Dress Up Time! Brownie and Pearl Get Dolled Up by Cynthia Rylant

It's not quite bedtime and Brownie and Pearl get an idea!

Let's play dress up! Brownie looks around her room for inspiration.

"WHAT SHALL WE WEAR?"

Her dresser drawers are open, with an intriguing pink feather boa trailing out. I'll have that! Brownie thinks, tossing it fetchingly over her shoulders. Pearl picks a pearl necklace for herself, and plays with the trailing ends of the boa.

"THIS IS FUN!"

But Brownie is not done! Should she try a little face powder? Or perhaps a lot?

And how about a powdery Pearl? Why not!

And then there's lipstick! What are the possibilities? Brownie ponders the wisdom of trying to put lipstick on Pearl. She settles on her own lips only

"GLITTER?"

Of course! Brownie has a glitter shower. Her kitty gets the glittery treatment, too!

Now for the BIG QUESTION: HAIR! Brownie brushes her locks until they shine.

But Brownie is not done. She grabs the atomizer and gives herself and Pearl a big spritz of arome de rose. In a cloud of parfum and her mother's shoes, Brownie and Pearl are ... ready for THE BIG REVEAL!

Her room is a mess, but her patient parents declare the dress-up spree a big success, in Cynthia Rylant's Brownie and Pearl Get Dolled Up (Beach Lane Books/Simon Spotlight).  Mom and Dad celebrate their dolled-up daughter and cat and ease them into bedtime in this delightful dress-up time story. Artist Brian Biggs adds all the droll details with his charmant illustrations that extend the text with touches of plentiful pink in this easy-reading story of jolly, girly fun.

DOWNTOWN! Brownie and Pearl See the Sights by Cynthia Rylant

Sometimes you've just got to be out and about!

Brownie must have her handbag. Pearl has to find her toy mouse. Brownie has her scarf and snow boots. At last Pearl has her toboggan cap and scarf and her blue mouse in her mouth. They head downtown.

BROWNIE AND PEARL ARE OFF TO SEE THE SIGHTS.

They make the hat shop their first stop. Brownie tries on a floppy hat with great big flowers on the brim. Pearl picks a brown derby with a jaunty feather in the hat band. They giggle.

Then the two move on the the shoe shop. Brownie tries some high heels, but they're not easy to walk in. Pearl puts her paws into some tall cowboy boots. They giggle.

What's next?

It's not a trip to town without a stop at the sweet shop. Brownie and Pearl pick out their cupcakes and seat themselves at a little round table with the fancy curved chairs. Brownie has a big bite of her cupcake, without taking the cherry off the top.

THEN BROWNIE AND PEARL YAWN.

There's only one place they want to go now. They've seen the sights and now they need a nap!

And for a nap--there's no place like home!

And there's no place like a big easy chair with pillow and blanket for the two sleepy shoppers, in Cynthia Rylant's easy-reading Brownie & Pearl See the Sights (Beach Lane Books). The versatile Cynthia Rylant is the Newbery Award-winning author of Missing May (Scholastic Gold) the author of a Caldecott Honor Award, When I Was Young in the Mountains (Reading Rainbow Books), and has written the beloved beginning readers series, Henry And Mudge First Book and Mr. Putter and Tabby Set of 4 Books : Bake the Cake, Feed the Fish, Pick the Pears, Row the Boat. and her new series about a girl and her hat are just the thing for preschoolers on the way to becoming emergent readers. Illustrator Brian Biggs provides the soft artwork that sets the safe and cozy mood for Rylant's series.

Going for the Mail: Brownie and Pearl Go For A Spin by Cynthia Rylant

Brownie and Pearl have a little pink car.

THEY ARE GOING FOR A SPIN!

But this is no leisurely drive in the country. They are on an errand!

Brownie's job is to steer the car carefully to the mailbox, and Pearl's job is to collect all the mail. But the mailbox is full, and all the mail cascades out, some falling into the car and some landing on the grass around the mailbox. Pearl tries to collect it all, and Brownie steers their car back home to deliver the mail.

