What's the BIG Idea? Twenty Big Trucks in the Center of the Street by Mark Lee

On a sunny, tree-lined city street, a boy bikes through the park. And then something happens!

ONE ICE CREAM TRUCK, SELLING EVERYTHING SWEET,

BREAKS DOWN AND BLOCKS THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

And before the vendor gets out to check under the hood, the mail truck comes along and stops behind him.

And one after the other, more trucks are stopped behind them--even a truck with bales of hay! Looks like nobody's going anywhere today!

And behind him, others stop--a pick-up truck full of landscaping trees, a giant yellow crane truck, delivery trucks of all kinds, two moving vans (who won't be moving), a stake truck of pigs, and a dump truck loaded with sand. Two traffic cops show up, but they're no help. Nobody can back up or go forward. Meanwhile, a cement mixer and a gasoline tanker pull in behind. Next come a tar truck and a truck for towing; nobody here is going to be going.

A garbage truck, a bread truck, a truck full of meat, no is moving on this street. Everybody frets, without a clue. There must be something somebody can do!

A small voice speaks up--the kid on the bike. At first they ignore him, then realize he's RIGHT.

PLEASE LOOK! CAN'T YOU SEE?

THE BIG CRANE TRUCK IS WHAT WE NEED!

And suddenly the stalled crane operator swings his boom over the others and lifts up the ice cream truck, swinging him down to the grassy park's side, leaving the others to continue their ride.

And with the ice cream truck open for business in the park, the boy gets a free ice cream cone, in Mark Lee's latest, Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street (Candlewick, 2022). Author Mark Lee lets the youngest bystander save the day and help everyone else be on their way, Kids get to polish their counting skills as well in this reading treat, and illustrator Curt Cyrus adds to the fun with his realistic vehicle drawings, All's well that ends well (and with ice cream for all comers.)

Writes the Wall Street Journal's reviewer, "Handsome entertainment. This softly rhyming picture book presents children with a small but exciting dilemma that quickly involves—hurrah!—all sorts of trucks.

A Boy And His Dog: This Day by Juliana O'Neill

A little-golden and-white Corgi wakes his boy, snoozing deeply in his warm bed.

TIME TO PLAY!

And play they do!

First they take a dip in the pool, the boy with his snorkle and mask, the dog in in his doggie life jacket, as the sun sparkles on the water. Then they climb out and seek the warmth of the tent, creeping into the sleeping bags inside, and then move to the soft, warm grass to to sprawl on their backs to soak up some rays in the sunshine.

And when they are warm and dry, it's time for a good walk together, a friendly talk, and reading a dog story with their friends.

And soon it's time for to curl up together as Mom spreads the coverlet over both of them after the best sort of day ...

...

A DAY OF PLAY.

There are only 23 choice sight words in Juliana O'Neill's early reader about a companionable day with a boy and his dog, This Day (Reading Stars), (Xist, 2022). Beautifully muted soft pastel illustrations by artist Ding LinHui, provide the visual cues in his illustrations which help early readers "read" the 23 sight words in this soothing early reader. What a way to spend a day!

Beware! Cat Traps by Molly Coxe

For a big orange cat, there is nothing sadder than an empty bowl.

CAT WANTS A SNACK.

He snickers as he locates the perfect device--a spring-release mouse trap! But the trap does not catch a mouse.

CAT CATCHES A BUG!

YUCK!

Down near the chicken coop, Cat tries another idea, a wire cage with the door propped open. The chickens cluck all around it and then stroll off, free, but Cat's trap catches a pig.

TOO BIG!

Cat really wants a snack. By the pond, he tries to catch a fish in a net. The fish is so big that it tows him around the bend in the net

Next, the poor hungry cat strikes out with deadfall trap for a bullfrog and gets an angry dog instead. Then he nets a duck. You know what? Angry ducks are mean!

BAD LUCK!

Then he spots a girl with a sack of promising tidbits and follows her home. He still wants a snack....

And what's in her sack? Could it be... Oh, JOY!

CAT CHOW!

Molly Coxe's Cat Traps (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1) proves that persistence pays in this bright early read for preschoolers and primary grade students who still need picture cues to help with word recognition. Coxe's illustrations of his hapless hunter will tickle youngsters' giggle boxes and persuade them to keep reading to see what happens next. Other books in this series on this level by author-illustrator Molly Coxe include Big Egg (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1) and Hot Dog (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1).

If Only! Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol

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ON A HOT, SWEET JULY DAY, FREDA WENT BLACKBERRY PICKING WITH GRAN.

THE BERRIES TASTED LIKE SUNSHINE.

THEY WOULD NEVER BE BETTER!

Still, Freda couldn't eat all those blueberries at once.

But Gran says she can save them for another time. They can put them in jars to preserve ALL the sweet goodness. Freda remembers Granpa eating blueberry jam on his toast when she was little..., and . . .

FREDA HAD AN IDEA!

She tries putting one of Gran's fresh chocolate cookies, hot out of the oven, in a jar, and when she opens the jar the next morning, the aroma of the cookie was sweet and fresh. Soon Freda sets out to save every good thing she loves--from beautiful music, a rainbow, and some stars she gathered from the night sky. When her best friend Jack was sad that he was moving to Arizona, she saves him in a jar. Finally, all of Freda's favorite things are saved in one jar or another! And Gran is almost out of empty jars. But one day, when they have eaten the last of the blueberry jam, Freda realizes that she has a problem!

Should Freda put the last hot toast with blueberry jam away in the jar? But then, she would never taste that warm crunchy toast with warm, sweet blueberry savor....

Maybe she should just live in the moment, in Caldecott honor-winning author-illustrator Vera Brosgol's latest, Memory Jars (Roaring Brook, 2021). There are problems, any way you go. Now, or later, which is best? And how many jars are there for all the things we love? Not enough! Vera Brosgol's endearing little preservationist is so charmingly cute that kids will delight in her little dilemma, which inspires us all to enjoy the moment, but also to see that sometimes it's best to just savor the memory.

Vera Brosgol's winning Caldecott Honor book is This One Summer.

Undercover Brother and Snoop Dog: Secret, Secret Agent Guy by Kira Bigwood

SECRET, SECRET AGENT GUY,

WORKING FOR THE FBI.

