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."

Left Behind Little Brother: Henry at Home by Megan Maynor

AS LONG AS THERE HAD BEEN HENRY AND LIZA, THEY WERE TOGETHER.

They got their shots and their haircuts together. They shared their special place--the twisty tree. But then one day when Liza got a new backpack and a box of unsharpened pencils and new crayons, because she was going to school. Henry was too young for school pencils and crayons.

HENRY WAS SAD AND ANGRY.

"YOU'LL GO TO SCHOOL NEXT YEAR," LIZA SAID.

Henry was angry when the bus took her away. But he decided that if Liza could do things he couldn't do, he would do things that Liza couldn't do! He learned how to start the swing swinging by himself and he invented new tricks on the swing.

He practiced until he was great at The Falcon, balancing lying on swing seat with arms outspread as he soars.

And when the bus dropped Liza off, she was full of stories about her day--making new friends and being line leader and learning the school cheer. Henry just jumped on the swing and showed off his new trick, The Falcon. Liza was impressed!

And Liza offered to teach Henry her class cheer if he'll teach her to do The Falcon, in Megan Maynor's newly published, Henry at Home (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021.)

It is hard for younger children to watch an older sibling move on without them, but it looks like Henry is going to be just fine on his own, and, anyway, they'll always have each other to share the twisty tree. Artist Alex Marley's sweet and sensitive illustrations portray a pivotal moment of childhood that navigates changes in relationships while still nurturing those ties that bind. "Says Publishers Weekly, "Younger siblings or those worried about distance weakening close bonds will find reassurance in this tender narrative."

The Crossover! The Little Blue Bridge by Brenda Maier

ONE DAY RUBY SPOTTED SOME BLUEBERRIES ACROSS THE CREEK.

"LET'S GO PICK BERRIES TO BAKE IN A PIE," SHE SAID.

DID SOMEONE SAY PIE?

Ruby's older brothers perk up their ears.

"OKAY WITH ME!" SAID OSCAR LEE.

"LET'S GIVE IT A GO." SAID RODRIGO.

"I'LL FIND A WAY" SAID JOSE'.

Ruby is used to being belittled by her big brothers. She's a girl. A little girl! But when they see big bully, Santiago, guarding the downed log that serves as a bridge across the creek, they get second thoughts. Jose', oldest brother, gives it a try, but Santiago demands a snack before letting him use his bridge. Jose' thinks fast.

"WAIT FOR MY BROTHER. HE PACKS A BETTER SNACK." OFFERS JOSE'.

Rodrigo gives it a go, promising that his next brother has a better snack in his pack. But Santiago claims that he's the boss of the crossing, Oscar Lee suggests he give the shakedown to his sister. A little sister? Santiago can't believe his luck. He's the boss and no little girl can beat him out of a fast snack! But Ruby claims she's carrying no snacks. No snack? Go back! Santiago proclaims.

"I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT SAY THAT!" SAID RUBY.

But little Ruby knows there's more than one way to cross a creek. And with some found blue planks and some pretty green vines, she begins to build her own bridge, while her brothers busily fill their pails with berries. Grasping the concept, Santiago pitches in to help Ruby complete the bridge and pick more blueberries, too.

And, oh my, there's plenty of blueberry pie for all and soon plenty of trip-trapping back and forth over the bridge for the new blueberry pie pals, in Brenda Maier's latest, The Little Blue Bridge, the companion book to her first fractured fairy tale, The Little Red Fort. Both books are super companion reads for savvy primary graders who are familiar with the original folktales of The Billy Goats Gruff and The Little Red Hen, and will love spotting and pointing out the parallels in the plots of the two classics. With the colorful individualized characters in the illustrations of Sonia Sanchez, Maier's latest is a good way to give youngsters a taste of the fun of the fractured fairy tale.

Pet's Choice! All Pets Allowed (Blackberry Farm 2) by Adele Griffin

The date is October 10, 10/10! Twins Becket Branch and her brother Nicholas Branch are about to celebrate their birthday, the big Ten-O, their first birthday at Blackberry Farm.

"THAT'S SOME UNBEATABLE, UNREPEATABLE BIRTHDAY LUCK AND WE'VE JUST GOT TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT!" SAYS THE EBULLIENT BECKET.

