of all of my nieces and the children of my friends. She’s an homage to all of the little bits of business or surprising things they have done in my presence filtered into one little girl. I’ve also mined some of my own childhood memories. But she’s a work in progress. I’ll always be adding to her, bit by bit. I’ve given her my curly hair. I have a fondness for wild hair on little girls, mostly because I hated it when I was a girl. I wanted long, straight, blond hair that you could brush and comb...or braid in smooth plaits. My braids always looked like dreadlocks. I was one of the “no more tangles” generation, which did not work for me, I’m sorry to say. She’s also a bit elfish." Book 1 in this series is Magic Trixie followed by Book 2 Magic Trixie Sleeps Over.

Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown

Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, Jamel Akib (Illustrator)
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Tan, sienna, topaz, or tamarind? Poet Malathi Michelle Iyengar sees a whole spectrum of beautiful shades of brown. The author adds this note: "When I was a little girl in North Carolina, I hated waiting for the school bus. Every day at the bus stop a group of older kids would call me names and make fun of my brown skin, saying brown was a dirty, ugly color. I longed to trade my complexion for peachy-pink. I still remember sitting in the bathtub and hoping that if I just scrubbed hard enough the brown would go away. As I got older I began discovering wonderful stories and poems written by and about proud brown people. When I read their words, I didn't feel ugly or dirty anymore...Today, when I look in the mirror, I feel happy and lucky to see a brown face smiling back at me. Because, from tan to tamarind, brown is a beautiful color..."
Brown
My face.
Milk-tea brown.
I am brown. I am beautiful.
Brown.
Your face.
Sienna brown
or cocoa brown,
café con leche brown or
radiant ocher brown.
Our hands, our fingers.
Cinnamon brown
or rich coffee brown,
sandalwood brown or rosy adobe brown.
Our ankles, our feet.
Nutmeg brown
or mocha brown,
dark chocolate brown
or tawny golden brown.
Our eyes.
Luminous topaz brown
or sweet cappuccino brown,
shiny sepia brown
or twinkling brown.
Our hair.
Spruce brown
or bay brown,
russet brown or
deep tamarind brown.
We are brown. We are beautiful.

A Friend

A Friend written and illustrated by Anette Bley
Examines traits of friends and how their acts make the world a better place in which to live.

Duck! Rabbit!

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Tom Lichtenheld

Is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it! Readers will find more than just Amy Krouse Rosenthal's signature humor here, there's also a subtle lesson for kids who don't know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side.

Melonhead

Melonhead by Katy Kelly, Gillian Johnson (Illustrator)
In the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Capitol Hill, Lucy Rose's friend Adam "Melonhead" Melon, a budding inventor with a knack for getting into trouble, enters a science contest that challenges students to recycle an older invention into a new invention.

The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System

The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System by Jack Prelutsky, Jimmy Pickering (Illustrator)

The nation's first children's poet laureate fills a galaxy with weird, scary planets: his 19 poems describe places and creatures you wouldn't want to visit.

Mighty Casey

Mighty Casey by James Preller, Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)

The Delmar Dogs baseball team is terrible, especially Casey Jenkins, but with a little bit of faith in themselves, they finally manage to win a game.

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm by retold by Laura Amy Schlitz illustrated by Max Grafe
A retelling of the Grimm fairy tale in which a despondent soldier makes a pact to do the devil's bidding for seven years in return for as much money and property as he could ever want.

A Finder's Magic

A Finder's Magic by Philippa Pearce, Helen Craig (Illustrator)
After a mysterious stranger offers to help Till find his dog, they embark on a magical quest, interviewing various witnesses including a heron, a mole, a riddling cat, and Miss Mousey, whose sketch of a peaceful riverbank offers a vital clue. Read this short essay by Frank Cottrell Boyce in the Guardian about Pearce's final book. He says that this, her final book, is a moving farewell to fiction, family and life.

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka
A collection of lively rhymes and tricky tongue twisters, poems for more than one voice, bilingual poems--from classic Shakespeare and Lear to anonymous rhymes to contemporary riffs on everything under the sun.

The Shadow Door: Elsewhere Chronicles Book 1

The Shadow Door: Elsewhere Chronicles Book 1 by Nykko and The Shadow Spies: Elsewhere Chronicles Book 2 by Nykko
Four friends discover a movie projector that opens a passageway into a world threatened by creatures of shadow, where their only weapon is light.

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell, Joan Rankin (Illustrator)
Take a lighthearted romp through four seasons in the forest with these whimsical poems.
Woodchuck's Wake-Up Morning
She snoozed away the winter
in the darkness, all alone.
There's grumbling in her stomach
and she's chilly to the bone.
Her fur is flat and crusty.
Her swollen eyelids sting.
She's starving for a salad
and a heaping plate of spring.

Not All Animals Are Blue: A Big Book of Little Differences

Not All Animals Are Blue: A Big Book of Little Differences by Béatrice Boutignon

Pictures help children spot differences in colors, movement, attitude and even discoveries.

Her Mother's Face

Her Mother's Face by Roddy Doyle, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)
Siobhan and her father continue to feel sad in the years following the death of Siobhan's mother, until Siobhan follows the advice of a mysterious woman. "At first , all she could see was her own face. But she stayed ther, looking. And, after a few minutes, she began to imagine another girl, very like herself, but not exactly the same. The hair a little different, the mouth a little smaller, the lips a little darker. And she could make her look a little older, and a little more, And Siobhan knew. She was able to imagine her mother's face...And Siobhan felt happy for the first time since her mother had died..."

The Composer Is Dead

The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Carson Ellis, musical score by Nathaniel Stookey
An inspector seeks to solve a murder mystery at the symphony by questioning each of the musical instruments.

What the Grizzly Knows

What the Grizzly Knows by David Elliott, Max Grafe (Illustrator)

When night falls magical things begin to happen to Teddy, taking the reader on an adventure around the countryside and seeing the world through the senses of a bear.

Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal & Letters

Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal & Letters by Alice B. McGinty, Mary Azarian (Illustrator)

Filled with the fascinating words of Charles Darwin—designed as handwritten entries—this picture book biography reveals the assembling of a profound idea: the survival of the fittest. Two hundred years after his birth, 150 years after the publication of his ORIGIN OF SPECIES, this thought-provoking, splendidly illustrated account invites us into the private thoughts, hopes and fears of a soul who forever changed the way we see the world.

"Whenever I have found out that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when I have been contemptuously criticized, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself...I have worked as hard and as well as I could, and no man can do more than this...

Bella Sara #5: Fiery Fiona

Bella Sara #5: Fiery Fiona by Felicity Brown, Jennifer L. Meyer (Illustrator)

Meet the beautiful and heroic Fiona, the mare with the glowing red mane, as she helps a young girl discover that things aren't always what they seem. Visit the illustrator's website here.