His trenchcoat and Fedora hanging on the door, the super sleuth relaxes in his PJ's and with his bullfrog-slippered feet on his desk, perusing the newspaper.

But a message comes through on his walkie-talkie from the intrepid chief, ordering him to grab his gear and get on the job. He stows his stuff in his kit, cleverly disguised as a third grade lunchbox--with ropes, grappling hook, and see-in-the-dark glasses. He slips downstairs on silent feet to surveil the security guards. Ah, there they are, busy listening to tunes on Alexa!

But his device begins to quiver with a message from headquarters. Chief directs him to a backpack stashed in the kitchen cupboard:

"SET YOUR TRAPS AND GET TO WORK!"

"IN THE SHADOWS SOMETHING LURKS!"

Suddenly the security guards send Spy Dog, who leaps over the deadfall trap set for them. Luckily, he's turned double agent, actually on their side! Grabbing the backpack in his mouth and trotting upstairs, he passes it over, and the secret agent guys attain possession of the contraband, a giant top secret lollipop concealed in the closet. But, OH, NO! The fake box broadcasts a call to the authorities!

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

Could it be that their code has been blown? By a double agent sister...?

SECRET, SECRET AGENT GIRL!

It's "Curses, foiled again!" by a super-secret big sister, in Kira Bigwood's new Secret, Secret Agent Guy, (Atheneum, 2921), which we hope is the beginning of a brothers-and-sister secret agent wars series. It's a fun and funny kid pleaser, coded in spy lingo and a clever rhyme scheme, only slightly concealed, to be read and sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!"

"For readers looking for a little action and suspense in their bedtime story...." says Horn Book's reviewer.

"I Am the Greatest!" The Ultimate Shark Rumble: (Who Would Win?) by Jerry Pollatta

When big sharks duke it out, who is greatest? In the waters of the world, the stakes are high when the biggest and the baddest boys in the shark world enter the ring to find out who the champion carnivore in the sea can be. Each one claims to be "The Greatest!"

When Saw Shark tries to cut a slice of Mako Shark, Mako makes short work of the duel, biting off the sawfish's tail! Mako wins! Hammerhead Shark is sure he's got all the right stuff. He can keep watch for opponents on both sides, as well as back and front. Bye-bye, Six-gilled Shark! You're too ugly to live!

And the great white shark only needs one knockout punch, er, one Great White bite, to take down the competition. But here comes the bulkiest big boy in all of sharkdom, the whale shark! However, he is lacking the one thing sharks are famous for--big teeth. Tiny teeth are good only for copping krill.

Whale shark goes down to the quick chomps of Black-tip Shark. So long, sucker! The same goes for the stocky little Leopard Shark when he confronts the thresher shark, whose long tail whips him right out of the competition.

Megamouth Shark looks tough with a mouth big as a barn door, but his teeny-tiny teeth can't take down Greenland Shark, who can live for 500 years, sharpening his fighting skills.

WHO WILL MAKE THE SHARK FINAL FOUR?

Mako Shark makes use of his lightning jab, biting off chunks of Bull Shark here and there. But Tiger Shark deftly takes both down for the count. But nearing the final round of the World Championship Match, Great White Shark tries a quick undercut punch, striking from below at Greenland Shark.

Now it's down to the top contenders--Great White Shark comes in to deliver a low blow from below, and Tiger Shark twists and attacks in the clinch with a quick big bite. First blood! The match is over! Tiger Shark Takes THE TITLE!

TIGER SHARK WINS!

Tiger Shark may be the greatest--this time, but there's always time for a rematch out there under the waves, in Jerry Pollatta's Who Would Win books offer many animal champs a rematch with their greatest contenders, in his Ultimate Shark Rumble (Who Would Win?) (24) Ultimate Jungle Rumble (Who Would Win?) (19) and Ultimate Dinosaur Rumble (Who Would Win?) (22)/a>

This is a vividly illustrated book, with Rob Bolston's action drawings, carried out in bright colors that capture the serious competition between all contenders. For kids who like some excitement along with their curriculum-co-ordinated animal behavior lessons, this book and the others in this series offer some exciting encounters for rising middle grade readers.

Meet the Neighbors! Five Busy Beavers by Stella Grosso

Building a beaver dam calls for all hands on deck.

But when one beaver sneaks away with a muskrat to play, his hard-working brothers, the remaining four, now have to do more!

But as the remaining four brothers "beaver on," chewing down trees to construct their lodge and dam, a lazy heron shows up to persuade one more of the brothers to run away to play!

That loss leaves the three all bereft, each one feeling sorry for himself. And soon some frolicsome frogs lead one more beaver in the bog to abandon his log. More playmates turn up, to lead the remaining brothers to be done for the day. as three frolicsome frogs and and a tempting turtle lead two more away to play!

Only one beaver is left to do the job of building their dam made of logs.

Depressed, the last beaver brother finally paddles off by the dim light of a firefly. The dam's not done, and he is alone.

But as he swims to shore in a lonely, sad slog, he sees something new going up in the bog!

It seems the muskrat, the heron, the turtle and a trio of frogs, by the light of the firefly, have pitched in to finish the lodge with elan!>

"Many hands make light work," says the old saw, and in the bog that proverb comes true, as the five busy beavers celebrate with water lily pie and new friends with whom to watch the winter go by, in Stella Grasso's rhyming adaptation of the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper, Five Busy Beavers (Scholastic/Skyhorse, 2018). Grosso also adds her "Author's Notes, with more about the beavers' new neighbors who share the area around their dam.

With a bit of nature lore, counting lessons, and jolly verse in a novel rhyme scheme in store, Grosso's jolly picture book, illustrated with elan by illustrator Christine Battuz, is a fine seasonal read-aloud for preschool and primary kids.

Opines School Library Journal, "This original take on a classic is recommended as a general purchase for a primary collection. Great for a number-themed storytime or a lap read!"

Pet Power! Twinkle's Fairy Pet Day by Katharine Holabird and Sarah Warbarton

"I HAVE WAITED AND WISHED FOR SUCH A LONG TIME,"

"FOR A SWEET LITTLE PET WHO WILL TRULY BE MINE."

