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!

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).

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.

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)

What Makes A Family: A House by Kevin Henkes

It all begins with...

A HOUSE.

This one seems simple--but geometically it is more complex than it seems. It's square, with an rectangle for a door and chimney, a circular window and doorknob, and a trapezoidical roof with with overlapping oval tiles. Its door and chimney are a dusty blue, its round window is a pale blue, and the grass is green. There are parallel lines vertically in its shape AND horizontally in its siding and roof.

It's more complex than we might think.

And Kevin Henkes' latest book for the youngest, is not exactly simplistic. It begins as a "concept" book, helping preschoolers practice their shapes and colors, and the celebrated author-illustrator moves seamlessly on to counting. But when an iconic sun and birds appear, concepts of time appear in "morning" and while two birds rest of the roof, young readers are asked to count the number of birds in flight. A similar page for the house at night identifies and counts the moon and stars.

HOW MANY STARS ARE THERE?

The House in rain is pictured with countable clouds and puddles, stressing comparison words like "biggest" and "smallest." The House in snow is next with new snowflakes appearing among raindrops until the house is heavy with snowfall.

The scene is set when Director Henkes calls ACTION!, and a family of five old fashioned Playskool-like people appears with dog and cat following behind.

COMING... HOME.

It takes something really special to make the HOUSE a HOME in Caldecott and Newbery Award-winning author-illustrator, Kevin Henkes' latest, A House (Greenwillow Books, 2021, as Henkes melds the concrete shapes and numbers of the preschool curriculum with the feelings that bring a house alive to be a family home, with flowers up front, a dog in the yard, familiar faces at the window. and yes, a cat on the roof.

Simple but endearing in the way of beloved author-illustrator, Tomie de Paola, this book should become a classic for preschoolers, and a lovely beginning reader for the lower grades.

Booklist remarks that this one does double duty, as it... "invites readers to actively participate in the story, presenting questions about colors and shapes, which quickly become more complex considerations about the locations of objects, visual action elements, time of day, and size comparisons. . . . What started as a fun, interactive visual exercise ends up with a gentle message about family and what truly makes a house a home.”

Downtown! Biscuit Visits the City by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit has mastered the backyard, but there are still new worlds to conquer!

"HERE WE ARE, BISCUIT, IN THE BIG CITY. . . TO VISIT OUR FRIEND, JACK!"

Biscuit is amazed by the busy big city--cars and buses and tall buildings and all sorts of people, some walking all kinds of dogs--and PIGEONS everywhere, pecking at the sidewalks, and flying up to ledges on the tall buildings and looking down at him. Biscuit wants to say hello to everyone. And there, ahead of him, is a big fountain, with some of the pigeons taking a bath in the sprinkles.

Biscuit pulls hard and his girl drops the leash, which trails behind him as he dashes toward the fountain and makes the pigeons fly up in a whirr of wings.

"OH, NO, BISCUIT! COME BACK!"

But the excited puppy stops suddenly when a quick-thinking hot dog vendor distracts him with a delicious-smelling hot dog. It's their friend, Jack, and Biscuit stops just long enough for the girl to grab his leash.

"SILLY PUPPY!"

All's well that ends with Biscuit chowing down on the hot dog, leaving most of the bun behind for the pigeons to share, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Biscuit Visits the Big City (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read Books). Author Capuchilli introduces the city to both Biscuit and the young beginning readers who get to share a bit of urban life with him. Artist Pat Schories' adorable illustrations of Biscuit and his young mistress are as endearing and appealing as usual, and do an excellent job of extending the text with visual cues to Capucilli's controlled vocabulary for early readers.

The sky's the limit. You can wield a hammer as a MAKER, or stir up something delish as a BAKER!

WHAT WILL YOU BE?

You can dress up fancy--be awesome at fashion. Or you can play your trumpet with great passion.

You can find your place in a great big city, or out in the country where it's green and pretty.

You can dance in a show, or coax awesome flowers to grow.

KNOWING WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, OR CHOOSING ALONG THE WAY!

You can be an intrepid trowel-wielding archaeologist and and make an awesome FIND. Or you could decide what to wear, finally making up your MIND.

You can put out many a fire, or choose to inspire. You can fly high in the sky, or dive deep under the sea. There are so many ways...

