While not everyone agrees with The Washington Post that “sloths are the new kittens,” A Little Book of Sloth is definitely full of four-legged cuteness. This non-fiction book, written by National Geographic explorer, filmmaker, and writer Lucy Cooke, introduces readers to a handful of the sloth personalities at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica (aka, Slothville) and to other general facts about sloths in captivity and the wild. Cooke squeezes quite a bit of information into 64 pages; this book is for the slightly older picture book audience. Still, Cooke speaks about sloths with an endearing irreverence, and uses language that older elementary school children will find appealing. One species of sloth is described as “the Muppet with the medieval haircut and Mona Lisa smile,” while another is described as “a cross between a Wookie and a pig.” Readers will get a kick out of learning about the “poop pole”, sloth onesie fashion, and that a sloth’s favorite kind of party is—what else?—a slumber party.  While the text sometimes feels a bit weighed down by puns, every page includes multiple full-color photos of incredibly cuddly sloths; sloth enthusiasts of all ages will want nothing more than to hop a plane to Costa Rica so they can join a “cuddle puddle” with these “masters of mellow.” The final page includes information on how to “adopt” a sloth at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.

What starts as a writing assignment turns into an epic tale of love: the love between brothers, parents and children, and significant others; and the love of baseball, Broadway, and Mary Poppins. A lot to cram into one novel? Never! This delightful book introduces two boys who adopt one another as brothers: the baseball-obsessed T.C., and future-director Augie. Their freshman year is looking great, until Alé enters the scene and T.C. falls hard, but he can’t get her to pay attention to him. What does a Boston boy have to do to get a girl fascinated by Jackie O. to go out with him?

Meanwhile Alé stars in the school production of Kiss Me Kate, but has to hide it from her ambassador parents who want her to focus on other things.  Augie develops his first crush on a boy (and while he’s oblivious to his feelings, his family couldn’t be happier for him) and T.C. meets a little boy who believes in Mary Poppins – and is heartbroken that she hasn’t come to rescue him yet. Always one to make miracles happen, T.C. and Augie take on the challenge of making Mary Poppins real.

This is a book I keep coming back to. The multi-faceted characters confront deep problems about loneliness, prejudice, and their own expectations, but they are buoyed by a sense of family and belonging that is almost unheard of. T.C. and Augie’s families have adopted one another – their extended families too – and they routinely go out of their way to help any friend who crosses their path. That camaraderie and community is extended to the reader, who revels in their closeness and understands their inside jokes; it’s a top fictional family to be part of, right up there with the Weasleys and the Bennets. The writing is glorious and witty; it will appeal to those who know the music of Liza Minelli and those who want to exonerate Buck Weaver from the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. In short, it’s a most excellent book.

Lucy Beck-Moreau used to have it all figured out. Endless rehearsals and a nonexistent social life were a small price to pay for a future of certainty, a future in which she becomes the best concert pianist the world has ever seen. But that was before her grandma died. Before she decided to walk away from her pitch-perfect life and everything she’s ever known.

The Lucy Variations is a stunning exploration of one girl’s rediscovery of her passion for music, and the subsequent struggle to figure out how that fits into her future. In true Sara Zarr form, this story takes readers on a roller-coaster of emotions as Lucy attempts to reconcile what she thinks she wants and what her friends and family expect her to want. Zarr aptly captures the messiness of being a teenager, of being a not-quite adult making decidedly adult decisions. What I love most about Sara Zarr’s books is that they never fail to ring true to the human experience, teenage or otherwise. Her characters never shy away from life’s big questions, leading to poignant, heartbreakingly honest revelations. The Lucy Variations is no exception. Watch Lucy as she reexamines a world she had always accepted at face value. I promise it’ll be a satisfying experience.

Learn more  ▸▸ http://bit.ly/11ENaLW

 This year, Free Comic Book Day and Star Wars Day, May (the) 4^th (be with you) collided, creating a nerd explosion across all hemispheres of the Internet. In celebration, I picked up a graphic novel I’ve been meaning to read since last August: Drama by the champion of the Every-girl, Raina Telgemeier. And May the 4^th got even better.

Drama is the follow-up to Raina’s award-winning, New York Times bestselling title  Smile, and it is every bit as brilliant, if not better. Raina’s gutsy, genuine leading lady, Callie, is back and shines as a member of the school’s stage crew. The story really hit home with this particular drama geek; every detail from the laughter-inducing auditions all the way through to the rollercoaster tech-week (or rather, Hell week) are spot on. The dialogue-driven panels were just as engaging as those where Raina lets her characters simply live in their moments without text. It was almost too easy to hear the dialogue in these quiet panes, so perfect was their set-up. Here’s hoping there’s another title coming about Callie very soon. Watch the book trailer here, and then read the book ▸▸http://bit.ly/13hGpgL

If you fell in love with Ann and the French Kiss or looked around the airport for your one true love after reading Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, then this is the book for you.

Lauren Morrill takes her readers on a tour around London in search of love in Meant to Be. Julia is the good girl: good grades, good behavior, and she never does anything out of the ordinary –until she is paired with class clown Jason while on a school trip in London.

Julia and Jason are complete opposites. Jason cracks jokes and takes nothing seriously, and Julia is serious about everything and even walks around with a pocket version of Shakespeare. The only dreamy part of Julia is her long-time crush on her so-called meant-to-be, Mark. Jason finally manages to get Julia to go to a party with him, and Julia starts receiving romantic texts from a mystery person. This sparks a journey around London on a search for Julia’s secret crush.

What I loved most about this book was the tour around London and the UK. In the pages of this novel , you get to read about many of the important places in Shakespeare’s life. Laugh-out-loud funny at times, this cute and witty romance will make you see that sometimes the most unexpected things are really meant to be.