Pippa waved her wand, and with flashes and sparkles a beautiful butterfly appeard. Lulu's magic wand produced a glittery lady-bug. But when Twinkle wished for a pet that could run and play, there was quite a hullabaloo.

"BANG!" "CRASH!" "BOOM!"

Purple smoke poured out of the fireplace, followed by--a little wiggly green dragon who leaped into her arms!

"FIDDLESTICKS," SAID TWINKLE! "I JUST WANTED SOMETHING CUTE AND FLUFFY!"

But Fairy Godmother pooh-poohed her complaint and invited all three of them to the FAIRY PET DAY, promising a party with prizes for all.

But dragons are hard on housekeeping. Her dragon, whom she properly named "Scruffy," was a housewrecker--tracking mud into the house, swiping her Fairy treats, and shredding her best slippers. She tried to teach him to come, and sit, and fetch, but although he was sweet, he always did the opposite of what she told him to do. Twinkle knew she needed some help teaching him to behave like the pet of her dreams.

On Fairy Pet Day, Twinkle bathed Scruffy, sprayed him to smell like a flower, and dressed him up prettily, but on the way to the Pet Fairy party, he splashed muddy water over them both. Twinkle was almost in tears as they arrived for Fairy Pet Day. Winning a magical prize was definitely not in the works for poor Twinkle! Still, she couldn't help loving her silly little Scruffy. He WAS her pet!

"JUST DO YOUR BEST, SCRUFFY," SHE WHISPERED TO HER IMPERFECT PET.

And there was Fairy Magic at Fairy Pet Day for Scruffy. In the Fairy Fetch competition, he outdoes all the others, and his little dragon wings become big and beautiful, glowing with Fairyland colors, in best-selling author, Katharine Holabird's Twinkle's Fairy Pet Day. (Little Simon Books.)

Everyone is amazed, and Scruffy wins the prize for the best-trained pet! Holabird, author of the tremendously popular Angelina Ballerina series, has a new fantasy tale, illustrated by artist Sarah Warburton, and her new character, portrayed with plenty of sparkling pink, seems to be one that her fans will want to read more about!

After all, LOVE goes a long way when training the perfect pet.

Says School Library Journal, "... the two unlikely companions bring out the best in each other.

Good Intentions Go a Long WAY! Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman

Little T. Rex is feeling blue, and not just because his skin is naturally baby blue. He's blue because his friend Pointy is very sad and needs a hug, and Tiny T. Rex's arms are way too short to deliver a big hug.

POINTY NEEDS ME!

Tiny T. Rex asks his family for help. But his dad, as mathematicians often do, turns his question into a mathematical equation!

POINTY DOESN'T LIKE MATH.

Mother counsels that it's not how long his arms are, but what's in his heart.

AUNTIE SUGGESTS CUCUMBER JUICE.

Tiny T. Rex's brother and sister say he needs to practice more.

.

"I WILL PLAN MY STRATEGY," TINY T. SAID. "I WILL PRACTICE MY HUGS."

Tiny T. Rex looked around for something to practice hugging. Perhaps a tree would work. He spots something tall and green with big arms.

It is a...

CACTUS!

Not a smart strategy, considering that the spines are quite sharp!

Tiny T. decides he need some altitude to spot a more suitable tree for hugging, so he hops on a flying dinosaur, but soon slides off, sailing down, down, down, until...

CONK! He lands right on top of Pointy's head and holds on tight.

"THAT WAS THE BIGGEST HUG EVER!"" SAYS POINTY.

It seems Mother was right. It's not the size of the hugger, but the size of his heart, in Jonathan Stutzman's Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug (Chronicle Books).

As illustrated sweetly by artist Jay Fleck, Tiny T., this diminutive dinosaur certainly has plenty of heart, in author Jonathan Stutzman's book in his popular Tiny T. Rex series, starring as its undeniably charming and cuddly little hero. Other books in this series are Tiny T. Rex and the Perfect Valentine, Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark: (Read-Aloud Family Books, Dinosaurs Kids Book About Fear of Darkness), and Tiny T. Rex and the Tricks of Treating.

Friendship, Blendship! Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes

CHESTER HAD HIS OWN WAY OF DOING THINGS.

Chester and his friend Wilson were very punctilious. Chester always cut his sandwiches in triangles. He always got out of bed on the same side. He never left the house without his first-aid kit and double-knotted shoestrings. Wilson and Chester always signalled their turns on their bikes. They both never slid head-first into the plate in baseball. And on Halloween their costumes always went together, like pepper and salt shakers or ham and eggs. They did everything with each other.

"SOMETIMES I CAN'T TELL THOSE TWO APART. . . LIKE TWO PEAS IN A POD!" SAID CHESTER'S MOTHER.

His father agreed.

And then a new girl moved into the neighborhood. She did everything in a very unique way!

"I AM LILLY! I AM THE QUEEN.

I LIKE EVERYTHING!

Lilly plastered herself with bandaids so everyone would think she was very brave. She always carried a loaded squirt pistol when she left home. She talked backwards!

SHE NEVER LEFT HER HOUSE WITHOUT WEARING ONE OF HER DISGUISES.

Chester and Wilson hid when they saw Lilly coming, and when she phoned one or the other, they disguised their voices so they wouldn't have to play with her. She was just too weird for Chester and Wilson's taste.

But one day a couple of older bullies stopped them on the bike path, yelling and making fun of their precise hand signals and riding circles around them so that they couldn't move. Wilson and Chester were frightened! It was a scary situation, until...

A FIERCE-LOOKING CAT WITH HORRIBLE FANGS JUMPED OUT OF THE BUSHES....

The big boys pedaled away fast. Now who was frightened?

"ARE YOU WHO I THINK YOU ARE?" CHESTER ASKED.

Of course the fierce-looking cat with the water pistol is Lilly, and Chester and Wilson soon discover that her weird ways could sometimes be a good thing, in Kevin Henkes' classic story about friendship, in Chester's Way(Greenwillow Books).

It's different strokes for different folks, as Lilly introduces them to cookie-cutter shaped sandwiches and popping wheelies, and the boys teach Lilly the proper hand signals on her bike and how to double-knot her shoelaces. And Chester and Wilson learn to talk backwards so the three of them have their own secret language!

