Issue link: https://h2.relevantize.com/i/468109
/ . / B O O K S ➻ + & , / . / A G E S + , / - Walk Two Moons Sharon Creech ➸ This is a book about a girl named Sal. Her mother has died, and she is driving with her grandparents to see her mother's grave. On the way, she and her grandparents are sharing stories. It's really sad and that makes it interesting to read. This is my favorite Sharon Creech book. It's my favorite because it makes you feel something. Inspired. I get lost in her books when I'm reading them. –Phoebe A Series of Unfor tunate Events by Lemony Snicket ➸ If you think about it, Lem- ony Snicket is magical. Because the way he tells the story, once you read the first word you are praying it won't ever end. This is not like a Rainbow Fairy book. This has meaning. It's like if you take a puzzle and you think there's only way one way to put it together. But Lemony Snicket finds a way to put the pieces together in a way you'd get a whole diZer- ent picture. It's too interesting! [Jenny: Well should we sum- marize it -- say it's about three orphans named Violet, Klaus, and Sunny?] No! You don't need to, just read the book! (For Lemony Snicket's book picks, see page 15) –Abby Little Lit by Art Spiegelman & Francoise Mouly ➸ We already sung its praises (see page 19), but this really is a fearsome collection of talent concentrated in one conve- nient place -- and we've sold more copies of this than any other book we've sold on DALS. If your kid is remotely into comics and/or (the good kind of ) weirdness, look no further --Andy 92 88 93 91 89 87 90 The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant. ➸ Abby declared this her favorite book recently. (Well, if we're going to be technical about it, she said it was actual- ly tied for first with The Mouse of Amherst.) I haven't read the book but the way Abby tells it, Van Gogh Cafe is about all the magical things that happen in a restaurant in a small town called Flowers, Kansas. "But the thing is," she says, "noth- ing really happens. It's just so beautiful. Each chapter is a new story about something really interesting like seagulls." She would also like to point out that Cynthia Rylant (don't make the mistake of calling her Cynthia Rowley, as I have) is a Newbery Medal winner. –Jenny The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch ➸ The summer of 2011 in our house will forever be known as the Summer of Pseud- onymous Bosch. At some point during the week school let out, we handed Phoebe the first in the mystery series (The Name of This Book is Secret) and then pretty much didn't see her again until September. She came up for air only to request Book 2 (If You're Reading This it's Too Late), Book 3 (This The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires ➸ So there's a mouse named Emmaline who lives in the house of Emily Dickinson, who's a very famous young poet apparently. (Well, she was young.) One day Emmaline gets one of Emily Dickinson's poems. She writes her own poem on the back and she finds out that she, too, is a poet. She puts the poem outside of her door. Emily Dickinson finds it, looks on the back and sees the poem! She writes another poem and puts it right next to the door. And they keep going back and forth, back and forth. It's my favorite book because it's so sweet. –Abby Book is Not Good For You) and Book 4 (This Isn't What it Looks Like). Book 5 was not out yet, thankfully. As Andy mentioned in the Pseudonymous Bosch interview (see page 22), the plots are elaborate, but all four of them deal with uncovering the secret of, well, we still can't quite de- scribe it. As Phoebe says, "The Bad Guys think it's immortality." We're not saying any- thing else. This series is a natural next step for the kid who is feeling bereft after finishing A Series of Unfortunate Events. –Jenny Please see "FRIEND OF DALS" sidebars on pages 8, 11, 15, 19 and 22. Picks 122-200: Check back with us in 2022 94-121 25 Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan ➸ A story collection jammed with insanely intricate artwork that a kid (and a grown- up) could get lost in; lonely characters who, in only a few pages, you end up caring about deeply; and absurd scenarios (i.e. a diminutive alien comes to stay with a family on earth) that you accept immediately. This opening line from "Alert But Not Alarmed" should tell you all you need to know: "It's funny how these days, when every household has its own in- tercontinental ballistic missile, you hardly even think about them." Tan is an Oscar-winning short director who we hope to hear a lot more from. N.B. This book should win some kind of award for the most mysterious, intriguing cover ever. Google it! –Jenny