My nephew thinks I bought this book for him. While he’s somewhat correct — it really is a fun book to read to a child, so borrow one (a child, that is) if you have to — apparently I am still working on my “sharing” skills, because this one lives at my house, not his.
It’s about a young pig named Poindexter who is shy around his relatives and other kids in the neighborhood, preferring to read to the stuffed animals in his room instead of joining the kids outside. This reminds me so much of my nephew, who gathers his stuffed animals around him during bedtime stories, saying, “Come here, friends!” (Although he also loves running around outside, but I digress.) Poindexter is perfectly happy with this arrangement, but how is a well-adjusted, well-read young pig to make friends with other animals that are not stuffed? He finds solace in the local library, where he sits and reads but also helps the librarian push the book cart and reshelve books. I was a very happy aunt indeed when I pointed to the picture and asked where Poindexter was going, and my nephew immediately responded, “Library!”
Today we are excited to be joined by our first guest reviewer, fellow bookseller-in-exile 
a current contributor to Slate magazine. My admiration for her writing stems back to 2010. When everyone in the literary community (myself included) was eagerly reading Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, O’Rourke wrote a 
Reading this book cemented two things in my mind:
If you need a fabulous Alphabet book — this is it! It is fun to read, well-paced and brilliant. It should be in every kindergarten classroom and is a perfect gift for any 3-6 year old.
I love babies. Seriously. I think my biological clock started ticking when I was three. It doesn’t matter if it is one I know or don’t: If I see a baby, I want to kiss, hug, and take care of it. I have no qualms with changing poopy diapers, being spit-up on, or dealing with the ridiculous whims of a sleepy-yet-fighting-sleep infant. So when I tell you that The Arrivals had me reconsidering my love of children, you can imagine the kind of problems the parents have to deal with because of their children. Excuse me, their adult children.
High school can be a tricky four years to navigate under the best of circumstances. For 15-year-old Jamie, there is an added complication: he is gay. We’re living in 2011, when acceptance of the LGBT community is continually reaching new highs, but coming out to family and friends can still be a very difficult and terrifying step, especially for a teenager. Jamie doesn’t want to wave flags or march in parades; he just wants to feel “normal” and make it through high school intact.
A friend and loyal reader of our blog requested that I review this book, and what a great suggestion that was. Timely and certainly a fun book to review! Her reasoning was: “Because if you like it, I’m buying it for all my friends who have kids.”
Considering this is book won the 2011 Caldecott Medal, I’m hardly the first person to sing its praises. If you are not familiar with it, you’ll be wanting to find a copy at a bookstore in your area.
I am declaring this week Children’s Book Review Week here at BwoB, both because I’m a little behind on my other reading and because it’s nice to try writing outside my usual realm of YA, genre, and select non-fiction. It should be noted that many of the titles I review this week were first recommended to me by fellow blogger 
Booksellers Without Borders
bookiegalore
Recidivist Reader
hardboundandgagged
ipsedixit
turpentinestevens
überliterate
Booksellers Without Borders 