The Skull

 The Skull by Jon Klassen, 105 pgs. 

I love this author's work and illustrations and this book was really surprising. I grabbed it for my kid to check out, thinking we would read it together, but she ended up reading the whole thing all by herself and really liked it. It's a strange book and it doesn't quite end the way you imagine it will. In an author's note at the end of the book, Klassen writes that he was in a library in Alaska, waiting to give a speech and happened upon a book of Tyrolean folk tales and read quickly through one about a skull. The story stayed in the back of his mind for so long that when he finally decided to do something with it, he couldn't remember the title of the book or the story. He wrote to the librarians there, giving them what details he could recall and they found it for him easily ("Librarians are very good at that," he writes). Here, Otilla, the main character, finds a skull that wants to remain that way, instead of being reunited with its skeleton. Otilla helps out and makes a new friend in the process. It's a little dark and quirky but not at all frightening and would make a good addition to Halloween storytimes for older kids. 

Sea Prayer

 Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini, 48 pages.

This short book is essentially an illustrated poem by the author of The Kite Runner. The book is from the perspective of a father telling his son about their home in Syria, which they have to flee on a refugee ship. The art is achingly beautiful, and the book is very sad. It is an extremely fast read and I would definitely recommend more people read it.

Why don't you write my eulogy now so I can correct it?

Why don't you write my eulogy now so I can correct it?: a mother's suggestions / Patricia Marx & Roz Chast, 98 pgs.

Do you have a blunt mother in your life who gave plenty of advice?  You will probably be able to relate to this book.  Is your mother NOTHING like that?  You probably need to read this book to see what you are missing.  Patricia Marx has a mom who lives a life of certainty.  She does not hesitate to say the things other mothers would not.  She is full of advice and wisdom...not at all a woman who coddled her children or her spouse.  Each of them is undoubtedly a better person for it.

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe, 61 pages.
Randall Munroe, best know for his online comic XKCD, expands on one his most popular of those, "Up Goer Five" with this series of drawings explaining plate tectonics, skyscrapers, the human body, and datacenters, all with the explanations given using only the most commonly used one-thousand words.Fun and informative.
Check our catalog.