TO BE AWESOME TO ME!

Although parents may come to groan at the repetition of that word which has come to be the universal kid superlative, the truth is that the choice of occupations and other endeavors for today's tykes is, well, AWESOME.

No more mere "tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor...." The list of choices of occupations and avocations and just ways to be waiting for today's preschoolers is almost unlimited, as shown in author Jess Hitchman's and illustrator Vivienne To's recently published All Kinds of Awesome.

Author Jess Hitchman finds just the right rhymes, and illustrator Vivienne To's exuberant youngsters of all sorts having the times of their lives are inspiring to preschoolers and early graders. Writes School Library Journal, "...Pictures and sound of the words will be pure fun for preschoolers while older readers will appreciate the message that there are enough kinds of awesome to include them and their passions."

Circling the Globe! Kids Around the World by Dona Herweck Rice

Kids all around the world... are a lot like you!

Charlie in Nunavet, Canada, goes to school by snowmobile. Rosa in Bolivia helps her family take care of their goats in a land of tall, tall mountains.

JoJo in Tanzania lives on a family farm, where his family raises two crops: corn, which he likes, and coffee, which he does NOT!

Li in China lives on a farm, too, a rice farm. He is proud that his country invented paper and uses it at school every day!

Ava in Afghanistan is proud of her father, who is a teacher, her brand new school for girls, and her pretty mountains.

Little Marta in Germany lives in a town with a real castle, and her parents help build cars that people like to drive everywhere.

And kids in the United States get to go to school with kids from all over the world, in Dona Herweck Rice's Teacher Created Materials - TIME For Kids Informational Text: Kids Around the World - Grade 1 - Guided Reading Level I, which shows children in their own homes where they live in families in many different places on the planet and go to school in different ways. Double-page spreads with color photos show young children with their homes, animals, houses, and landscapes, with brief text just right for emergent readers. Easy vocabulary and very different scenes give this beginning reader book high interest along with its primary text.

A Friend Indeed! The Blushful Hippopotamus by Chris Raschka

I am the blushful hippopotamus. Or so my sister calls me now.

Roosevelt blushes when he is embarrassed.

Making mistakes is embarrassing, like dropping the ice cream off his cone, or falling off his bike, or forgetting the number four right in front of his feathery friend, Lombard.

And his big sister never misses a chance to point out his blushes.

"Roosevelt (yes, that's my name), are you blushing again, Baby Brother?"

His sister's taunts make Roosevelt feel smaller and smaller.

And his mistakes make his blushes get even more obvious.

"Darn that sister!"

But his friend, Lombard is one unflappable bird! For every criticism, Lombard finds a new way to praise Roosevelt for his positive qualities.

"A wonderful hippo are you, are you, are you!"

And with every heartfelt praise from his friend, Roosevelt's supercilious sister seems to shrink, in Caldecott author-illustrator Chris Raschka's classic story of self-esteem, The Blushful Hippopotamus (Open Read Media). Belittling older siblings are, unfortunately, not rare, and youngsters will enjoy Lombard's style of putting Big Sister in proper perspective (literally and figuratively) purely with positive remarks. Says School Library Journal, "Size and space also tell a story. On the first page Roosevelt's sister overwhelms the background and bursts off the left-hand page; as Roosevelt gains confidence, the roles of the two siblings are reversed and so are the color scheme and size of the characters.This warm finale should satisfy young children without preaching."

True Tales of Two Pals: Big Dog and Little Dog: Tales of Adventure by Dav Pilkey

On their adventure walk Big Dog and Little Dog see something a little strange.

Big Dog thinks it is a kitty.

Ssssss. But it does not smell like a kitty.

Big Dog and Little Dog like adventures. But they absolutely do not like smelling like that kitty smells.

Bad.

Some adventures make for bad smells.

But there's always another day for Big Dog and Little Dog, who know how to make the best of each day--and night.

One night Big Dog and Little Dog go happily to their own beds, one big and one little. But then they both get lonely. Does Little Dog move to Big Dog's big bed? No. They both sleep on Little Dog's little bed. It's little, but it's not lonely.

Big Dog and little Dog like to make the most of fun on days with muddy puddles... and then they shake and shake and share the fun and mud with their owner! And one day they have to play inside. There are no smelly kitties and no muddy puddles, so they play with the sofa. They play tug of war with the cushions. But what is this white stuff coming out of the cushions? This adventure has not gone well.