"ARE YOU GOING FOR A SPIN?" SOMEONE ASKS.

Well, yes, they'll finish their spin and complete their job.

Brownie drives the car back home to make her delivery. But there's one problem.

PEARL DOESN'T WANT TO GET OUT!

Now Brownie is perplexed. How can she get Pearl out of the car?

Maybe what Pearl would like is a little picnic to top off their spin! Brownie obliges, going inside and returning with a tray with a tuna sandwich for herself and the rest of the can of tuna for Pearl.

It's TAKEOUT FOR TWO! in beloved author Cynthia Rylant's Brownie and Pearl Go for a Spin (Beach Lane Books) as the two deliver the mail and picnic on the grass together. In this Pre-Level 1 Ready to Read book, available in Kindle, hardback, and paperbound format, which introduces the youngest preschoolers to a beginning reader story. It's a pet story, a toy car story, a picnic story, and an introduction to reading, made easy by Brian Biggs' adorable illustrations that extends the text by showing the action, enlivened by the usual birds who always join in the story of these two friends. Recommended for lapsit reading, read-alouds, and pre-reading experiences.

Critter Conspiracy: Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin

Farmer Brown is going on vacation. He left his brother Bob in charge of the animals.

"I wrote everything down for you," he told him. "Just follow instructions and everything will be fine.

Just keep a eye on Duck. He's trouble."

Brother Bob's a laid-back kind of guy. He's got written directions. The animals seem to like him. He's got this!

What could possibly go wrong?

But Bob fails to notice that Farmer Brown has dropped his pencil on the road and Duck is retrieving it with a gleam in his eye.

The next day he reads his first note of instructions.

Tuesday is pizza night. (NOT the frozen kind) The hens prefers anchovies.

So on Tuesday Brother Bob forks over the big bucks and a sizable tip to the pizza delivery boy for seven extra-large pizzas. When Farmer Brown calls from his tropical isle, Bob tells him he's got everything under control.

The directions for Wednesday instruct Brother Bob to bathe the pigs with Farmer Brown's bubble bath and best bath towels. Bob sweats as he spends his day as proprietor of a pampered pig spa for the sows, piglets, shoats, and one sudsy boar!

The next note says that Thursday night is Movie Night. While the animals get comfy on the sofa, Bob pops a pile of popcorn. Just as he's got it ready, Farmer Brown calls to check on things.

But what's that he hears in the living room?

It's the strains of a song: "The hills are alive ... with the sound of MOOsic!" and a chorus of critters:

GIGGLE GIGGLE QUACK! MOO! GIGGLE! OINK!

It's a case of When Farmer Brown is away, the critters will play, with a little help from Duck's cleverly counterfeited notes, in Doreen Cronin's best-selling easy-to-read barnyard tale, Giggle, Giggle, Quack (A Click, Clack Book) (Simon and Schuster), along with Betsy Lewin's familiar comic blackline and watercolored spot-art illustrations that help youngsters read this one themselves. Other books in this mega-popular series are Dooby Dooby Moo/Ready-to-Read (A Click Clack Book), Click, Clack, Surprise!/Ready-to-Read (A Click Clack Book), and Betsy Lewin's Caldecott-winning  Ready-to-Read book with author Cronin, Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type.

Be My Guest! Scare B and B (Vampirina) by Chelsea Beyl

This is Vampirina Hauntley. Her friends call her Vee.

This is Vampirina's house. It's also a Scare B and B.

Vee's house is specially styled with the latest creepy accouterments for their clientele, who frankly tend to be on the spooky side themselves. Her mom has advertised on the WorldWideCobweb, and the family is all set to greet their very first bed and breakfast guests, Edna, Edgar, and their daughter Poppy, who need a place to stay while their house is being painted.

Poppy knows Vampirina is a vampire. Edna and Edgar do not.

That's ONE problem.

But Poppy knows Vampirina and is glad to share her bedroom, and Edna and Edgar find the guest room charmingly quaint.

But then Vampirina's two grown-up sisters fly in unexpectedly, weird as ever, and expecting a warm welcome and appropriately weird accommodations for themselves.

