(Today in Oz, we have something for your munchkins to read.)
New backpack? Check. A new size in uniforms? Check. While your child might be leaving their summer reading until the last minute (it still FEELS like summer), here’s a list to help your kids, and yourself, get in the back-to-school spirit.

Here’s the rundown:

Pre-school to Kindergarten:
Oliver and his Alligator by Paul Schmid

Oliver has a case of the first-day-of-school jitters, and stops by the swamp to pick up an alligator who helps swallow all of his worries. Great for conquering shyness. Schmid’s ne
west book, Oliver and his Egg, features an Oliver in school whose imagination runs wild when he finds a dragon egg.

Planet Kindergarten by Sue Ganz-Schmitt

GREAT book for boys (and even girls) entering Kindergarten. The budding astronaut found in these pages will have soon-to-be kindergarteners excited about starting school. My favorite line in the book? “Then…I remember what they say at NASA: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.” Illustrations by Shane Prigmore are also colorful and exciting.

First Grade:
Pinkalicious and the New Teacher by Victoria Kann

Our favorite pink-loving heroine is back just in time for school! I’ll admit, my favorite part of this book is the fold out poster that says “Reading is Pinkatastic!” I have to agree with Pinkalicious, as she discovers the joys of a new classroom. Bookmarks with that slogan are also included.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Duncan’s crayons have a bone to pick with him. Yellow thinks he should be the color of the sun…but then again, so does orange. All he wants to do is color! If you do not own this book, or you have not read this book, the biggest favor you can do for yourself and your child is to purchase this hilarious read for anyone who loves to color with crayons. I’ve placed it on this back-to-school list because who doesn’t love to color??

Rufus Goes to School by Kim T. Griswell, Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev.

With a name like Rufus Leroy Williams III, Rufus is not your average pig. While his friends are busy playing basketball, he wants to learn how to read. The catch? The principal doesn’t allow pigs to enroll in his school. Kids will love Rufus, and will most likely be one to read again and again.

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I am Not.) by Peter Brown

You loved Creepy Carrots and Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. This book wins the prize for BEST BACK-TO-SCHOOL BOOK of 2014! Bobby loves to fly paper airplanes, especially in class. Ms. Kirby is Bobby’s “big problem” at school because she makes him sit out at recess for throwing paper airplanes in class. But then…Bobby runs into Ms. Kirby at the park outside of school. What happens next will make you smile. You can get a signed copy here at the store!

The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara

The little librarian works all night with her three assistant owls to make sure things run smoothly in the Midnight Library. However, squirrels start to play music, and a wolf begins to cry. The library stays open until the sun rises, and the illustrations and story are charming.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

While we are on the topic of libraries…this incredible book is about loving stories and books, and the journey they can take you on. Great for any age, and a must have for a personal library.

Valentine’s Day is only a few days away! For us, Valentine’s Day is all about sharing books with the one we love. This Thursday from 5-8 at the Art Lovers’ Soiree, Maggie will have a fantastic selection of books perfect for your special someone. Here are a couple of the books she has chosen.

Love Poems by Pablo Neruda has been published as a gorgeous paperback that can easily fit in one hand. This collection of poetry is absolutely beautiful. With each poem, this collection gives you the translated version on the right and the original Spanish on the left. And these poems definitely sound more romantic when read in Spanish. One of my favorites in this collection is ‘Your Feet.’ It ends with this fantastic sentence: “But I love your feet/only because they walked/upon the earth and upon/the wind and upon the waters,/until they found me.”

William Shakespeare is another poet of love. Penguin Classics has published a beautiful edition of The Sonnets and A Lover’s Complaint by William Shakespeare, befitting of the poetry within. We LOVE the Penguin Classics and any of them would be a great Valentine’s Day gift, but this is our all-time favorite for this occasion. Who wouldn’t swoon over this cover?

And over in Oz, I have pulled together some of our favorite books for your little loves.

What girl doesn’t love vintage illustrations? Vintage Valentines are adorable and a perfect gift/craft way to spend time with your little ones around this holiday. Pete the Cat is a store favorite and he has a new Valentine’s Day story that also includes 12 Valentine’s Day Cards and stickers. Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool is just as cute as the other Pete stories. We will be reading this story at Story Time this Saturday at 11:00!

And finally, for the teenager in your life (or the twenty/thirty/forty-something), Cress by Marissa Meyer is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles. Hannah, Elizabeth, and I all agree it is the BEST book in the series — and a perfect Valentine’s Day book. Hannah talked about Cinder here and I talked about Scarlet here, so if you haven’t read this series, we HIGHLY recommend it!