Of these brand-new different-drummer friends, Horn Book says, "The virtues of variety, experimentation, and friendship are deftly handled in the amusing, believable story."

Read more about Lilly, in Keven Henkes' best-selling Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

See the Sea Monster Here! Kraken Me Up by Jeffery Ebbeler

"BRING IN YOUR PETS!" ENTONES THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES.

Kids with all kind of critters have come together for the competition. There's a pretty pig, a hen nesting in her owner's hair, a lovable llama, and a . . .

KRAKEN!

(GULP!)

Never mind that he is BIG! One kid recognizes what he IS. A Kraken is a sea monster from the deepest deeps of the oceans of the world!

"A KRAKEN CAN EAT A SHIP!" YELLS THE KID WITH THE LLAMA.

His owner defends her pet:

"HE'S NOT MEAN! HE IS SHY."

The girl tells how she met him beside the sea and how they became friends.

But the other exhibitors in the Pet Show are not convinced. Izzie the Kraken is not allowed to compete. He's banished to the nearest body of water, a farm pond, into which he barely fits!

"FIND A WAY TO MAKE THEM SMILE," THE GIRL WHISPERS INTO HIS, ER, EAR, (OR WHATEVER THAT IS!)

BLAH-ZOOP! Kraken rares back and sprays his purple ink all over the kids, their parents, and the M.C.! For a moment they all are too astonished and amazed to move, so Kraken demonstrates the possibilities of face-painting with octopus ink on his own face. Suddenly, the kids see the potential of their situation.

Soon everyone is finger-painting each other with purple ink and giggling. But then the sea monster begins to cough.

HACK! HACK!

"THAT KRAKEN IS HACKIN,'" SAYS ONE PURPLE-PAINTED KID.

And Kracken hacks up a sailing ship, complete with cannons, cutlasses, captain, swabies, and all! The kid with the llama has to take credit for his prediction.

"I TOLD YOU THEY EAT SHIPS!" HE BRAGS.

And the crusty old ship's captain climbs out of the ship's quarters at last.

"YAR!

"WE BE IN THAT BELLY FOR FIFTY YEARS!!"style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Oswald;

"IT'S ABOUT TIME WE HAD SOME FUN."

Kraken has cracked up the whole crew, and it's the most memorable day ever at the Pet Show, in comic author-illustrator Jeffery Ebbeler's latest graphic comic book, Kraken Me Up (I Like to Read Comics) (Holiday House, 2021). Jeffery Ebbeler's graphic storybook puts all his comic artwork experience to bear on this one with as jolly a tall ship tall tale as a kid can imagine.

Says School Library Journal, "Girl and kraken are winners in any collection, especially where graphic novels for emerging readers are needed."

Best Buddies: Dogs Love Cars by Leda Schubert

WINDOWS DOWN, NOSES OUT, EARS FLAPPING, DROOL ON THE WINDOWS....

Most dogs are mad about cars.

Don't get me wrong. Cats are great pets. But most cats are not fond of car rides. Having wind in their fur and faces does not particularly appeal to them. (They don't drool much, however.) But if you love a pet who likes to go places and do things outside in brand new places, dogs are ecstatic! (Most cats could not care less, (unless it's their idea!)

BUT DOGS LOVE CARS!

Dogs love to go for walks with their owner on the other end of the leash. They like to meet strange dogs and exchange sniffs. Dogs like pretty much everything about going places and doing things outdoors. Or indoors will do as if that's what you've got.

DOGS LOVE TOYS.

Floppy, bouncy, rolling, chewey, new, or old, dirty and disgusting, chewed up, broken, dogs adore 'em.

DOGS LOVE CHORES.

Dogs love washing cars, and they love digging dirt for any purpose known to man. (Cats, on the other hand, only dig for one purpose, one that most owners do not care to share!)

Dogs love to eat almost any kind of food, and some things that their owners don't even consider to be food.

But the best thing about dogs is that. . .

DOGS LOVE PEOPLE!

Dogs try to love cats, but that doesn't always work out so well! But in fact, the best thing about dogs is that they love their owners. And they usually want to love everything their owners love, even if that's a cat, in Leda Schubert's joyful, just published picture book in praise of all things canine, Dogs Love Cars (Candlewick Press, 2021).

With the funny child-centered illustrations of dogs being dogs, doing their thing, including loving their owners, by Paul Meisel, this is a book that almost anyone will love.

Says Booklist, "Energetic and appealing... a doggy delight!"

Dognabbit! Interrupting Cow: New Tricks for The Old Dog by Jane Yolen

The cows were lounging around in front of the barn, when Interrupting Cow appears and tosses out an old cannard.

"KNOCK KNOCK!"

Interrupting Cow, giggled, rolling in laughter on the floor, while the clueless cows rack their brains for the meaning of that non sequitur, and an old gray dog appears in the barn door with a smug smile.

"NOT FUNNY!" REPLY THE COWS.

In a huff the cows vacate the barn. To the surprise of Interrupting Cow, the old dog giggles again, with a winner's chuckle.

For parents who've endured those "Guess What?/That's What?" jokes, look who's the one who gets the laughs now?

At least Old Dog gets a laugh out of Interrupting Cow this time in Jane Yolen's latest in her nonsense beginning readers, New Tricks for the Old Dog: Ready-to-Read Level 2 (Interrupting Cow) (Simon Spotlight, 2021). Make way for certain silliness here. It's Old Dog who scores the first giggle in this book by the noted Jane Yolen, author of the best-selling How Do Dinosaurs..., rhyming easy-to-read series.

When Is A Hog Not A Hog? Hog Dog by Audrey Bea

Through the mist of the morning a nattily-attired little girl, in blue hairbow and red dress, spies something ahead, partially obscured in the fog.

What could it be?

IT MAY BE A HOG.

Does its head look like a hog's? It does, sort of. Does its tail look like a hog's? What about those ears? Are they the ears of a hog... or a dog? Maybe.

I THINK IT'S A HOG DOG!

Author Audrey Bea makes good use of all twenty-nine words in this beginning reader book, as her charming little character collects the clues, in Hog Dog (Reading Stars)(Xist Publishing, 2021).