Now the Hauntleys have humans and vampires, but only one guest room!

Now that is ANOTHER problem.

Vampirina has an idea. Since vampires are active at night and humans are busy all day, perhaps the Hauntleys can arrange for both sets of guests to, er, share, the room--without their knowing it, of course! Poppy agrees to help. Can they carry off their their double-booking plan?

There are plenty of laughs along the way in Chelsea Beyl's World of Reading: Vampirina Scare B and B: Level 1 with Stickers (World of Reading: Level 1) (Disney Press, 2017). The young hostess and her friend show their mettle in their two-timing plan, with a lot of near misses, quick thinking, and humorous scenes, and beginning readers will find this one an intriguing independent read. Artist Jeff King provides the funny sight gags and visual cues that help primary readers keep up on the action, and a stay with the Hauntleys is one bed and breakfast experience that is definitely unique.  A fun book for young would-be Halloween vampires to cut their read alone teeth on.

For the upcoming scary season, this one also pairs well with the first book in this series, Vampirina Going Batty and together or separately, these inexpensive paperbacks (with stickers) make nice "treats" for the Halloween pumpkin for a favorite creepy costumed kid.

Where Fairy Tales Come From... ! Pinkalicious--Story Time by Victoria Kann

We were at the book fair.

I was going to meet my hero, Princess Plum. I have all her books.

The students wait eagerly but politely in line, and Pinkie can't wait to meet the beautiful Princess Plum and talk about her books. Finally Pinkalicious sees the sign she's been waiting for.

MEET THE AUTHOR

But there was a big surprise waiting for Pinkie.

Princess Plum is a man?

"I'm Syd Silver." the man laughed. "I'm the author."

Pinkalicious is amazed--and curious. She asks Mr. Silver if authors can write anything about anybody if they want to, and he tells her that he just made up the character of Princess Plum straight out of his own imagination. Anybody can do it if he or she just imagines it, he says.

When Pinkie got home after school, she couldn't stop thinking about what Mr. Silver said.

I decided to give it a try.

If Alice in Wonderland can believe six impossible things before breakfast, Pinkalicious can surely write at least that many new stories before dinner so that she can read them to her class on their "Meet the Author" Book Festival day. And she does, in Victoria Kann's beginning reader story, Pinkalicious: Story Time (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper, 2017). You don't have to be a princess to write a fairy story at all, Pinkie thinks. You don't even have to be a girl! Anyone can do it. Victoria Kann's pink-loving, improvising character is always ready to come up with a creative way to do what she wants to do, and this I-Can-Read Level 1 story is just the perfect story-starter and writing practice prompt for young readers.

For a pair of ready-for-school stories, share this one with Kann's Pinkalicious and the New Teacher.

The House That Pete Built: Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House by James Dean

PETE THE CAT HAS BUILT A TREE HOUSE.

One by one his friends--Callie Cat, Thomas Cat, Marty Monkey, Emma Dog, and Grumpy Toad--show up and lend a hand with the construction.

Pete is proud! Of course he invites all his helpers to a tree-house-warming party.

"COME PLAY!"

Pete and his pals climb up the ladder. But when they all get into the tree house, there's just one problem.

"IT'S TOO SMALL!"

Cheerfully Pete shrugs and agrees to expand his construction. Emma Dog draws up the blueprints and, and like most new houses, all the friends add their ideas for the perfect tree house. They start the expansion project, each one working on a special section to do their own favorite thing.

Marty Monkey has a video game arcade. Pete has a wave pool for indoor surfing. There is a bowling alley, a movie theater, a ski park, a climbing wall, and an ice-skating rink. Every friend has a place for his own favorite thing to do. There's just one problem.

"WE ARE ALL ALONE!"

It's the old story of too much of a good thing, in James Dean's newest, Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House (My First I Can Read) (Harper, 2017), as Pete the Cat and his pals descend to head for the good old jungle gym where they can all play together. James Dean's story of the perfect fantasy play place is a likable lure to get emergent readers to practice their beginning reading skills while living out their summer play fantasies in this new My First Book in Harper's famous I-Can-Read series, now celebrating its fortieth anniversary.

