Swirl by Swirl; Spirals in Nature

Here is another jaw-dropping celebration of nature from the team of Joyce Sidman (poet) and Beth Krommes (illustrator).  This one features spiral forms found on animals and plants, or in the ocean and sky.  While the poetry is wonderful, the scratchboard illustrations steal the show.  Readers can spend hours finding all the spirals on these pages.  End notes add factual details for readers wanting more information about featured animals and plants.  This gorgeous book could be a resource for science, and possibly math classes (Fibonacci numbers).

Breadcrumbs

Hazel's ten-year-old world is full of anxiety thanks to her parents' separation, starting a new school (with a strict teacher), feeling like an outsider, and her neighbor (and best friend) Jack is suddenly spending more time with his male friends than with Hazel.

When a shard from an enchanted mirror gets into Jack's eye, he becomes drugged and somewhat manic under its spell, and he accompanies the Snow Queen into the woods near their neighborhood. Hazel heads into the woods to rescue him, but encounters a myriad group of characters from numerous fairy tales. Will Hazel succeed, or will she be swept up by the challenges of this fantasy world?

Written by Anne Ursu, with illustrations by Erin McGuire, this combination of fantasy and realistic fiction will grab many intermediate readers looking for a good "quest" story.

It has been selected as the December book for NPR's Backseat Book Club, and is getting mentioned as a possible Newbery contender. Here is a link to the NPR information: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/29/142862998/december-kids-book-club-pick-breadcrumbs.