Dream Friends

By You Byun (Nancy Paulsen / Penguin Books for Young Readers)

Melody has the best dream friend ever. When she sleeps, she and her enormous white cat-like friend can fly, dance and play hide-and-seek, they can do anything they imagine together. But during the day, Melody has trouble summoning her dream-friend to keep her company in her new school, where she has yet to make a friend.  Using the power of her imagination, she closes her eyes and practices a dance she learned from her dream friend. When a real voice chimes in “Is that a new game?,” she opens her eyes to see another little girl who’d like to learn the dance.  Supporting the idea that dreams are the inspiration for action, “Dream Friends” is a brilliantly illustrated window into the beautiful resource that is a child’s imagination.

Tiger in My Soup

By Kashmira Sheth, Illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbler (Peachtree)

When a young boy is left in the care of his teen sister, all he wants her to do is read his book about tigers with him. But she’s got her ear-buds in, groovin’ in her own world, and doesn’t want to take the time to read with him. After all she’s only supposed to make his lunch.  But when she puts his bowl of alphabet soup in front of him, he suddenly spies a tiger in his soup!  The tiger steams and swirls out of his bowl and his ordinary lunch quickly becomes a fight for his life (and lunch).  His battle with the tiger draws his sister help as spoons drop and soup gets cold.  Will this play for attention get him the book time he’s seeking with his sister? For the kids whose imagination roars for recognition, “Tiger in My Soup” is the recipe for required reading.