Sorry.

In the five funny doggy tales in Dav Pilkey's Big Dog and Little Dog Tales of Adventure (Green Light Readers Level 1) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019), there are two dog buddies who share their good and bad days in this easy reader for emerging readers. Author Pilkey's black-outlined colorful characters keep the stories fun, and Pilkey also adds some games and puzzles about each story to reinforce the vocabulary and pages that practice the sequencing skills presented in each Level 1 story. Dick and Jane never had so much fun as Big Dog and Little Dog do!

Pilkey is of course the much celebrated author of doggone good giggle-bait classics such as Dogzilla, Kat Kong, The Hallo-Wiener and the best-selling Captain Underpants: 10 Book Set and its many sequels and spinoffs. Dav Pilkey even claims his own authorial cred, earning an actual Caldecott Honor medal for his book The Paperboy.

Quacker Tracker: What Is Chasing Duck? by Jan Thomas

Duck is clearly freaking out.

QUACK!

Sheep is spooked.  What could turn Duck's waddle into a mad dash? Could it be something ...

... WILD AND HAIRY?

Her imagination summons up a something with big claws.

Sheep stampedes!

Both of them scamper, page right, almost colliding with Donkey, who asks the logical question...

WHAT?

Donkey is disturbed. What could be frightful enough to get Duck's feathers and Sheep's fleece all aflutter?

Something with terrible teeth? Donkey conjures up a mental image of a gaping mouth with sharp incisors! Egad!

Donkey dashes, page right, with Sheep and Duck leading the way.

But then they run right into Bear, who refuses to flee what he cannot see. Buck up, he counsels!

FACE YOUR FEARS!

But big, burly Bear does not offer to defend Duck and Sheep. He suggests Donkey do that. Suddenly, Duck sounds the alarm with a extra loud QUACK. He points at his pursuer!

Squirrel? SQUIRREL? SQUIRREL?

The three friends relax. Then they look at their alarmist friend, Duck, who is feeling rather foolish. After all, what's more harmless than a squirrel bearing an acorn... and... a turnip? What's with the turnip? Read on, kids....!

It's all been much ado about nothing. In this clever re-run of the Chicken Little trope, Jan Thomas's What Is Chasing Duck? (The Giggle Gang) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), the author has a rib-tickling conclusion in which she turns the tables on the supercilious squirrel when it's his turn to scarper from a mystery pursuer. Thomas's fearful friends are drawn in charmingly simple cartoon style, with blackline drawings set against a series of double-page spreads in strong colors, paced with crafty page turns to heighten the suspense. This silly "noodle" tale with its ditzy critters makes for a fun and easy outing for emergent readers with a lighthearted premise of first facing fears before taking flight.

Other books in the Giggle Gang series include There's a Pest in the Garden! (The Giggle Gang),My Toothbrush Is Missing! (The Giggle Gang), and My Friends Make Me Happy! (The Giggle Gang).

Egg-stra! Egg-stra!: EGG by Kevin Henkes

Four eggs.

Pink, blue, yellow.... and green.

Three eggs begin to crack--first on one side, and then on the other. The pink one is the first to shatter.

surprise!

The next three cracked eggs take their time, but one by one, a yellow bird follows, and then the blue egg hatches, wearing a chip of shell for a cap. Then each tries their wings and flies away.

goodbye!

The green egg remains. Clearly, this egg is not all it's cracked up to be.

The three little birds return to wait, and wait, and wait, watching over their late mate. They take a listen for activity inside. At last they go proactive. They peck and peck and peck with increasing power.

Cracks appear. and then...

surprise!

Climbing out of the green shell is a little alligator. The three birds react. Yipes! Fly away! Fly away!

The little reptilian is left all by himself--all on his lonesome and feeling bad.

But the three birds are as curious as they are afraid. They fly back to check out the new guy. The strange hatchling seems harmless, so....

One by one, they venture closer, and one by one they land on his bumpy green back. He heads for the pond, and they hang on, going for a gator-ride on the quiet waters, seemingly becoming friends as the sinking sun morphs into an egg-shaped ovoid and slides low over the landscape.

Is this where the story ends? Or is there more to tell--perhaps from the reader?

