tortoise kind of quiet

Here are the best books I read in October!  

Who Wants a Tortoise? by David Keane and illustrated by K.G. Campbell

The language is marvelous: 'new lump of a pet,' 'tortoise kind of quiet.' The story is adorable: will the little girl fall in love with the tortoise? And the illustrations will turn your heart the same color as the turtle's Sparkling Raspberry Delight nail polish.

Fancy Day in Room 1-A by Jane O'Connor and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

I love the Fancy Nancy books and recently realized I hadn't read the Halloween one. That's when I had the terrible thought that maybe I've missed a few, which of course I have - yikes! So I am officially making sure I've read all of them. And I can't believe I missed this one! It's everything I love about the Fancy Nancy books - quirky, delightful illustrations, fancy words and a solid plot filled with creativity, resourcefulness and positivity.

Fred Stays With Me by Nancy Coffelt and Illustrated by Tricia Tusa

A heartwarming story about a girl whose parents are divorced, and though she has two very different places to stay, she has one constant, her loyal dog, Fred. Hands down, my favorite thing about this book are the illustrations, which are so sweet and so accurate. The car ride is my favorite illustration: happy Fred with his little girl, sitting in a cloud of watercolor mud from the park.

Zero Belly by David Zinczenko

Unlike most smoothie book introductions, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. It had the normal deluge of information, but it was organized well and broken up with wacky facts like weird things that kill your healthy gut bugs. Probably my most favorite thing about this book is all the beans. Yes, beans in smoothies. Something I'm excited about, but something I always mess up (probably because I love beans and use too much).

Fetch by Jerald Pope

It's a simple wordless story about a man playing ball with his dog. Ordinary stuff made extraordinary by a couple things. First, the surprise ending is very extraordinary, mysterious and completely up to the reader. And second, the illustrations grab your heart and never let go. The etchings are vibrant yet moody and illustrate the profound love shared by the man and his dog.