In celebration of National Children’s Book Week, Nov. 11-15, why not pick up one of these new titles for children? Several are by Maine authors or illustrators.

THE STORY OF LIGHTNING AND THUNDER, by Ashley Bryan, Atheneum, 32 pages, $14.95, ages 4-8.

A long time ago, Thunder, a mother sheep, and Lightning, her son, lived in a village on the west coast of Alkebulan, called Africa today. The villagers liked having them there, for they could call down rain whenever it was needed. When Lightning, impetuous as all young creatures tend to be, caused several disasters, the pair were sent far away, eventually ending up in the sky.

Ashley Bryan of Islesford writes stories that are meant to be read aloud, often with the listeners joining in the fun. He draws the reader or listener into his story with rhythmic language, bold illustrations and the use of intriguing noises and sounds.

STREGA NONA MEETS HER MATCH, by Tomie dePaola, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 32 pages, $14.95, ages 5-9.

After a seven-year absence, Strega Nona is back. She is, by far, dePaola’s most popular character. As the author of almost 200 children’s books, dePaola draws upon his rich Italian background to create stories that make children smile and wonder.

In this story, Strega Nona’s business as a village healer is thriving until Strega Amelia visits and sets up shop in competition with her. She offers all the latest “scientific” gadgets as well as sweets and cappucino to her clients, and soon Strega Nona’s business dwindles to nothing. All seems lost, until Big Anthony inadvertently comes to the rescue in his usual blundering way.

HERE’S TO YOU, RACHEL ROBINSON, by Judy Blume, Orchard Books, 192 pages, $14.95 (trade), $14 (library), ages 11 and up.

Rachel Robinson is a gifted seventh-grader with a big problem — her older brother Charles. Expelled from boarding school, he’s come home to roost and has the family in an upheaval. On top of this, Rachel is feeling the pressure of increased expectations from teachers and friends who want to add to Rachel’s present schedule of academic and extracurricular activities. Blume fills this book with realistic contemporary characters with believable problems. Adolescents are bound to find much to identify with in this slice-of-life tale.

WESTERN WIND, by Paula Fox, Orchard Books, 208 pages, $14.95 (trade), $14.99 (library), ages 10 and up.

Elizabeth Benedict is the 11-year-old granddaughter of Cora Ruth Benedict, a painter who summers in a rustic cottage on an island off the coast of Maine. Elizabeth is to spend this summer with her grandmother, and she is bitter about what she perceives as the reason for her banishment. “It was because of Stephen Lindsay Benedict, one week old on July 19, her brother, around whose bassinet her parents stood as though it held a holy object. …”

Over the course of the summer, Elizabeth struggles with this feeling of having been displaced by her infant brother. The difficulty of life in a cabin without plumbing or electricity, and the isolation she feels on the island increase her feelings of having been wronged by her family.

She gradually is drawn into the unplesant life of the only other family on the island when their young son, Aaron, seeks to befriend her. He is an odd boy whose bizarre behavior provides fuel for his family’s constant state of agitation. When he is lost in the fog one evening, Elizabeth and her grandmother search the island for him, a search that ends in heartache for Elizabeth.

Fox, a summer resident of Maine, is a gifted writer, winner of both the Newbery Medal and the American Book Award. She reaches into the mind of her youthful characters and speaks for them with a voice which young readers will recognize as their own.

I THOUGHT I’D TAKE MY RAT TO SCHOOL, Poems for September to June, selected by Dorothy M. Kennedy, illustrated by Abby Carter, Little, Brown and Co., 63 pages, $15.95, ages 6-10.

Kennedy does an excellent job of bringing together the works of 40 poets including, among others, Aileen Fisher, Russell Hoban, X.J. Kennedy, Karla Kuskin, Myra Cohn Livingston, Eve Merriam, Jack Prelutsky, Carl Sandburg, Judith Viorst and Jane Yolen. They expound on a wide spectrum of school issues including buses, cruel boys, first days, snacks, recess and homework. Pencil illustrations by Abby Carter of Portland give the book an animated look.

Judy Eyerer is a free-lance writer who lives in Bangor.