Two things are true of Kevin Henkes' recent picture books: they are lovely to look at and they leave the reader wondering...., and as in his latest, Egg (Greenwillow Books, 2017), wondering what egg-zactly what happened here?

His pastel-paletted text and characters tell a sweet story of unlikely friendship, but most of Henkes' illustrations are placed within grids with four and then sixteen cells, as the Newbery and Caldecott-award winning author-illustrator keeps coming up with a different form of graphic narration. This one is no exception. Is he playing with the graphic contrast of curves and gridded squares? Is he pushing a premise that friendship can't be contained? Or both?

As in his Waiting and When Spring Comes, (see reviews here and here), Kevin Henkes captures attention with irresistible images and builds tension while making the reader tell the story in his or her own way. Here, Henkes' pages are innately lovely to look at, with images framed within a curved brown-ish frame, and arranged in almost wordless storytelling that is at a far remove from the classic spring-cum-Easter tale, one that leaves youngsters asking "what?" and "what if?" "Another stunner from Henkes, who is able to evoke so much with few words and such seemingly simple illustrations," says Kirkus. in a starred review. "Gorgeous and thought-provoking."

That's Mime! Being a Friend by Salina Yoon

Dennis was a ordinary boy

Who expressed himself in extraordinary ways.

You see, Dennis's means of communicating is mimicry.

That's right! He's a mime!

Other kids call a tree a tree. Dennis mimes a tree. Other kids bring something to show and tell ALL ABOUT IT! Dennis mimes a process, morphing from egg to chrysalis to caterpillar to butterfly.

Dennis has a striped French pullover, a top hat, slippers, and white gloves--the classic costume of the mime--and comes to school ready for a one-man show.

But being on the other side of the mime's invisible wall is lonely.

One day Dennis kicked a imaginary ball...

And someone caught it. Her name was Joy.

Joy mimes right back, opening a door in that invisible wall, and suddenly Dennis is not alone. He doesn't have to say a word.

Because friends don't have to.

Friends speak the same language, in Salina Yoon's latest, Be a Friend (Bloomsbury Press, 2016). Done up in thin blackline and spare palette, Yoon takes a light look at that special something that makes friendship happen between two people, in carefully chosen text in which her charming characters tell most of the story visually. The youngest children may need a little lesson in what pantomime and mime are before they get what Yoon is trying to show with her dotted outlines, but slightly older beginning readers will enjoy reading this one on their own.

For another example of Yoon's gentle, understated storytelling, see more of Salina Yoon's work here.)

Spinning a Yarn! Edmund Unwinds by Andrew Kolb

EDWARD WAS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ADVENTURE.

FROM THE TIME HE COULD ROLL, EDMUND LOVED TO BOUNCE DOWN THE THREE STAIRS TO EXPLORE.

Little Edmund is always on a roll. No, he's not a big, black bowling ball! He is, in fact, a roly-poly little ball of yarn always on the move. Unfortunately, Edmund Loom is unmindful that as he rolls along toward adventure, he's leaving a trail, a little bit of himself, behind him.

At first Edmund manages to hold himself together well, always winding up back where he started, but as he gets bigger and braver, he ventures further away from his home basket. He wends his way, meeting all sorts of curious characters, exploring the world beyond his doorstep and loving every rotation. Even having three playful kittens batting him this way and that does not dampen his enthusiasm for novelty.

The good part of being a ball of yarn is that Edmund's adventurous travels leave a clear trail behind wherever he goes. Edmund's family, however, grows concerned, as the littlest Loom leaves more and more of himself behind as he wanders. After all, what if Edmund completely unravels? Will he still be himself? Can he be re-wound?

Andrew Korb's imaginative fantasy Edmund Unravels (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015) knits together a warm and fuzzy look at the evergreen plot of the little runaway, and as in all such stories, when Edmund finds himself near the end of his, er, yarn, he realizes that it gets lonely out there when he's hanging on to his identity by a thread. Lighthearted illustrations by the author keep the existential angst to a minimum, with his yarn  yarn merrily rolls along. As School Library Journal puts it punningly, "Tightly woven with wordplay, this is a whimsical story of family ties.”

Windows on Halloween: Slide and Find: Spooky

LOOK AT THE SHADOWS IN THE WINDOWS.

