Break Out the Doilies: Fancy Nancy's Marvelous Mother's Day Brunch by Jane O'Connor

SHHHH! My mom is sleeping late because today is a special occasion An occasion is a fancy way to say it's an important day!

And Mrs. Clancy is one lucky mom. Nancy and her dad have a big morning in the works--a brunch (that's a fancy meal that's half-breakfast and half-lunch) with waffles topped with whipped cream and blueberries. But of course, a Fancy Nancy production also comes with handmade cards with glitter, fresh-picked backyard flowers, a Nancy-created tiara spelling out M-O-M, a tiered server for the finger foods, and a silver-covered breakfast tray with all the deluxe trimmings:

My mom never has any doilies, so it's fortunate (that's fancy for lucky) that I always have some on hand. And I will tie the napkin with a velvet ribbon.

Nancy has everything planned down to the minute when the unforeseen occurs. Mom wakes and wanders downstairs yawning in her rumpled pjs to see what's afoot in the kitchen. Can Dad escort her out before the surprise is spoiled?

In the already New York Times best-selling Fancy Nancy's Marvelous Mother's Day Brunch,(Harper Festival, 2011) the peerless team of Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser have another winner in their newest holiday lift-the-flap book. Important elements of the plot are hidden by flaps well integrated into the illustrations and plot, with Nancy's stash of fancy stuff behind the door of her beside table, her ribbons and glitter in her treasure chest, her sleepy mom just outside the kitchen door, and even some yucky critters under the rock in the backyard where her little sister looks as Nancy and Dad pick a bouquet from the garden.

It's another fine fancied-up occasion with the endearing Clancy family, which pairs well as a springtime gift with last year's delightful and again best-selling Fancy Nancy's Elegant Easter for fans of the Fancy Nancy series.