Page Turners For Pint-Size Readers

Parents, when you read your kids a bedtime story, it helps if the story engages you as well—you don't want to be put to sleep along with little Jacob and Julia. So we've gathered some of the year's best new releases for your reading pleasure.

Olivia Forms a Band, by Ian Falconer (Simon & Schuster). Olivia, the beloved piglet, is back and embarking on a new adventure: starting a band to accompany the big fireworks show. Author and artist Falconer, a former set and costume designer, once again beautifully illustrates the spirited Miss Olivia as she gathers pots and pans, toys, and even a pair of suspenders to create her joyful noise.

Riding the Storm Out, by McKenna Andrews (www.lulu.com). In a similar vein to current New York Times bestseller Owen & Mzee—about the unlikely friendship between a baby hippo and an aged tortoise after 2004's devastating tsunami—this tale, although fictionalized, follows a group of dolphins swept out to sea after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi. Curiously, Storm's author is a nine-year-old from nearby Pearl who visited the dolphins each summer.

My Grampy Can't Walk, by Vanita Oelschlager (Cleveland Clinic Press). This colorful, oversized book is about a loving grandfather confined to a wheelchair because he has multiple sclerosis. Through its rhyming prose, the book teaches kids that having a disability doesn't have to disable you. All proceeds go to the Oak Clinic for MS.

More Flanimals, by Ricky Gervais (Putnam Juvenile). The sequel to Flanimals, this quirky compendium from the star of the wildly popular BBC series The Office introduces us to even more strange creatures. And while their actions may sometimes be questionable, their names—Scrabs, Dweezle, Muzzbugs, Mernimblers, and more—are always fun to say.

I Love It When You Smile, by Sam McBratney (HarperCollins). Well known from McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You, Little Roo hops back onto the page, granted a little grumpier this time. So it's Mother Roo's job to cheer him up. The charming story, and illustrator Charles Fuge's wall-worthy artwork, will bring a smile to your face as well.

JILL BECKER