The focus is on what the author considers "sight words." Words like "a" and "I" certainly can be sounded out by anyone who knows the English alphabet, whereas their curious spellings make "through" and "tongue" are clearly sight words, easy to use as reading cues from the illustrations. The bright artwork by Franko Sviatoslav contrasts with the small clouds of fog make in appealing pages for young readers to puzzle over.

For another quickie reader for rookies in the Reading Stars series, see Audrey Bea's My Ball (Reading Stars).

No Matter What the Weather: More Than Sunny! by Shelley Johannes

"IT'S EARLY!" GRUMBLES LITTLE BROTHER."

"IT'S SUNNY AND BIRDY" COAXES BIG SISTER."

She hustles her sibling into a spring jacket and outside beside the pond, where he complains...

"MUCKY!"

"IT'S SUNNY AND DUCKY!"...

. . . Sister counters, as a proud Mama Duck and a long line of little ducklings strut by.

And spring blows through as if on one long breezy day, until suddenly one warm sunny day, the siblings realize it's summer. Little Brother whines!

"IT'S MUGGY!" AND BUGGY!"

But as Shakespeare says, "Summer's lease hath all too short a stay."

As summer races by, the kids have fun, collecting caterpillars and worms and wishfully fishing and not catching fish, waiting out stormy, steamy, summer rain showers, suiting up in yellow slickers and boots, catching squirmy worms in the mud, and before they know it, summer melts away, to be replaced by whooshy winds and nervous, fussy, busy squirrels storing up acorns for the winter. And on one gray, cloudy day, they wave goodbye to the geese sailing by, heading south. And then it's. . .

"WINTER. AND WAITY!"

The two kids color and cut out Christmas decorations to hang from the windows with red yarn and watch at the windows for snowflakes to catch and melt on their tongues. And then it is snowy, and ready for sledding and chilling and spilling and then watching at their dark windows. . . .

And with a shushed sneaking downstairs to step out on the porch, they see... their very own falling star.

It's the grand finale of one more joyful trip around the sun to celebrate those blessed seasons of childhood, in Shelley Johannes' delightful latest, More Than Sunny (Abrams Books, 2021). It's all good weather to be together, and rain or shine, it's all fine!

Author Johannes' descriptive pairs of rhyming adjectives are as bouncy as the big sister's two ponytails, leading the way through the seasons, and artist Johannes' charming illustrations in pencil and mixed media are as lively and bright as the two young siblings in a sweet salute of the seasons, from spring glow to falling snow, late and lovely.

Says Publishers Weekly, "Breezy and buzzy/ summer and fuzzy!” transitions to “winter.../ and waity” before a sweet close focuses on a turnaround—and the night sky. Dynamic art rendered in pencil and mixed media on tracing paper and finished digitally matches the text’s energy in this charming seasonal perusal."

There's A War On! Hetty and the London Blitz: A World War II Survival Story by Jeni Walsh

A Little Child Shall Lead Them: She Persisted: Ruby Bridges by Kekla Magoon

Little Ruby Bridges was a farm-to-city girl. As a preschooler, she played and helped pick and prepare the food the family grew. But her parents knew she was bright and needed to go to school, so they moved from the farm to New Orleans, and Ruby had a happy year in the Kindergarten class at Lockett Elementary School Kindergarten, which was all black children as the laws of Louisiana required.

But in 1954 the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that all public schools must be integrated.

That summer all black children were required to take a scholastic test:

The test was very hard, on purpose. The white people who designed the test to be so hard that none of the black children would pass.

But Ruby Bridges scored very high, one of only four black children who passed the test, and she was assigned to begin first grade at William Franz Elementary School. But although the school was only a short walk from her house, it had been an all-white school and parents and non-parents were very angry. On the first day, crowds of them surrounded the school, with weapons and signs demanding that the school not be integrated--ever. For her safety, Ruby had to be driven by Federal Marshalls to the school and escorted inside and all the way to her classroom--where she found herself the only student of her teacher, Mrs. Henry.

"I was going to integrate William Frantz Public School and I was going to be alone," she wrote later.

At that moment Ruby was not afraid. She was only sad that she could not be with her friends any more. At six years old she had no idea what a huge moment in history she was about to be part of.

Almost all adults and some children are familiar with the Norman Rockwell painting of little Ruby, in her little white dress, with white socks and shoes, and beribboned braids, surrounded by protective federal marshals as an angry crowd screamed and tossed ripe tomatoes at her. But Ruby Bridges bravely walked into a new world, inside to a now integrated William Frantz School. That painting, which now hangs outside the Oval Office in the White House, is an iconic symbol of the courage and determination of those brave souls who eventually overcame school segregation.

Coretta Scott King award-winning author Kekla Magoon tells the essence of the story of Ruby Bridges in language accessible for young readers in a short chapter book, describing how the six-year-old felt during that very unusual first-grade year--how Ruby sometimes hid her sandwich, hoping to get to go to the lunchroom with the other first graders and how Mrs. Henry stopped lunching with other teachers so that Ruby would not be lonely eating alone in their classroom.

Illustrated by Gillian Flint, She Persisted: Ruby Bridges (Philomel Books, 2021) is one of the books about persistent girls and women in the series She Persisted.

Beginning Black History Month with what the children know best, the schoolroom, this is a perfect read-aloud to begin February observances and activities. "A context-offering complement to Bridges’ own books for children." says Kirkus Reviews.

The Adventures of Zip, Bip, & Chip: See Zip Zap! by David Milgrim

Zip is a space alien of the greenish persuasion, with a magical antenna which he uses to zap assorted characters when it seems a good idea--and perhaps when it's not. He first zaps up a striped bug-like critter with two antennae.

Pleased with himself, Zip then zaps up four birdlike creatures. Perhaps to show off his versatility, he zaps up Chip, a canine-ish character whose job is to applaud Zip, and then a similarly egg-headed baby alien named Bip, who seems to be moved mostly to outrun the margins prepared for his persona. Zip follows toward page right to zap up four odd birds who are so exciting that they instantly put Bip the Baby down for a nap!

