books

It was 1963, and Norman Bridwell, the father of an infant daughter, was broke and desperately searching for work as a commercial artist in New York City.

Most of us have never wanted to go to Turkmenistan, nor could we find it on a map. But the graphic novel "Joe and Azat" ($10.95, NBM/ComicsLit) depicts it as an awfully interesting place.

Celebrate Halloween with some of these great new children's books:

-- Duck and Goose look everywhere for a pumpkin until their friend Thistle tells them about the local pumpkin patch in "Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin" (Schwartz & Wade/Random House, $6.99). This board book is the latest in the "Duck and Goose" series by author/illustrator Tad Hills. (Ages birth-2.)

Greg Heffley is a hybrid, and his millions of young fans love it that way.

For those who haven't yet met Greg, he's the hapless star of the best-selling kids'-book series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. Nothing is easy for Greg, a middle-school student with a large ego, small brain and a nose for trouble.

Learning to read should be fun. All too often, however, the books available for beginning readers are simple-minded and boring.

Rabbi David Kahn was a well-respected spiritual and community leader when he died. That's when his wife, three children and synagogue found out he wasn't a rabbi. And he wasn't Jewish. Heck, he wasn't even David Kahn.

He was a con man named Donnie Dobbs, a cheap grifter who fell in love with a Jewish girl and transformed into the good man she thought he was.

Gut instincts can be a reliable guide when falling in love, making friends or deciding whether or not to respect or trust someone. Yet when it comes to making investment decisions, it often pays to have second thoughts about first impressions.

Rabbi David Kahn was a well-respected spiritual and community leader when he died. That's when his wife, three children and synagogue found out he wasn't a rabbi. And he wasn't Jewish. Heck, he wasn't even David Kahn.

He was a con man named Donnie Dobbs, a cheap grifter who fell in love with a Jewish girl and transformed into the good man she thought he was.

Picture-book biographies pack a lot of facts into a large, illustration-filled format, offering an enticing package for kids.

Here's a look at some great new picture-book biographies:

As practice for Twitter -- which apparently is going to take over the world -- I'm going to pretend I'm tweeting and do all of my reviews this week in 140 characters or less. While that necessarily means shallow content, it does have the benefit of blazing through a tremendous amount of reviews at one whack.

Can I do it? Is this a stupid idea not worth doing? Let's find out: