New Arrival: Picture Book: Dylan the Villain, K.G. Campbell

Dylan the Villain
K. G. Campbell
ISBN: 9780451476425
Read May 5, 2016
Watercolor and colored pencils are charming and disarming in this villain vs villain tale.

So cute. The Snivels were minding their own business when they suddenly had a super-villain baby. Whoops? Dylan's family had a history of minor villainy, but Dylan was the apex. His parents (sweet and chubby and mundane) told him over and over that he was the very best villain ever. Which he believed until he got to villain school and met Addison van Malice.  She has blue hair, an eyepatch (!), and her villain laugh is positively chilling. Dylan's confidence is shaken, but he rises to the challenge with the upcoming evil robot competition. With a trophy at stake, Dylan proves that he IS the most villainous - except for a little vengeance that keeps Addison in the running, even though she's been launched into orbit.

Adorable and perfectly balanced between evil and sweetness. I want to match it up with Moustache Baby and School for Bandits (both reviewed here.)

Nonfiction: The Importance of Being Little, Erika Christakis

The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups
Erika Christakis
ISBN: 9780525429074
Read March 5, 2016

Discusses the hodge-podge nature of preschool and kindergarten education, and what we are discovering about effective learning environments based on longitudinal studies, other countries, developmental psychology research, and hands-on experimentation.