That Famous Fem! Wonder Woman by Steve Korte'

HER NAME WAS DIANA AND SHE WAS ON A MISSION TO SAVE THE WORLD.

Before Diana the Warrior Princess, daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, rescues downed aviator Steve Trevor in a battle with the Nazis, she has never seen a man. On an island of women, trained under her aunt, Antiope, Diana uses her strength and courage to rescue the injured pilot, learning from him that the outside world is engaged in a great war.

As Diana Prince, she travels with Steve to London to join in the forces fighting to end the war, using her speed, strength, and skill to fight the foe and becomes known as Wonder Woman, the world's first female superhero.

In Steve Korte's I-Can-Read Wonder Woman: I Am an Amazon Warrior (I Can Read Level 2) (Harper, 2017), kids can read for themselves the story featured in the recently released blockbuster movie, Wonder Woman. Korte' tells well the story behind the first woman superhero who made her debut in DC comics in 1941 on the brink of World War II. Like Superman before her, Diana Prince chooses to live incognito, but with her bullet-stopping bracelets, Lasso of Truth, and famed lightning-fast reflexes, Diana Prince also morphs into Wonder Woman, fabulous bustier, high-heeled boots and all, to save the world from evil whenever needed.

Since the new Wonder Woman movie is rated PG-13, this book is the next-best introduction to America's super woman, a founding mother of the Justice League, and gives young readers an opportunity to be up on the latest movie and keep their super-reader skills up to superhero levels at the same time.

Plenty of Pete! Pete The Cat--5-Minute Pete the Cat Stories by James Dean

If one Pete the Cat story is good, plenty is better. The more the merrier!

And there are twelve adventures of Pete the Cat and company in James Dean's just published Pete the Cat: 5-Minute Pete the Cat Stories: Includes 12 Groovy Stories! (HarperCollins, 2017), a collection of quick-reading tales of that other famed storybook cat, the groovy cat in the headband.

Author-illustrator James Dean's bright and simple faux naif illustrations transfer well to the large-page format of this book, which lies open easily on a lap for reading by parent or beginning reader.

These stories include some favorite and familiar ones from Dean's earlier I-Can-Read books--such as "Scuba Cat," "Pete The Cat at the Beach," and "Valentine's Day Is Cool"--perfect for emergent and beginning independent readers and for quicky reads for bedtime. Pete The Cat's motto is an upbeat look at life, "It's all GOOD!" And this one is a good choice for home libraries as well as for school and public libraries.

Flour Power: Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off by Herman Parish

"SHHHHHHH!" said Mr. Rogers, as Amelia Bedelia came in.

"Don't mind him," said Mrs. Rogers. "He's watching his favorite television program."

Chef DuJour was saying, "I'll pick the winner of my Big Bake-Off prize, $1000!"

"Wow!" said Mr. Rogers. "That's a lot of dough!"

"Not really," said Amelia Bedelia. "A thousand bucks is a lot of deer, but there's no doe there."

Amelia Bedelia is the queen of the misunderstood homonym, and even on her day off, she's off and running. Mr. Rogers suggests that Amelia should enter her famous lemon meringue pie in Chef DuJour's Bake-Off, but Amelia points out that she's too busy subbing as chief baker at Grace's Cookie Shop for the day, assisted as usual by her partner in malapropism, Cousin Alcolu.

And soon, over at Grace's shop, Amelia Bedelia and Alcolu set out bravely to follow Grace's plan for the day. First on the list is to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and immediately there's a problem when Alcolu reads Gracie's added instruction:

"Cut the recipe in half."

Amelia Bedelia takes care of that expeditiously. One snip of the cooking shears and the recipe is cut in half. But chipping up all those tiny pieces of chocolate takes a lot more time.

Finally they two are ready for the second item on Gracie's list.

"Bake twelve pound cakes"

"That's a mighty heavy cake!" says Amelia Bedelia.

But math is Alcolu's strong suit, and he suggests they make twelve pound cakes and stack them up. But when they follow Grace's recipe, they come out with enough batter for 13 loaf pans full.

