By Ann Cameron
Six short stories about Julian, his little brother Huey, and the tall tales Julian can't help telling.
Julian has a big imagination and a little brother, Huey, who believes almost everything he says. Across six short stories the two of them get into and out of trouble. They sneak bites of a lemon pudding their father made 'for a wife who is thinking' until the whole bowl is gone. They plant a catalog garden, wait on a loose tooth, and make a new best friend named Gloria. Nothing bigger than everyday life happens, and that's the charm.
Each of the six stories stands on its own and reads in a few minutes, so this is the one you can pick up for one chapter before bed and actually stop. The sentences are short but they have life in them. And the family is the reason a child stays: a dad who teases and grumbles and clearly adores his boys, a little brother who tags along, a friendship that starts over a loose tooth. It's a real-life step up from picture books for a child who'd rather have people than dragons.