Holy backlist specials, batman! Total insanity at the store, so my reading has definitely been suffering. Also I am addicted to bad summer TV. However, today in the midst of heaving heavy boxes of books around, a very nice man from Simply Read Books came in and we got to chatting. Can I just say that the only thing better than a friendly publisher who likes chatting about kids books is a friendly publisher who likes chatting about kids books AND brings bookstore employees free books! Hot damn, and the best part is, they all look pretty awesome. So in honor of that I'm gonna tell you about one of those books. I'm sure you'll be hearing about the rest soon, but they are novels and I am still reading about Christina from Sweden.

Conveniently this book is also Australian (here that Australian publishers? I like your books! Feel free to hire me!). Margaret Wild is one of those authors who is a pretty safe bet, in my experience. Her books are always well written, and often make me think a bit further. The Little Crooked House didn't necessarily make me think, but it sure did make me laugh out loud. Jonathan Bentley's hilarious illustrations definitely helped, to give credit where it is due.

This book is about a little old man, and his cat and mouse. They are all crooked. And so is the house they live in, which works out pretty well. Except the house is near the train tracks, and the crooked old man is convinced that things are going to end badly, "so with a creak and a groan, the little crooked house heaved itself up, and took a step. One step, two steps, three steps, four. Then it ran." Yeah, it ran. That house ran all over the place, until finally, all its crooked residents were satisfied with its location. And they all lived happily ever after.

The best part is the way the train, the desert wind, and the river all call for the crooked little house to come back and stay. Or maybe the best part is the way the crooked house runs. I'll get back to you.

The Little Crooked House by Margaret Wild
ISBN 1894965590
40 pages