Bip naps on, despite the flippant and feisty fowls, provoking Bip to wake up and Zip to use his biggest ZAP on the Big Bodied Beastie with one nose horn that he zapped up.

UH, OH. TIME TO GO!

Zap snatches up Bip as the horned Beastie closes in, and the two fall off the cliff as the Beastie skids to a zippy stop.

WHOA!

As Zip and Bip fall toward the ground below, Zip zaps up a squadron of feisty fowls in a flying formation to catch the falling figures of Zip and Bip before they go SPLAT on the flatland below the cliff.

Zip claps and claps!

[THE END]

Author-illustrator David Milgrim's extra-easy beginning reader, See Zip Zap: Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip) concentrates on the beginning reader's venerated reading tricks--rhyming words, repetition, alliteration, and easy-to-sound out words to tickle the punny funnybone and build the beginner's self confidence in this super easy reader in his Adventures of Zip series.

For more reading starters, zip down to the library or bookstore for more Zip and Bip, in Milgrim's sequels, Poof! A Bot! Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip) and Come In, Zip!: Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip).

Would Wood? Would Could by Tiffany Stone

ONE FINE DAY, WOOD WAS SLEEPING LIKE A LOG.

Wood is a short log who pines for only one thing--a nice, long nap. And then along comes this girl with a toy rabbit to interrupt his sleep.

"LOOK, PRINCE FLUTTERBUTT! A UNICORN!"

"WHERE?" SAYS WOOD. COULD THAT GIRL MEAN HIM?

Wood was about to drift back into his nap, when the girl shouts again.

"PRINCE FLUTTERBUTT IS STUCK IN QUICKSAND!"

The girl is shouting something about a bridge. Wood COULD be a bridge, but. . . WOULD he? It was easier to drift back to sleep!

Then the girl starts calling for help for Prince Flutterbutt, who'd been snatched by an eagle and dropped in his nest, but by this time Wood is sleeping like a log again, snoring like a woodcutter sawing firewood. Would Wood help in the rescue?

Or. . ."woody knot?"

Wood awoke to roll over, deciding to help to root out the culprit.

MAYBE IT WAS TIME TO TURN OVER A NEW LEAF!

YES! WOOD WOULD!

Tiffany Stones' latest, Wood Could (Dial Books, 2021), will provide some fairly sophisticated wordplay for the picture book crowd, assisted by veteran comic illustrator Mike Lowery, who also did the jolly illustrations for Lynne Plourde's How to Talk Monster.

Wood turns out to be a good bloke, er "block" of wood, and logs a good deed, as well, in this punny funny story. Early reading should not be all work and no wordplay, and School Library Journal logs on to say, "A richly executed comedic piece, this hides tenderness in rough bark but is a real softie when it comes to charm. With funny wordplay and pacing to delight with every turn of the page, this one's a must."

A Friend In Deed: Dear Librarian by Lydia Sigwarth

MAY I TELL YOU A STORY? IT HAPPENED WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD.

MY MOM AND DAD AND FIVE BIG SISTERS AND ONE LITTLE BROTHER ALL HAD TO LEAVE COLORADO AND MOVE TO IOWA, WHERE GRANDMA LIVED.

Dad finds a job, but there was not enough room for all of them at anyone's house. At Grandma's house, there was a park but no friends. There was not enough room for all of them to stay at Aunt Lydia's house, already full of things that break, or in Aunt Lydia's cozy but tiny basement, three to a sofa and three to the bed.

NOWHERE WAS HOME FOR ME.

But one day Mom takes them to a new place.

THE LIBRARY.

There was a big sunny window with a puppet stage there and so many books. There were toys and cozy pillows for reading alone. But just up those stairs, there is a big round desk, which becomes her favorite place to be with a friend called the Librarian, someone who, with a hug, finds the perfect book about princesses and reads it to her in the special reading spot on the floor.

In these days a library with a librarian whose job is to find and read a special story for a lonely child can become a home big enough for everyone, in Lydia Sigwarth's gentle story of displaced people with a place and a space beautifully realized in the intimate artwork of Romina Galotta, for everyone, in her Dear Librarian (Farrar, Strous and Giroux, 2021).

Yes, there may be a perfect book for a particular child in a library, but there is also a warm welcoming public place for everyone, each with his or her own need for a sunny, friendly spot to be alone or together. Publishers Weekly says, "A gentle ode to the effect one person can have on another, and what a library can offer a community."

Runaway Roundup: Biscuit's Day at the Farm by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

How do a puppy and a piglet make friends?

"COME ALONG, BISCUIT! WE'RE GOING TO HELP ON THE FARM!"

"WOOF! WOOF!"

Biscuit is a natural herder, so when his girl discovers that the pigpen is empty, he's on the case right away.

Biscuit finds all the pigs and all the piglets are now in the pigpen with Mama Pig! Great! The farm helpers move along to their next chore--feeding the goats! But now....

"OH! THE PIGLET IS OUT OF THE PEN, BISCUIT!"

The piglet is at the goats" feeding trough, eating their food. This won't work! The girl picks up the piglet and carries him all the way back to the pigpen, and she calls Biscuit to come with her to the next chore.

"LET'S FEED THE SHEEP!"

Biscuit is on the job! But the runaway piglet is already in the sheep pen and on top of their hay! This is not right!

It's back to the pigpen with the piglet. Mission accomplished. But--Oh, now....!

"EVERY GOOSE IS ON THE LOOSE!"

It's a good thing our girl has a trusty herd dog along to help, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Biscuit's Day at the Farm (My First I Can Read) (Harper), as Biscuit helps with the last roundup of the day. Everyone is where they should be and eating their own food at last, and all is well down on the farm. but with both visiting helpers about ready for a nice nap back home!

Artist Pat Schories' soft pastel illustrations of little animals being themselves are humorous and beguiling in this action-filled trip to the farmyard, just right for preschool and emergent readers ready for a first field trip to the farm or for young ones just learning to recognize and name different farm animals.

With A Little Help from My Friends! Pete the Kitty, Ready, Set, Go Cart! by Kimberly and James Dean

PETE WANTS A GO-KART--THE FASTEST ONE!

Pete tries to line up parts for his go-kart. He finds a box, but when he sits down in it, he can't see over the sides. His friend Bob helps him find a seat that fits in the box. Now he sits just high enough.