While his sister Becket plans another spectacular birthday bash, Nicholas, the introvert, would prefer a Mellow 'Cello playlist and definitely no ball games or sparklers in the cake this year, thank you! But although he seems to be anticipating all the ways parties can go wrong, especially with guest Travis and his SuperSquid Squirty on the guest list, he kindly goes along with his twin's plan to invite the whole class.

But the other good news about this birthday is that their parents have told them that they can adopt a new pet from the Rescue Center. Becket wants a lively dog, but Nicholas favors a nice quiet cat. But Mom and Dad have a solution: They can pick one of each!

Outside the pet shelter, Becket runs in happy circles, panting and chanting...

"DOG! DOG! DOG!"

Nicholas whispers quietly to no one in particular...

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. A CAT! FOR ME!"

The twins go home with their new pets in their new carriers, Becket seeing herself romping with the dog she names Dibs, while Nicholas is dreaming of quiet evenings with Given the cat calmly curled up and snoozing to the soft sounds of Mellow Cello playing in his room.

SURPRISE!

Things are not always what they seem. Fate has determined that Dibs the dog is a Fraidy Cat, who can't let Becket out of his sight without howling: he quivers when he hears Dad's big voice, and hides his head when Becket's friend tries to take a snapshot of her new pet. Meanwhile, Nicholas discovers that Given is a photogenic and extroverted feline, posing happily for Becket's friend who uses the pictures as advertisements for the school carnival. When Becket searches for her twin, she finds him secretly hiding with a pillow and book in the bathtub with Dibs quietly sleeping beside him.

NICHOLAS SIGHS. "THERE'S TOO MUCH FUSS AROUND GIVEN. TRAVIS HAD EVEN SAID, 'MY CAT IS TOO COOL FOR ME!'"

"HE'S RIGHT. I THINK GIVEN IS BRAVE AND FUN. THE TROUBLE IS, I THOUGHT MY VERY OWN CAT WOULD BELONG TO ME. BUT GIVEN THRIVES ON BEING WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE."

"WELL," BECKET ADMITTED, "DIBS DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH ANYONE. HE'S SHY AND HARD TO TRAIN, TOO!"

The mismatch is obvious. The twins are afraid that they have made the wrong pet choices. But when both of the pets disappear, the twins discover them safely watching over each other and realize that perhaps between them and their two pets, together they have a perfect match after all, in Adele Griffin's latest Blackberry Farm story, All Pets Allowed: Blackberry Farm 2, illustrated lovingly by Caldecott artist LeUyen Pham, (Workman/Algonquin Books, 2021). In this second book in their series, one that celebrates what Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby called "a good, sticking-together family," middle readers see differences resolve into an advantage for all. As the Branch family says, "Many Branches, one tree!"

Adele Griffen and LeUyen Pham's first collaboration in this series is The Becket List: A Blackberry Farm Story.

Optical Confusion: What Ollie Saw by Jourke Akveld

THIS IS OLLIE.

HE HAS A FATHER AND A MOTHER.

AND A SISTER HE SOMETIMES WISHES HE DIDN'T HAVE.

Ollie and his big sister don't see eye to eye

His mother loves going places on "excursions" that she calls "Happy Family Times!" Ollie often thinks their times would be happier without his wet-blanket of a sister!

OLLIE'S SISTER USUALLY GRIZZLED!

When they take the train through the countryside, she thinks the grazing bovines are boring! Ollie prefers to see them as snorting water buffaloes with enormous horns capable of squashing a sister. When the family drives to see Granma, his sister grizzles rather grimly at the traffic jam. Ollie himself sees a circus parade with clowns and jugglers in the cars. And when Ollie's papa takes them out for a cruise in their sailboat, his sister sees a slow boat, but Ollie sees it as a pirate ship with his sister tied to the mainmast.

"YOU NEED GLASSES!" OLLIE'S SISTER WOULD SAY.

Ollie didn't see it that way, so when his teacher asked him to identify the letter A on the alphabet chart, he imagines the letter as a series of birds with long pointed beaks.

His teacher declares that he needs glasses!

I KNEW IT!" SAID HIS SISTER.

But Ollie is determined to make sure that he continues to see things the way he likes them, in Jouke Akveld's What Ollie Saw (IQ Levine Querido, 2021), who prefers to see his world his way. This is a whimsical porcine parable preferring imagination over grizzly grumbling that will appeal to younger brothers. Artist Sieb Posthuma's droll scratchy black line drawings, accented by strong reds and blues, extend the comic story of sibling rivalries.

Quips Kirkus Review, "... quirky yet calming."