Mo LoBeau isn’t interested in rumors; she and her best friend Dale are interested in facts. I guess that’s why these two plus an unlikely new friend are itching to get to the truth about the alleged ghost in the old inn. Normally a ghost would be the inn’s problem, not Mo’s, but weirdly enough, Miss Lana has accidentally purchased said inn! Now Mo and Dale have to figure out who the ghost in the fine print is, and how to get her out in time for the town’s centennial party.

Sheila Turnage has done it again. When I first met Mo LeBeau in Three Times Lucky I was on a happy book high for at least a week after I finished, and it thrills me to say that The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing is possibly one of the best companion novels out there. So that’s good news, right? Wait folks, it gets better: The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing is our February pick for Oz First Editions club! That means signed copies for you, signed copies for me, and signed copies for every other person whose hands I can put this book into.

We are all pretty excited about this year’s Oz First Editions Club. We have been looking ahead and scouring the catalogs for the perfect book for every month. About four months ago I started throwing around the idea that we could pick store favorite Maira Kalman, but I thought it was a pretty big long shot, until my fantabulous Penguin rep Doni Kay made it happen!

Kelly and Hannah have been longtime outspoken fans of Maira Kalman’s work in such books as Food Rules by Michael Pollan and And the Pursuit of Happiness. I fell in love with her art in Daniel Handler’s Printz honor winner, Why We Broke Up. But I think the biggest thing we all worried about was — would THIS book be up to snuff.

With all this rolling around in my head, I dove into Kalman’s newest picture book, Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything. This nonfiction picture book is longer than your average children’s book. Kalman’s paintings give us a look into Jefferson’s life, starting with his childhood. Monticello makes several appearances, as do many famous people from Jefferson’s life.

Kalman’s writing, however, is what makes this book unique from other nonfiction picture books. While Kalman gives all the historical details of Jefferson’s life, she also humanizes him and those who lived alongside him. She writes that peas were his favorite vegetable, that he could not live without books, and that while he had flaws, he always strived to be the best he could be.

I am not always a fan of this type of book, but if every nonfiction picture book were written like this, I think I would feel differently. Kalman has pulled off what many have struggled to do: she has made history interesting to all readers, regardless of age.

Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Everything is available as a signed first edition here at Lemuria, and is a great way to get started in the Oz First Editions Club (just email emily@lemuriabooks.com for all the deets on how to sign up). Stay tuned for our future picks; we’ve got a great year ahead!

Some more reading for you!

Maira Kalman’s website

The New York Times: a conversation about new biographies for children

Kirkus Review: they gave TJ a star!

Millie and I don’t always agree on books. But we are both in LOVE with Maggie Stiefvater’s work. Millie is one of my interns for this summer and she’s here to tell you all about one of her favorite authors:

When I see a critic’s raving on about a book I generally tend to ignore it. The quote is chosen to grab the attention of passerby while I like to read some and then decide if a book grabs my attention. However, the quotes about Maggie Stiefvater and her books have not failed me yet. A versatile writer, Stiefvater was praised by Entertainment Weekly with this spot-on description: “Stiefvater has established herself as one of the finest YA novelists writing today.”

Her popular series The Shiver Trilogy, published in 2009, took on the challenge of incorporating teenage love, paranormal beings, and temperamental drama that made me want to finish the book in one sitting.

Then in 2012, she published the novel The Scorpio Races, and I fell in love with her writing yet again. This book takes a look at the wild beauty and unexpected turns of life from the perspective of a girl who feels trapped in her small village and its dusty customs. And while this book also explored love and adventure, the heart of this novel was the concept of the ability to love and let go, but enjoy the ride while you could.

Those are just the novels from the perspectives of teenage girls who lead normal-turned-abnormal lives, which is why her novel The Raven Boys resonated with me. She goes from the humdrum perspective of a girl needing to spice up life to the personal lives and opinions of boys on life while they work to find the Welsh king their group leader Dick needs to believe in so badly. It’s an exciting, new way to look at the teenage guy’s mind. The attention to detail and the possibility of powers that each boy could contribute really drive the success of this phenomenal paranormal adventure. It was a super great refresher and made my whole month!

I’ve read most of her books and have never been disappointed by her writing, perhaps by the cliffhangers, but never her writing. I can’t wait until the next installment of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, is released in September!