Flower Girl At Last! Superlove by Charise Mericle Harper

THERE WILL BE A WEDDING AND A HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

As that month of blooming flowers and June, moon, spoon approaches, little girls of a certain age become inspired by weddings--brides in long white gowns, bridesmaids with bouquets, flower girls with rose petal baskets, and big white cakes. What's not to like about that?

In Charise Mericle Harper's Superlove (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014), her girl goes into instant wedding planning mode, titling herself Superlove, and staging her own event, a flowery garden wedding with her dolls and toy animals as guests, and her plush puppy, Mr. Mittens, and her cat, Pinky, as the betrothed.

The only problem is with the perspective bride. It seems that the blushing bride is up a tree, switching her tail and spurning her intended bridegroom. Love's Labour seem lost, and no amount of coaxing and cat food can persuade Pinky to come down and enter into matrimony. Mr. Mittens seems spurned as a spouse. Cue strains of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!"

But as a meltdown from Ms. Superlove threatens, Mom steps in with a plan that pleases the little wedding planner.

"DADDY AND I CAN GET MARRIED AND THIS TIME YOU CAN BE THERE, TOO."

The bride is smiling through her resurrected wedding veil, the groom is handsome, in formal bowtie with a freshly-picked posy in his buttonhole, and Superlove is a happy flower girl as her parents renew their vows. Even Pinky the Cat seems to be seeing Mr. Mittens, attired for the occasion in a natty top hat, in a new light. Author Charise Mericle Harper steps in to save their day with a sweet plot twist that satisfies, an ending that especially celebrates the "happily ever after" part of family life.

For more down-the-aisle festivities, pair this one with Julie Andrews' The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl!, (read review here) Kevin Henkes' best-seller, Lilly's Big Day,  Jane O'Connor's recent Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century, or Barbara Park's hilarious classic, Junie B. Jones Is (almost) a Flower Girl (Junie B. Jones, No. 13).