Five Senses and Feelings: If I Were a Tree by Andrea Zimmerman

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IF I WERE A TREE, I KNOW HOW I'D BE.

I'D STAND TOWERING TALL, HIGH ABOVE ALL.

Two children, brother and sister, set off with their parents on a camping trip into a forest. So many trees! How does it feel to be a tree?

I'D FEEL NESTS IN MY BARK, BATS HIDING TILL DARK.

THE CLIMBING OF BOOTS, AND WORMS BY MY ROOTS.

And what would they taste if they could be a tree?

PEBBLES AND STONES, OLD BURIED BONES...

What does a tree smell? . . .

HONEY AND BEES, SKUNK ON THE BREEZE?

But what does a tree hear?

FAR THUNDER'S LOW GROWL, THE HOOT OF AN OWL?

Under the tall trees, the two realize that the trees, living creatures like them, sense their world both differently and the same, in Andrea Zimmerman's elegant, evocative verse. In a complex stanza form, beginning and ending in the same question, the author inserts a quatrain with appealing internal rhymes that reveal how a tree senses its environment. With the lovely color print illustrations of Jing Jing Tsong, noted writer Zimmerman's If I Were a Tree (Lee and Low Books, 2021) unites child and tree, filling up their senses with the beauty of sensing the world like a tree. This poetic book is a natural for across-the curriculum science for fall, with its emphasis on the seasonal changes and a wonderful review of the five senses, and also offers an intense lesson on the sensory system of trees, an experience of sharing and being at one with the world all around, seeing ...

HILLS MISTY WITH FOG, THE LIFE IN A LOG.

Says Kirkus' starred review, "Enjoy and observe nature with all your senses."

The Ramble Shamble Children by Christina Soontornvat

DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, PAST THE LAST CURVE IN THE ROAD,

FIVE CHILDREN LIVED TOGETHER IN A RAMBLE SHAMBLE HOUSE.

The big sister, Meera, tended the vegetable garden, the twins Locky and Rooze kept the crows out of the carrot and pea patch, Finn fed the hens and collected the eggs from the chicken coop, and little Jory the baby played in the mud puddle. There was always work to do, but the children shared the jobs, and at night they all piled into Meera's bed to listen to the stories she knew about dragons, giants, and all sorts. But then, in a ramble in the attic, they found an old book with a picture of a well-kept house and garden.

"OH, SO THAT'S WHAT A PROPER HOUSE AND GARDEN LOOKS LIKE!" SAID MEERA.

The next morning the children set to work. They placed a wreath on the freshly painted red door. Finn propered up the chicken coop with a porch and some pink paint. They tidied up the garden, replacing carrots with roses. They spiffed up the mud puddle, much to Jory's displeasure. And the place did look more... well, proper.

BUT THINGS WERE NOT QUITE RIGHT.

The hens were unhappy and laid their eggs in the children's shoes. There were no peas and carrots for a proper supper, and the roses were too thorny to pick. And little Jory, without a messy daily dip in the puddle, was missing.

A proper search party found Jory deep in the woods, happily dabbling in a nice new puddle.

So the children un-propered the house, un-spiffied the hen house, and un-tidied the garden, and re-muddied the puddle. All was well again.

And by bedtime the ramble-shamble house was a happy home once more, in Newbery-winner Christina Soontgornvat's latest picture book fantasy, The Ramble Shamble Children (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021), illustrated in fanciful folkloric style by noted artist Lauren Castillo. This story joins the like of Gertrude Chandler Warner's series, The Boxcar Children Bookshelf (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Books 1-12) and Astrid Lindgren's redoubtable Pippi Longstocking, who seem to function properly, thank you, in a parentless family. In a starred review, School Library Journal says, “No need to ‘proper up’ anything about this winning title. Soontornvat and Castillo have produced a charming tale of ‘ramble shamble’ delightfulness."

Outside! I See You See by Richard Jackson

MOM CALLS, "MAISIE, WILL YOU WALK THE DOG?"

DOG PULLING, MAISIE PUSHING, THEY SET OFF.

Tinker, like all dogs, is always ready for a walk, so Maisie and her brother Jonah decide to go outside to see what they can see. And what they can see is wondrous!

Tinker trees a cat and they see a tree with pointed leaves, which become the ears of a multitude of cats. A border of tall blooms becomes a popsicle garden. A swooping bird's trajectory becomes a sliding board, and two rows of wet sheets blowing on two clotheslines become a secret tunnel. The dangling branches of a weeping willow become bell ropes to pull to begin a carillon of chiming bells.

