Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
I felt like I had to read this book having never read it as a kid. Julie is an Eskimo who runs away from her "dull" husband from an arranged marriage. She wants to go to San Francisco to live with her pen pal Amy but gets lost in the tundra and befriends a pack of wolves that help her survive. One of the coolest parts of the book is when a wolf barfs up some food and Julie gratefully eats it because she's starving. I wasn't too keen on the how the book ends, it's a bit sad really.

Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett
This is the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. More pictures of a town with ridiculously huge food.

Cowboy & Octopus by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Cowboy and Octopus become fast friends in this hilarious collage work picture book. For Halloween, Octopus dresses up like a shark, but when he fails to scare Cowboy, he dresses up like the Tooth Fairy instead. Yes, an octopus dressed as a tooth fairy: "Now that's scary."

My First . . . by Eva Montanari
Alice expects a doll for her birthday but receives a book instead which she treats like a doll. She had socks for the doll she was expecting but uses them as bookmarks instead. The pictures are very cool, especially the baby carriages.

Castle on Hester Street by Linda Heller
Julie's Jewish grandpa tells tall tales of when he immigrated to the US from Russia to escape persecution. Upon arriving to Ellis Island, President Teddy Roosevelt greets him personally, "Hello, Sol, mighty glad you could come." Grandpa talks of selling fantastic buttons made of diamonds, rubies, as big as sleds! This is a fun fun book.

The Boy With Two Belly Buttons by Stephen J. Dubner
Dubner is also the author of Freakonomics. Solomon has two belly buttons and wants to give one away to a turtle that has none but eventually the turtle declines. Upset about being a freak, Solomon meets a famous movie director (who looks just like Steven Spielberg) who wants to make a movie about the boy with two belly buttons. The book is dedicated to Dubner's son Solomon and I wonder if he really does have two belly buttons . . .

Henry the Dog With No Tail by Kate Feiffer
Henry really wants a tail like the other dogs have. He goes to the tailor who outfits him with a super long tail and when Henry's friends discover he can't wag his tail, they reject him. As Henry walks along Battery Park he finds a battery that wags his super long tail. But Henry soon learns that his super long tail is more of a curse than a blessing.

The Prince Won't Go To Bed! by Dayle Ann Dodds
This rhyming picture book is illustrated in collage style. A young prince refuses to fall asleep and the whole kingdom tries to appease him by bringing mattresses, fluffing pillows and strumming music. Finally the princess comes in to save the day.