Downtown

You want your child to keep reading between semesters, but nobody said it had to be boring, a good reason to find “Why Spacemen Can’t Burp” and “Poo! What Is That Smell?”

You turned around, turned back, and it was done. Finished. You missed the best part, so keep your eyes peeled when you watch the horse races this spring. And in order to know what you’re watching, read the new book “D is for Derby: A Kentucky Derby Alphabet,” written by Helen L. Wilbur and illustrated by Jaime Corum.

Reading. Pfft. Who has time? Who can take hours and hours to actually read a book, especially if it’s not all that good? Why waste that kind of time? You wonder that often, which is where I come in. It’s my job to find the good stuff for you and, for this calendar year, these are the books I loved best that you shouldn’t miss.

Terri Schlichenmeyer reviews “Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Dare to Look!”