OH DEAR, GEOFFREY!

written/illus by Gemma O'Neill, (Templar Books, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-7636-6659-0), 32p, Ages 3-7

"Meet Geoffrey, the young giraffe. He's very, very tall, with a very, very long neck … and sometimes he's very, very, clumsy." Geoffrey's long wibbly-wobbly, bendy-buckly legs are hazardous to smaller animals around him, and he has problems making friends. Exasperated with his clumsiness, Geoffrey lumbers off in search of tasty leaves, only to discover treetop friends who accept and love him. Gorgeous illustrations accompany this fine tale of differences, acceptance, and friendship on the African Savannah.

PAUL MEETS BERNADETTE

written/illus. by Rosy Lamb, (Candlewick Press, $14.00, ISBN 978-0-7636-6130-4), 40p, Ages 4-7

Paul lives in a goldfish bowl and spends his uneventful days swimming in circles, until the day Bernadette drops in. His solitary life suddenly takes an exciting turn, when she shows him the possibilities of imagination. A banana becomes a boat, a vase of flowers transforms into an enchanting forest, a clock is a cactus, newspapers are dresses, a blue teapot becomes an elephant, and two fried eggs are the sun and moon. Paul's world no longer involves swimming in circles, but is a daily fascinating and captivating adventure. A simple breakfast table holds magical possibilities, when viewed through the eyes of imagination.

LINDBERGH: The Tale of a Flying Mouse

written/illus. by Torben Kuhlmann, translated by Suzanne Levesque, (NorthSouth Books, $19.95, ISBN 978-0-7358-4167-3), 96p, Ages 7-11

To escape the terrifying mousetraps in his German homeland, a heroic mouse discovers a way to cross the Atlantic to freedom in America. Inspired by his bat- flying cousins, Lindbergh uses his intelligence, perseverance, and strength to build a mouse-size plane, while avoiding close encounters with owls and cats. With map in paw and goggles in place, he begins the trans-Atlantic flight. "Night fell, and the air grew cold. The mouse chewed on a hunk of cheese and tried to ignore his exhaustion while swishing through the dark." Arriving safely in New York City, he soon becomes famous. Newspapers tell of his spectacular adventure and legend states that he inspired a young Charles Lindbergh. Endpapers include A Short History of Aviation, information on Otto Lilienthal, a German aviation pioneer, the Wright Brothers, and Charles Lindbergh. The illustrations are so plentiful and stunning that this wonderful tale might also be read as a wordless book.

THE GHOSTS OF TUPELO LANDING

written by Sheila Turnage, (Kathy Dawson Books, $16.99, ISBN 978-0-8037-3671-9), 368p, Ages 11+

This charming Southern-flavored sequel to Three Times Lucky (2012) finds Mo LoBeau's foster mother, Miss Lana, accidentally bidding on the old historic Tupelo Inn and winning not only the inn, but its resident ghost. Six graders Mo and her partner in the Desperado Detective Agency, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, determine to interview the young ghost for a class project. In the process, they discover buried treasure, a moonshine still, strange happenings in the inn and surrounding woods, and discover that others in town also have haunted pasts. Intrepid, plucky, and persistent, Mo finds the answers she seeks as the story confronts issues of abusive and absent parents, illegal activities, guilt, and greed. Humor, colorful characters, family dynamics, Miss Lana's pithy sayings ("All the world's a stage, sugar, so hop on up there."), and Mo's letters to her missing upstream mother, work together to make this mystery worth uncovering.

BUZZ KILL

written by Beth Fantaskey, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99, ISBN 978-0-547-39310-0), 368p, Ages14-18

17-year-old Millie Ostermeyer dreams of backpacking around the world and winning a steak-eating contest are put on hold, when she discovers "Hollerin' Hank" Kildare the hotheaded football coach's body under the school stadium. Reporter for her school newspaper, Millie's investigation skills kick in as she tries to beat her vindictive newspaper editor out of a story, clear her father's name as number one suspect in the murder, outwit an inept detective, and uncover the mysterious past of one handsome new student, Chase Albright, star quarterback. As they begin to work together secrets are revealed, their friendship grows, and relationships are mended. With delightful enthusiasm Millie steamrolls her way through the investigation, similar to her favorite heroine, Nancy Drew. Buried weapons, chicken clocks, an adorable bassett hound, an awkward school dance, a sympathetic librarian, and cliffhanger chapter endings make this quirky mystery one entertaining and enjoyable read.