Not For One, But... : Just Right For Two by Tracey Corduroy

"I HAVE EVERYTHING I NEED," DOG TELLS THE STARS.

Dog is fond of his big blue suitcase that holds all his favorite things--a really good stick, a bumpy little pinecone, a smooth rock with a hole in it, some leaves to throw up and watch dance to the ground. And... the suitcase is just perfect to curl up on and sleep under the stars. What more could he want?

But one morning he wakes up to a surprise--a mouse sleeping next to him on top of the suitcase!

"HEY! YOU CAN'T SLEEP THERE! ALL MY SPECIAL THINGS ARE THERE!" DOG SAYS.

But Mouse pleads to see the special things in the suitcase, and then he invites Dog to play hide-and-seek in the woods. To his surprise Dog has a lot of fun and they play all day. Then, as promised, Mouse says goodbye.

Dog lies down on top of his beloved blue suitcase, but he can't seem to settle down. He has all his special things, but now he seems to need something else.

"SOMETHING JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT!" HE SAID.

And suddenly he knows what special "something else" he needs, in Tracey Corderoy's latest, Just Right for Two (Nosy Crow Books, 2014). There's a pretty deep theme in Corderoy's gentle little story, that everyone need more than things, no matter how special, in their lives, and while preschoolers may not label the blue suitcase as a symbol, they will definitely get the idea that friends make life more fun. Rosalind Beardshaw's cozy illustrations of little animals and an appealingly stylized woodland setting add to the gentle appeal of this story of friendship found and adventures to come promised. "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," says Kirkus Reviews.

Other popular preschool picture books by Tracey Corderoy include No! and Why?