WHO LIVES IN THIS SPOOKY HOUSE?

In this "toy and movable book, the youngest readers find a suitably frightful haunted house with windows, each of which shows one of the usual spooky suspects during the Halloween season.

And there's a bit of tactile fun here. Each of these windows slides open, like a movable sash, revealing the scary resident or item inside, along with the printed word--a cat, a potion, a witch's broom and brew, and her pet, or familiar, a frog, all on the first page.

Gary the Ghost gets his own wall next, with his party guests in view, each through their own windows--Molly Mummy, Sophie Skeleton, and Barry Bat, to be exact.

If creepy counting is the choice, there are holiday icons galore in store right at the readers' fingertips--pumpkins, owls, bats, and spiders in different numbers,

Emergent readers will get a light workout in Roger Priddy's Slide and Find Spooky (Slide and Find Book) (St. Martin's Press/Priddy Books, 2014), along with the fun of opening and closing the four windows on each side of the spooky old mansion in this open-and-shut case of Halloween symbols. As an introduction for baby spooks or some practice for older ghosts and goblins learning to read, this one is right for the scary season.

Sleep-In: Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Monica Carnesi

Bea and Bear met in the spring.

Checking on her seedling carrots, Beatrice Bunny is perturbed to find a large-bottomed bear sitting in the middle of her garden. Getting Bear off her crop requires that Bea be a bit pushy, but soon their friendship gets off the ground, and Bea and Bear become buddies.

During the rest of spring, all of summer, and the early fall, Beatrice and Bear are always together. But then...

... one day Beatrice couldn't find Bear.

"Bear is gone to hibernate," explained the squirrel.

Where is that? Bea wonders, consulting her map. So the squirrel patiently explains that bears sleep in the winter.

"Like a sleepover?" Beatrice bubbles.

Beatrice Bunny packs her overnight bag, heads off to join Bear in his den, and announces her intentions.

"Bunnies are great hibernators!"

All goes well through the hibernation preparation process, with Bea reading stories and serving up cups of warm milk. Bear loves the hibernation party so far. Sleepily, he settles down for a long winter's nap.

"Honey dreams, Beatrice!"

Bear snores on, but Beatrice can't seem to handle the actual hibernating part of the party. She snuggles under her carrot blanket, tries a sleep mask, re-reads all her bedtime stories, and wills herself to fall asleep. But Beatrice has got nothing! Maybe bunnies just aren't cut out to be hibernators after all.

Is winter without her buddy Bear a bust?

Bear is going to miss out on all the winter fun--sledding, skating, building snow bunnies and snow bears, tasting snowflakes and making snow angels. Beatrice Bunny is bummed.

Or not. If Beatrice can't share hibernation with Bear, maybe she can share her winter fun with him. Bea puts her energy and arts and crafts skills to work to make a scrapbook, and when Bear finally emerges in early spring, she has a wake-up gift--a book of her own Winter Delights--waiting for him to share, in Monica Carnesi's brand-new Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014). It's a virtually vicarious seasonal experience, between the covers instead of under them, the next best thing to being there for Bear.

Carnesi's apt cartoon art, done in engaging black-line drawings with watercolor wash, establish the personalities of the three characters instantly. Plenty of visual humor and speech bubbles show off the strong bond between these somewhat mismatched buddies, with the easy-going theme that friendship can always find a way to keep in touch despite differences. Like that other odd couple, Bear and Mouse in Bonnie Becker's delightful best-selling series, begun with A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), Beatrice and Bear are the sort of picture book friends that deserve another outing together. "Sure to be a hit in every library!" says School Library Journal in its starred review.

To Each His Own: Boom Snot Twitty by Doreen Cronin.

BOOM, SNOT, AND TWITTY RELAX BY THE TREE AND WAIT FOR THE DAY TO BEGIN.

"LET'S GO SOMEWHERE!" SAID BOOM.

Boom is an ebullient bear cub clearly born to move. His unlikely buddies--Snot, a thoughtful snail, and Twitty, a robin devoted to her nest and knitty things--are not so keen.

"LET'S STAY HERE," SAID TWITTY.

"LET'S WAIT," SAID SNOT.

Twitty continues crocheting away with her pink yarn, and Snot leans back on her shell and reads her book. Boom, bored with books, climbs the tree, but he's bored with the treetop view, too. Twitty temporarily tangles her yarn.  Snot sits.  Boom sighs.