"GREAT!" SAYS PETE.

But his kart is missing something important!"

"YOU NEED WHEELS!" SAYS CALLIE.

Callie finds an old wagon and she and Bob helps Pete put its wheels on his kart. Now it rolls, but not very fast!

Callie and Pete find a really high hill and Bob helps them push the go-kart up to the top. Is it ready for a test run?

No! First, Pete has to paint some cool racing designs on his go-kart.

Now it LOOKS fast, but he needs one more bit of help--A BIG PUSH from all his friends!

And down the hill Pete goes, (FAST!) in Kimberly and James Dean's Pete the Kitty: Ready, Set, Go-Cart! (Harper My First I Can Read) (Harper).

It seems that it takes a village, or at least some really good friends, to build a winning go-kart racer in this first beginner reader by that winning pair, James and Kimberly Dean, who get Pete going and over the finish line.

For young readers, this one has the right stuff- an idea, a plan, and lots of cooperation--to get their winning project over that goal.

It Takes All Kinds: "Happy Cats" by Catharina Amari and Anouka Han

Cats come in all kinds of colors, shapes, sizes, and personalities. There are happy cats, and then there are scrappy cats, shy cats, rarely-ever-seen cats.

THERE ARE SCARCELY-EVER-THERE CATS.

Cats in boxes, cats in trees... cats that are capricious, cats that like to please.

BLACK CATS, BROWN CATS, ALWAYS UPSIDE-DOWN CATS....

Fat cats, flat under a mat cats. . .

BARN CATS, WHEREVER-THERE-IS-YARN CATS!

Cats come in all kinds, just like their owners, but the best kind of cats are in Catharina Amari and Anouka Hans' Happy Cats (Abrams Appleseed, 2021).

Whatever you think of cats, you can't complain that they are all alike. In fact, in this quirky rhyming lexagon of cats, they are all unique cats, as created by artist Emi Lennox's in her charming illustrated catalog of curious kitties. Easy reading and comic comparisons of the world of cats, contained in a long series of clever combinations of adjectives and nouns, describe appealing felines shown in all their variety.

"Even the most resolute dog lover will be charmed by the many furry felines in this title for the very young. . . , " says School Library Journal.

Fight to Build a Better Bridge: Change Sings by Amanda Gorman

A little girl with an enormous guitar begins it all, playing and singing, as she walks along the sidewalk (with a wall mural of Martin Luther King as her backdrop), and as she marches along, other young musicians join the the band--a small boy in a yarmulka joins her in cleaning up broken bottles and cans before he picks up his huge Sousaphone and plays with her. The two bring food to a homeless mother and child and a lonely woman with her walker, and recruit a trumpet player along the way.

Seeing a small girl isolated high on her porch, the young musicians help build her a ramp so she can join them with her drum.

I DON'T MAKE A TALLER FENCE.

BUT FIGHT TO BUILD A BETTER BRIDGE.

A young trombonist is recruited as the little band helps storekeepers along the way as they pass, and a very small girl adds her tiny tambourine.

WE KNOW IT WON'T BE LONG.

WON'T YOU SING ALONG?

In Amanda Gorman's latest plea for social change, Change Sings: A Children's Anthem (Viking Books, 2021), the author says she "takes a knee to make a stand."

In beautiful illustrations by the award-winning artist Loren Long, the creator of the inspiring young steer in the much-loved stories about farm adventures, Otis, and sequels, and Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,

The New York Time's top-selling illustrator adds gloriously glowing illustrations to join author Amanda Gordon, America's National Youth Poet Laureate.

Says Kirkus in a starred review, "Text and poetry work together to regulate a careful reading of this beautiful work. One to keep, to read, and to reread.”

Biscuit Babysits Biscuit and the Little Pup by Alyssha Satin Capucilli

It's time for Biscuit to play outside. He chases his little ball as it is thrown toward his dog house. But, wait!

There's a puppy already in Biscuit's doghouse!

"BISCUIT WANTS TO PLAY!"

ARF! ARF! THE LITTLE PUP DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY!"

Biscuit runs around the dog house and the Little Pup comes out to chase him.

But outside, Little Pup discovers he can go in and out of windows of the doghouse. The two dogs start a game of Inside-Outside, and the boy and girl join the hide-and-seek game by sliding in and out through the doghouse windows, too! Now everyone is inside the doghouse!

And now EVERYONE wants to play together, with Alyssa Satin Capucilli's story of how Biscuit discovers that some times HE is the BIG DOG, as in Biscuit and the Little Pup (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read). Pat Schories' charming illustrations depict exactly how kids and dogs go about making friends. This one is perfect for the beginning reader with its charming drawings and plenty of prompts to the text. Playing is always more fun with TWO funny puppies.

Biscuit and the Little Pup (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read Books) when Biscuit gets to the the Big Dog!

What's for Lunch? Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! by Maggie P. Chang

GERALDINE LOVES HER FAMILY. . . AND GOING TO SCHOOL. . . WITH HER LUNCH BOX (NAMED BIANDANG). . .ARE FAVORITE THINGS

.

AND THE BEST PART OF GOING TO SCHOOL IS . . . LUNCH!

Geraldine loves the stickers on her lunch box and her grandmother Amah, who always makes her a special lunch--sometimes leftovers from dinner, and sometimes a surprise, with a special note.

But this day at lunch, with yellow curry inside Biandong, was a disaster. Everything was great until...

"SNIFF, SNIFF..."

NICO ARRIVED." EW!!!"

"YOUR LUNCH IS GROSS!!"

Everyone at the table begins to hold their noses and make rude sounds. Geraldine moves as far away from everyone as she can and closes her lunch box and locks it.

That night she eats everything on the table. She asks her grandmother to make her a sandwich for lunch the next day. Amah says they are out of bread, but she'll come up with something.

The next day Geraldine confidently opens her Biandang, expecting a plain sandwich. But it's a BAO--a yummy soft-steamed bun with filling.

"WHAT'S THAT?" ASKED NICO, MAKING A FACE. "IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A SANDWICH! EVEN YOUR SANDWICHES LOOK WEIRD!"

