play | FAVORITE THINGS
school-themed novels that make the grade 2. In The Dunderheads, by author Paul Fleischman and illustrator David Roberts, a ragtag class sets out to recover a treasure from the fortresslike home of their teacher, the tyrannical Miss Breakbone. Yet to pull off this Ocean’s Eleven–style caper, the kids must pool their outrageously unique talents, from scaling walls to making paper clip chains. Ages 9 to 12 $6.99, amazon.com
3. The rubbergloved heroine of Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady graphic novels doesn’t just slap together sloppy joes—she fights crime! Packed with action, food jokes, and often a combination of the two (fish stick nunchakus, anyone?), this 10-book series is as inventive and satisfying as Lunch Lady’s pepperoni pancakes. Ages 8 to 12 $6.99 each, indiebound.org
4. A sensitive boy faces the everyday dramas of second grade in Kevin Henkes’s Newbery Honor–winning The Year of Billy Miller. Whether fretting about a bump on the head or writing a poem about his mom, Billy is portrayed with affecting realism and gentle humor over one memorable and heartwarming school year. Ages 7 and up $6.99, harpercollins.com
DR AWING BOOK WE LOVE SEP T EMBER 2015
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I Didn’t Do My Homework Because ... Doodle Book of Excuses gives kids prompts to sketch their excuses. Ages 8 and up $14.99; chroniclebooks.com
create your own. ILLUSTRATION BY JORDAN SONDLER
1. A wise and funny hamster shares his cage’seye view of the classroom in Betty G. Birney’s The World According to Humphrey. Not one to simply spin his wheel, Humphrey squeaks his way into the hearts of Room 26’s students (whom he amusingly calls by such names as Raise-Your-HandHeidi and LowerYour-Voice-A.J.) and their rodentaverse teacher. Ages 8 to 12 $5.99, penguin.com
