Our Twitchy, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Mary McQuillan, is an absolutely adorable picture book. The pictures are bright and eye-catching, and the text explains adoption to young children in a simple and loving way.

( Be forewarned: This review gives away the identity of Twitchy's adoptive parents. )

Twitchy's parents clean him up and tell him that they love him just as he is. They emphasize that they ARE his parents, no matter what. Twitchy is content once more and they prepare to have their typical dinner, something all three of them enjoy: carrots!

If you are a parent or a schoolteacher, pick this book up. It is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the concept of adoption. It reinforces the fact that love makes you a family. Pick up People by Peter Spier and It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr while you are at it.

Related Booklist: Adoption in Juvenile Fiction

Three girls. One beat-up station wagon. Three days. One long stretch of road. Three different reasons for hitting that road. One crazy, impulsive road trip.

When Jesse gets the big idea for her and Vicks to drive down to see Brady at college in Jesse's mom's car, she didn't plan on taking an extra passenger. She ends up with two: Mel, who is definitely not her friend, and, shortly thereafter, a fine feathered friend that's a real quack.

Jesse wants to get away from her mother and her mother's boyfriends for a while. Vicks wants to see her boyfriend Brady, who is away at college. Mel just wants to get away. Jesse and Vicks are close friends; Mel and Vicks are co-workers; Jesse's not exactly a fan of Mel.

In three days, these three girls will learn How to Be Bad - and sad, and impulsive, and persuasive. They will also learn how to compromise, how to celebrate their differences, and how to live and love and let go.

Vicks, Jesse, and Mel tell their stories in turn, with the first person narration rotating through the trio with every chapter. E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List), Lauren Myracle (TTYL), and Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks) teamed together for this story. In order to discover which author voiced which girl, you'll have to take this trip to the end of the line, as the narrative identities are revealed on the very last page.

Heads-up: I know that many of my fun tween readers devoured some of Myracle's books and Mlynowski's books, but I want to gently let them know that How to Be Bad is for older teens. :)

Related Posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle
Interview: E. Lockhart
Booklist: Multiple Narrators
Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Book Review: Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Book Reviews: Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen by Lauren Myracle
Book Reviews: Magic in Manhattan serires by Sarah Mlynowski