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."