And you'll be wonderstruck, too

Fans of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick also need to pick up Selznick's newer book, Wonderstruck.  Don't let the size scare you: there are a lot of pages because he tells one story in words and one in pictures.  Ben lives in Gunflint, Minnesota; it's 1977, and his mother recently died.  He never knew his father but believes he's in New York City, and Ben runs away to find him.  The parallel story is about Rose, a deaf girl living near New York City in 1927. She also runs away into the city in search of a movie star, who you learn is the mother that has abandoned her.  The author did an amazing amount of research to prepare the book (I was lucky enough to hear him talk!), and he does an incredible job of weaving the stories back and forth in a way that makes sense.  As you would expect, the stories and pictures come together in the end in a wonderful way.  This is definitely a book to enjoy multiple times.

A Newbery treasure

Quite deserving of the Newbery Award it won, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is a wonderful blend of humor, tenderness, and historical fiction. The story is set in 1936 in Flint, Michigan. Bud is a 10-year-old running away from the orphanage and the latest (horrible) foster home. He doesn't know anything about his father, but he has a clue: a flyer, left by his mother, of Herman E. Calloway and his band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! Convinced that Calloway is his father, Bud sets out to find him, taking his beat-up suitcase of treasured belongings and keeping in mind Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. I loved the description of the Great Depression, Bud's perception of life (he remembers Momma reading Twenty Thousand Leaks Under the Sea), and the way the band members embrace Bud's entrance into their lives. This would be a great book for sharing as a read-aloud.