"I HEAR IT!"

TING-A-LING. JINGLE...

BONG! BONG! BONG!"

The fluffy clouds are dinosaurs, and flower petals blowing in the spring winds becomes a flight of goldfish with fluffy fins and then falling orange snowflakes all around.

It's anything but a humdrum, everyday, walk-the-dog day when children let their imagination roam free as the spring winds, in Richard Jackson's joyful I See You See (Atheneum Books, 2021), illustrated magically by artist Patrice Barton. This one challenges youngsters to go outside and see what they can see. Says Kirkus Reviews, "A warm, quiet ode to imagination."

On the Home Team! It's Big Sister Time by Nandini Ahuja

MOM AND DAD BROUGHT HOME SOMEONE NEW TODAY. "IT'S OUR BABY!" THEY SAID.

"HOW LONG WILL THE BABY STAY?" I ASKED.

The girl is taken aback when her parents tell her the baby will stay forever and that he will be her best friend. He's not much of a friend at first. He's noisy. He smells really bad sometimes. And as soon as he can move around, she learns that he doesn't know ANY of the rules--like, Don't knock down your sister's best block tower.

"YOU HAVE TO TEACH HIM THE RULES OF THE HOUSE," HER DAD SAYS.

"YOU'RE THE BIG SISTER!"

The Big Sister decides that her Rule #1 will be "Do not play with my toys!"

But that's easier said than done. She soon finds that it's easier to let him have something she doesn't really need, like her crib blanket. When her grandparents come over to teach her how make a dessert, it all right if he wears the chef's hat, so long as she gets to stir and gets the first taste. When she plays superhero, he's happy with just one small scarf for a cape. When she builds a fort from cushions and pillows, it's sort of fun to read a cozy story to him inside it.

"ON MOVIE NIGHTS I GET TO SIT BETWEEN MOM AND DAD.

But there's something nice about offering to have her brother sit on her lap sometimes, too.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE IS, "WE STICK TOGETHER."

A family is on the same team together in Nandini Ahoja's It's Big Sister Time! (My Time) (Harper Festival Books, 2021), illustrated sensitively and sweetly by the artwork of Catalina Echeverri, which shows the the markers in the development of sibling affection, as a feeling of oneness and togetherness slowly grow between big sister and baby brother as part of a family. Says Kirkus, "A sweet debut that offers a tongue-in-cheek instruction manual for new big sisters."

Stowaway Sister: B Is For Baby by Atinuke

B IS FOR BABY.

An endearing baby girl is the star of the story. Mama does up her baby's do, putting in the last BEAD, while BABY plays with the lid of a BASKET.

B IS FOR BROTHER.

Baby's big brother boogies to the music on his earphones as he packs a bunch of BANANAS into a BASKET. But while he practices his best moves, BABY wants a BANANA for BREAKFAST and crawls into the BASKET and stows away under the lid of the BASKET. Brother struggles to get the strangely heavy BASKET on the back of his BYCYCLE, while BABY giggles silently. But BROTHER is feeling big as he pedals down the road to take the BANANAS to his Grandfather BABA. The day is BEAUTIFUL, with a BAOBAB tree full of BIRDS and fluttering BUTTERFLIES. But the road to BABA'S BUNGALOW has its obstacles.

B IS FOR BUMPY!!

And there are BABOONS, one of which snatches the lid off the BASKET and swipes a BANANA! From her bed in the basket BABY begins to hand out BANANAS to the BABY BABOONS as they pass under their tree and the BOYS on the school BUS as they ride by. Over a BRIDGE and by the blossoms of BOUGANVILLEA, BROTHER finally arrives at BABA'S BUNGALOW with the gift for his grandfather. It's a surprise--with a BABY among the BANANAS in the BASKET, which calls for a snack from BABA for the two intrepid travelers.

B IS FOR BISCUITS.

And then it's BACK TO MAMA FOR BABY!

It's a BIG day for the letter B, in Atinuke's B is for Baby (Candlewick, 2019), a boisterous and endearing alphabet book which features a lively cast of characters and an adventurous and adorable baby sister who provides the plot for this lively story. The text is very much buoyed by the charming, bright, and beautiful illustrations provided by Angela Brooksbank. "...A charmer!" says Booklist.