"Baker's dozen!" says Amelia Bedelia cheerily, but when they stack all thirteen cakes up, number thirteen falls off and breaks into pieces

And the last item on Grace's note is a bit confusing.

"Make one crumb cake."

A crumb cake? Oh! So that's what the thirteenth cake was for! Amelia Bedelia packs the crumbs into another pan, adds a topping, and declares the crumb cake done, such as it is.

But there's still one more culinary challenge ahead for Amelia Bedelia, in Herman Parish's funny, punny Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off (I Can Read Level 2) (Greenwillow Books, 2016).

In this brand-new I-Can-Read paperback edition, Peggy Parish's linguistically challenged housemaid carries on with her tussle and tangle with the English language, earning heaping cupsful of snickers from young independent readers.

In this continuing series by the beloved Peggy Parish's nephew Herman, the half-baked housemaid is highlighted by the comic artwork of Lynn Sweat, who also illustrated some of the original Amelia Bedelia books (including one in which Mrs. Rogers requested a sponge cake and Amelia Bedelia made one with chopped up kitchen sponges.) But, this time Amelia's baking is not only edible, but a real winner, in a jolly ending to this merry culinary mixup. Some of Amelia Bedelia's doings may be a bit hard to swallow, but, as School Library Journal" says, "..."fans of the series are sure to eat this up."

Retrograde Motion! Fancy Nancy: It's Backwards Day by Jane O'Connor

Nancy and friends can't wait to get to school. But it's a slow trip, because they all have to walk backwards.

Why is everything topsy turvy? (That's fancy for upside down and super silly!)

TODAY IS BACKWARDS DAY!

"Goodbye!" we say to Ms. Glass.

"Goodbye!" she says.

Then we all sat down. Nobody faces Ms. Glass.

All the kids are wearing their clothes backwards. Robert is wearing a white shirt, suit jacket, and tie hanging down his back. Bree and Nancy have socks on the their hands and so does their teacher, who also wears a tutu on her head. They begin class by reciting the alphabet--backwards, beginning with Z!

"This is easy!" says Lionel. He means it's hard!

Their teacher reads them a story, beginning on the last page. Then Ms. Glass has the class make themselves nametags for the day.

They giggle at each other's backwards names.

 lioneL, treboR, eerB, ycnaN

It's a topsy-turvy day, running races backward and having a retro-style fashion show, and when the day is over and everyone is in line to go home .sM ssalG bids her class a reverse farewell.

"See you yesterday!"

Who wouldn't want to spend a backwards day in Fancy Nancy Clancy's class? And beginning readers can do just that with Jane O'Connor's newest I-Can-Read book,Fancy Nancy: It's Backward Day! (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper, 2016). With ebullient illustrations in the style of Robin Glasser, artist Ted Enik keeps the retrograde motion going in retro-style, and author O'Connor adds a glossary of vocabulary-enhancing "Nancy's Fancy Words" from the text: delectable, ensemble, extremely, nonsensical, and, of course, topsy turvy.

Egg Time, Spring Time: The Happy Egg by Ruth Kraus

IT WAS JUST BORN.

IT WAS AN EGG.

A white bird regards the blue egg she has just laid with some surprise.

It can't do bird things--walk, sing, or fly.

IT COULD JUST BE SAT ON.

And the bird does her duty. She sits on the egg, and one day it surprises her with a CRACK!

Out comes a jaunty blue bird who greets her with a lusty PEEP! And it's ready for action.

It walks right off, page right! It sings like a bird. And then it flies away, right off the page, only to reappear, in the upper right corner, proud and happy.

And, as Ruth Kraus suggests in the new issue of her classic, the little blue bird may someday have her own egg to sit on, in the revised edition of her The Happy Egg (Harper, 2016) Kraus's narrative is beginning-reader simple, and the illustrations provided by her husband, Crockett Johnson (of Harold and the Purple Crayon (Purple Crayon Books) fame) are minimalist, flat, blackline drawings with primary colors--blue and yellow--that tell the story wordlessly with iconic images. There is a flower blooming, so we know it's spring. The hatchling passes in a page turn through early nestling days, fledging and flying right away, in an instant of telescoped growing up. The final page promises a successful transition, with five blue eggs waiting for their turn to be sat on.