Again Geraldine closes her lunchbox and moves away from Nico and the rest of the kids who are making faces. She sits by a new boy named Deven at the far end of the table. And when she leaves her lunchbox on the bus, Deven calls out that she's forgetting her lunch box. But Nico yells out the window. . .

"THE SMELLY LUNCHBOX BELONGS TO GERALDINE POOO POOO!!"

The kids on the bus drive away, giggling. And when Geraldine gets home, she hurries to her bedroom and...

. . .

SLAMS THE DOOR!

Geraldine throws her lunchbox against the wall. She's instantly sorry and fixes Biandang with some glue. There's Stinky Tofu for dinner, of course. But Geraldine doesn't tell her Amah not to put it her lunchbox. What's the use, she thinks.

And at lunch the next day, she sits with Deven, and he offers her something called Stinky Toe from his lunchbox. It's a sweet and delicious fruit, and she shares her stinky tofu with Deven.

And Deven loves it!

The other kids are speechless, bit Geraldine can't wait to share lunches tomorrow, in author-illustrator Maggie P. Chang's new graphic beginning reader, Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too!: Ready-to-Read Graphics Level 3 (Simon Spotlights, 2021).

Mining those early grade comic horrors of the school lunchroom, Maggie Chang's tale has its happy ending, told delightfully in graphic novel style for early readers.

Author Chang offers novice readers a lesson on the format of graphic novel-reading, along with vocabulary such as speech balloons (for words spoken) and speech bubbles (for unvoiced thoughts), panels, and how to read the panels left to right on the page. Chang also appends a glossary of foods mentioned in the story for young readers, while grownups with more sophisticated palates reading this one aloud may find themselves longing for an actual warm, steamy bao pronto!

School Library Journal says, "Early readers will sink their teeth into this refreshing story."

ROY G. BIV GOES MISSING! Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn's Missing Colors by Kimberly and James Dean

At the park Pete spots his buddy, Stevie the unicorn, looking sad.

"THE MAGIC UNICORN DANCE IS TONIGHT," SAYS STEVIE.

"I LOST THE COLORS IN MY TAIL PLAYING IN THE PARK."

"I'LL NEVER FIND MY COLORS BEFORE THE DANCE CONTEST!"

Pete wants to help restore Stevie's rainbow tail colors with his Magic Brush, but he needs to know what colors to look for.

"RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET" SAYS STEVIE.

That's easy-peasy for Pete the Kitty. With his Magic Paint Brush, he gathers red from berries, orange from flowers, yellow from a butterfly, green from grass, indigo blue from the lake, and violet from the clouds, and zaps them into each plume of Stevie's tail.

With his rainbow tail restored to its spectacular spectrum, Stevie and Pete are ready to party down at the dance contest.

The scientifically esteemed ROY G. BIV rides again as the mnemonic device for remembering the colors of the rainbow, as Stevie the Unicorn wins the dance contest, and Pete the Kitty is proud to help his friend make a hit at the dance, in Kimberly and James Dean's rainbow rescue first reader, Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn's Missing Colors (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read Books). This one by the prolific couple of Kim and James Dean is a great beginning reader for fans of little Pete and a rhythmic review of the colors for the preschool and primary crowd.

Find more Pete the Kitty early readers here:

OOO-LA LA LA!

Nancy Clancy and her best friend Bree can't wait for the up-coming Bubbles Party, celebrating their science unit on the wonderful things they've learned about bubbles!

But then Nancy gets horrendous news (fancy for really bad!) from Bree: she is sick and won't be back to school until Friday. Nancy is sad that her friend will miss performing in the spendiferous bubble show in the school auditorium! Her class will be demonstrating everything they can do with bubbles. It's too bad that Bree will miss all the fun!

But while Nancy is telling her family all about the Bubble Show, she gets an idea.

"SUDDENLY AN IDEA GOES POP IN MY HEAD!"

Nancy and her class rehearse their own Bubble Party play just for Bree when she gets well and returns to class!

And the kids perform a Bubble Ballet Party to entertain Bree and help her catch up with all the splendid things to know about bubbles. Bree even asks the kids to perform the whole show again so that she can blow the biggest bubble yet!

Fancy Nancy and Friends are always happy for a chance to dress up and perform, as in Jane O'Connor's Fancy Nancy: Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles! (Harper I Can Read Level 1), combining consideration for a member of the class and showing off their knowledge of the scientific properties of bubbles. With the familiar comic illustrations of artist Robin Preiss Glaser, this one is as light as a feather (er, bubble).

Turnip Cake, Anyone? A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas

Pig and Mouse have volunteered to make the birthday cake!

"THE BEST EVER!"

Pig and Mouse assemble their utensils: measuring cups, a big bowl, whisks and spoons, and a big baking pan. Pig and Mouse assemble their ingredients: eggs, milk, flour and sugar. But Duck has one more.

"AND A TURNIP?"

Mouse nixes the turnip. Now they have to mix the ingredients with ...

A TURNIP?

NO. A SPOON! Mouse says.

The bakers are ready to put the pan of cake batter into the oven.

"CAN A TURNIP GO IN, TOO?" DUCK INQUIRES.

Yikes, No way, Duck! But when the fragrant cake is done, they have to put something on top of it.

"NO TURNIPS, DUCK!"

Mouse suggests birthday candles! And just in time, the birthday cake is ready. And here comes Cow, right on cue!

"IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?" SAYS COW.

And, Yes, dear reader, COW means ....

The turnip, just for him!

It's different strokes for different critters, in Jan Thomas' early readers' hilarious noodle tale, A Birthday for Cow! (The Giggle Gang)(The Giggle Gang) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), in which Cow gets his heart's delight, and Mouse and Pig get to eat their own cake all by themselves. Everyone gets what they want. It's a simple story of the best birthday party EVER! With its thick blackline drawings and multicolored pastel pages, this clever noodle tale offers plenty of visual clues and repetition of key words to help beginning readers tackle reading this story all by themselves.

And now... is there leftover cake for successful readers?

Pair this classic with Jan Thomas' other delightfully silly beginner reader books, such as What Is Chasing Duck? (The Giggle Gang) and What Will Fat Cat Sit On? (The Giggle Gang)