But fate steps in to disturb the serene scene, as the wind suddenly rises and the tree writhes in the tempest. Boom shouts for them to jump!  Twitty advises hanging on tight. Snot observes the obvious.

"WIND!"

Suddenly the quiet scene is turned upside down.  Twitty's yarn balls blow from her basket nest and roll away, pushed by the wind.  Snot sticks to a large leaf and is carried away on the wind, right into the middle of the pond, where she calmly poles her leaf boat toward the bank. Boom finally gets his wish to go somewhere as he is blown along by the wind and rain.

"YUCK!"

But all's well that ends warmly, as the clouds roll by, the sun returns, and the three friends are soon reunited. Twitty fashions a clothesline from her yarn and hangs the book over the line to dry, and when Snot asks what they should do next, Boom's thrill-seeking seems temporarily satisfied, as he says,

"SIT STILL."

Best known for her busy, scheming barnyard critters in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, award-winning author Doreen Cronin takes a different tack in her latest, Boom Snot Twitty (Viking Press, 2014), a story of three atypical friends, whose lackadaisical response to a storm is mostly soothing and stoical.  Her wittily spare text gains greatly from the artistic skills of illustrator Renata Liwska, whose soft, fuzzy understated characters and rich details tell the between-the-lines story that Cronin intends. Boom's paper airplane pointed page right foreshadows the wind to follow, and Liwska slyly depicts Twitty's needlecraft first as a homey tree cozy, then as a neck warmer for the soaked and shivering Boom, and finally as a line upon which to hang Snot's book.  Liwska, noted for her trademark subtle pencil and digital artwork in Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book and sequels (see reviews here) carries out the picture book illustrator's mission, to extend the story, perfectly with Cronin's odd trio. Cronin and Liwska are as unlikely a pair as the three friends in this book, but a pair with a quiet communication that says it all.

Everyone's Irish! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Curious George by Cynthia Platt

TOP O' THE MORNING, GEORGE!
IT'S TIME TO ROMP AND PLAY
WITH A PARTY, DANCING, AND PARADE
EVERYONE'S IRISH TODAY!

LITTLE MONKEY TOP HAT,
FANCY GREEN PLAID VEST.
GEORGE PICKS OUT HIS FINEST
SO THAT HE'LL LOOK HIS BEST.

It's the day for the "wearin' o' the green," and George is all decked out properly for St. Paddy's Day. But--look! The Man with the Yellow Hat is wearing his usual all-yellow outfit! What a party pooper. And not even green eggs and ham for breakfast!

Oh, well.  George heads out to the park for the festivities.  He joins some kids at the craft table and cuts out some shamrocks.  Then he moves on to the hunt for the leprechaun's golden coins--the chocolate kind. George bags a bagful and then catches the strain of some lively fiddle and pipes playing.  Some girls in fancy green dresses and bouncy curls are dancing, and George can't resist trying Irish dancing!

GEORGE JUMPS IN
WITH A GRIN.
MONKEY TOES
A-TAPPING.

George spots something special as he taps in the green grass--a four-leafed clover.  It must be the luck of the Irish, for sure.

Then George smells something good and moves on to a table piled high with Irish dishes and bright green punch.  George reaches up and up and oops! The punch bowl totters, tips, and falls--kersplash, just as the the Man with the Yellow Hat comes up to join George.

OH, NO! OH, MY! WHAT HAS HE DONE?
GEORGE JUMPS UP TO CLEAN.
HE SMILES AT HIS GOOD FRIEND AND SEES
AT LAST HE'S WEARING GREEN!

Begorra! With his total outfit splashed with emerald-hued punch, the Man With the Yellow Hat is now wearing green just in time to join the St. Patrick's Day Parade with George, in Happy St. Patrick's Day, Curious George tabbed board book (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). In this latest holiday adventure, George takes preschoolers along on a tour of St. Patrick's Day-themed fun. With jolly quatrains by Cynthia Platt and plenty of green in the illustrations by Mary O'Keefe Young, H.A. Rey's classic character shows youngsters how to celebrate all the Irish-themed festivities (conveniently tabbed) of St. Patrick's Day.