With the message that growing up is a hopeful thing, this is the stuff of classic picture book storytelling, and Krauss herself authored two Caldecott Honor books, the iconic The Carrot Seed, 60th Anniversary Edition illustrated by Crockett Johnson, The Happy Day, illustrated by Marc Simont, as well as A Hole Is to Dig, with pictures by Maurice Sendak.

Kirkus Reviews says simply "...deceptively simple and sweet."

Room for One More? What This Book needs Is A Pig in a Wig by Emma J. Virjan

WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS IS A PIG.

And a drama queen pig needs a gig. Lacking a venue, this protagonist decides to create her own.

Costuming? Put on a big red wig.

Setting? A moat with a boat.

Supporting Cast? They're everywhere! A frog, dog, and goat wash up on their log. All aboard!

Then a rat in a hat, a skunk (on and elephant's) trunk, and...

A MOUSE AND A PANDA IN A BLOUSE!

Theme? There's always room for one more? But... in reality, THERE'S NOT!

At least not for this pig in a wig.

Climax? The little craft is close to swamping as a considerable number of rhyming critters come on board, sinking the boat to its gunwales and raising too big a ruckus for this pig.

WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS IS A PIG IN A WIG

ON HER OWN...ALL ALONE!

But the pig in the wig learns that one is no fun either, in Emma J. Virjan's I-Can-Read book, What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig (A Pig in a Wig Book) (Harper, 2015). Borrowing the line from a famous shark movie that shall remain nameless, author Virjan scripts an ending with a familiar line,

Conclusion? "We need a bigger boat!"

Virjan masterfully manages her sizable cast of characters with some jolly humor, and her simple, understated drawings. And watch for the sequel, Pig In A Wig II, What This Story Needs Is a Hush and a Shush (A Pig in a Wig Book). Add this one to the beginning reading shelf, right along with Mo Willems' notable Elephant and Piggie series to add to the audience for this important genre.

Luck o' the Irish! Fancy Nancy: Just My Luck by Jane O'Connor

FOR SHOW-AND-SHARING, CLARA HAS A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER.  SHE PASSES IT AROUND.

AT RECESS, I DECIDED TO FIND MY OWN FOUR-LEAF CLOVER.  

LIONEL HELPED.

Nancy's search is not so lucky, but she does find Robert's lost library card. That's lucky for him.

But Grace, the class sourpuss, notices Nancy heading back inside the school:

"YOU STEPPED ON A CRACK!"

Grace is all too happy to tell Nancy what terribly bad luck follows such a misstep and warn her about all the other harbingers of ill fortune to watch out for--walking under ladders, opening an umbrella indoors, having a black cat cross her path, and on and on. Maybe it's just her Irish, but suddenly Nancy Clancy is in the clutches of superstition, anxious about all the bad omens she's been apparently ignoring all her life.

At home Nancy checks her mirror for cracks, and almost spills salt when Jojo bumps her arm at dinner. At school the next day she eats 14 potato chips, even though she only wanted 13, just to avoid that unlucky number, and when she's called on to give the sum of 6 + 7, she can't bring herself to say the right answer--because it's unlucky.

Suddenly Nancy feels like she has a black cloud of bad fortune floating over her head!

In Jane O'Connor's brand-new I-Can-Read Fancy Nancy story, Fancy Nancy: Just My Luck! (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper, 2014), it's her good luck that her empathetic teacher Ms. Glass guesses her problem with saying "thirteen"  and  in a quiet moment, assuages her worries over these superstitions. A black cat is just a lost kitty, but a penny she finds on the sidewalk? Well, if she is lucky enough to find 99 more, she'll have a dollar! That's not so bad!  Robin Preiss Glasser  provides the cover art, and illustrator Ted Enik does the page illustrations for this Level 1 beginning reader, just in time for seasonal (St. Patrick's Day and April Fools' Day) reading.