For a truly green storytime, pair this one with Natasha Wing's The Night Before St. Patrick's Day (see my review here).

Knock Three Times! Knock! Knock! Knock! Who's There? by Philippe Goossens

"WHO'S THERE?"

What does a guy have to do to get some sleep around here? After all, what else should a bear be doing on a cold winter night?

But the well-tucked in Bear can't even begin to hibernate, not with all these interlopers at the door.

The first one cries BOOOOOOOO and begs to be let in out of the cold, but Bear knows the door banger has to be a ghost and keeps his portal closed.

But that doesn't end the interruptions to his shuteye. An even louder banging is followed by a growly voice, declaring he's HUNGRY, demanding food service. Bear figures that this must be an ogre, and makes a bee line back to his comforting bed.

The next knocking announces a ravening wolf--requiring feeding fast!

Bear is having none of that, but before he can bond with his blue quilt once more, another bunch of knocks announces a cackling voice threatening a spell to turn him into a slimy slug! UGH! Bear says "NO WAY!" to witches! But there's no rest for the weary as another trio of knocks wrecks his rest.

"GO AWAY! I DON'T OPEN DOORS TO STRANGERS!" Bear roars.

"I'M NOT A STRANGER! IT'S ME, ARCHIBALD!"

Bear recognizes his unimposing friend Archie and with relief invites him in.... followed by trick-or-treating party goers costumed as (you guessed it!) a ghost, an ogre, a werewolf, and a witch.  Bear finds that he can put off hibernation for a festive Halloween celebration , and it's ... party time!

But there is a not-very-surprising surprise ending and a costumed Halloween party in store in Philippe Goosens' Knock! Knock! Knock! Who's There? (North South, 2013), a comfortingly conventional setting for the classic danger-at-the-door story, an non-threatening introduction to those scary stories of ghosts, witches, and beasties that go bump in the night that are the stuff of the standard Halloween tale. For tots who like their nighttime tales cozy but with a hint of the spooky-scary, this story is a nicely illustrated starting spot.

Back Off, Bully Boy! Llama Llama and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney

LLAMA LLAMA
LIKES TO SING.
GILROY LAUGHS
AT EVERYTHING.

LLAMA SINGS OUT
JUST THE SAME.
GILROY SAYS
A NOT-NICE NAME.

Llama Llama had his problems getting used to school, but now he likes everything about it--counting and painting, writing and making things, and especially circle time music with songs and clapping to the beat. Llama is in the school groove and everything is going just fine for him and his friend Nelly Gnu until Gilroy Goat joins the group.

In no uncertain terms Teacher tells Gilroy that name-calling is NOT allowed, and he backs off, but when recess rolls around and Llama and Nelly are busy in the sandbox making roads for  Fuzzy Llama and Gnu Doll, Gilroy horns in again, this time jeering at their toys and kicking up a sandstorm with his hooves.

GILROY THROWS
SOME SAND ON NELLY.
"HA HA! GNUS ARE
REALLY SMELLY."

This time Teacher is not at hand, but Llama knows how to handle a bully goat. He advances on Gilroy, looks him in the eye, and tells him to butt out. Then he and Nelly leave the bully standing in the sand all alone. Now who's the goat?

BEING BULLIED
IS NO FUN!
WALK AWAY...
AND TELL SOMEONE.

Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama has had his moments of misbehavior, but in her latest, Llama Llama and the Bully Goat (Viking, 2013), he steps up and makes Gilroy Goat pull in his horns. Dewdney's Llama Stories series combines engaging rhymes and evocative artwork in which body language and facial features help preschoolers interpret situations and see their own behavior as others see it, with adult figures who calmly moderate all that llama drama, leaving her characters to work out better ways to deal with their feelings.

As Kirkus Reviews puts it, "Her textured oil, colored-pencil and oil-pastel illustrations shine when portraying the animals' faces--joy, discomfort, surprise, anger, stubbornness, disappointment are all crystal-clear on them." This skill is a rare gift that has been displayed throughout Dewdney's series, beginning back in 2005 with her best-selling battle-of-bedtime story, Llama Llama Red Pajama. Other not-to-be-missed sequels are Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama Misses Mama, Llama Llama Home with Mama, Llama Llama Time to Share, and that classic of the pre-Big Day meltdown, Llama Llama Holiday Drama.