Strangers on the Train: Milo Imagines The World by Matt de la Pena

Milo's husky big sister hurries him onto the subway, eager to get back to taking a selfie and whatever else she is doing on her phone.

Milo looks around at the other passengers, all seemingly absorbed with their thoughts--a bored-looking businessman with briefcase, a young woman in wedding gown, clutching flowers, a boy about his age dressed in a suit and tie, a whiskery guy in slipons and socks frowning over his newspaper. The Sunday subway ride seems to last forever.

Milo's feelings are bouncing around inside him like a well-shaken soda....

Excitement on top of worry, on top of confusion, on top of love...

To stop the feeling, Milo begins to draw in his notebook and wonder about the other people on the train. As the scruffy whiskered guy gets up and rings the bell, Milo pictures him at home with lots of cats and rats as company. He shows the bride going to her wedding and perhaps a trip in a hot-air balloon, and he pictures the boy in the coat and tie entering a castle, complete with drawbridge, butler, and chef with crustless finger sandwiches for him. Milo tugs as his sister to show her his pictures, but she gives him a quick look and elbows him away.

Who hasn't wondered about the lives of nearbypassengers on a plane or subway? But the subjects of Milo's drawings don't exactly follow the lives he creates for them.

When the wedding-dressed woman strides off the train, a band of street performers launches into "Here Comes the Bride" and everyone on the platform cheers.

Milo didn't see that one coming. He looks at the dressed up boy and the boy looks back.

They lock eyes for a few long seconds.

Milo is surprised when the boy and his dad get off at the same stop as Milo's.

He is even more surprised when the boy joins the long line to pass through the metal detector.

Maybe it's not so easy to know what another person's real life is like from looking at them, Milo muses.

And both boys enter a room where women prisoners are meeting with their families, in Matt de la Pena's just published Milo Imagines the World (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2021), where Milo shows his mom the picture he drew just for her, a picture of the whole family together on their front steps, a picture he still wants to be true. In this poignant family story, author Matt de la Pena is again joined by artist Christian Robinson, who illustrated their Caldecott Honor Medal book, Last Stop on Market Street (read review Last Stop on Market Street.)

"Pictures brimming with activity, an endearing main character, and threads for thinking about art, families, and what we see in others make this a book that will hold up to many readings," says School Library Journal.

Big Brother to the Rescue: Ellray Jakes the Dragon Slayer by Sally Warner

"Are you paying any attention to me at all, EllRay Jakes?” Mom asks from the driver’s seat of our car, a Toyota so old they don’t even make them anymore.

"Wait. What?" I said, turning off my video game.

"I was saying, go inside and sign Alfie out,” Mom says. “And tell her to hurry, please. I’m afraid to turn the engine off. Darn car battery,” she scowls.

Ellray dashes into the daycare center, and not finding Alfie with her class, he ducks out to the outdoor play area. Yep, Alfie is with her four friends. But as he gets closer, he sees three of the little girls are together and Alfie is by herself. One of the three, Suzette Monahan, pulls the others away and they start to play a game. Alfie has a funny look on her face.

Even her new pink coat looks sad.

"Alfie!" I call out, loud as I can. "Ice cream! After we go shopping for dolls!" I add, inspired. ("There! That ought to get 'em!" I think!)

Ellray Jakes is a third-grader, old enough to know four-year-old bullying when he sees it, and at home that night Alfie confides that Suzette Monahan is being mean to her, telling the other kids to pretend that she is invisible. Ellray knows a frienemy when he sees one. He checks his suspicions out with Mom after dinner.

"It's that Suzette Monahan, that little dickens," Mom says, scowling into the sink.

Suspicion confirmed. Suzette Monahan is the Dragon, and he, Ellray Jakes, has to be the big-brother dragon slayer.

And two can play at her game. In her Ellray Jakes the Dragon Slayer (Viking Books), author Sally Warner has her hero Ellray hoisting Suzette with her own petard to make sure that his little sister will not be shunned at nursery school ever again. And since what goes around comes around, Ellray suddenly finds himself the victim of the same sort of playground scheme. Author Warner's big brother Ellray gallantly rescues his little sister and stands up bravely for himself in this installment in Warner's successful series about the Jakes family. Author Warner skillfully portrays elementary school characters with honesty and insight, and illustrator Brian Biggs fills out the details with great good humor. Other titles in this popular beginning chapter fiction series are EllRay Jakes Stands Tall, EllRay Jakes the Recess King! and EllRay Jakes Is Not a Chicken.

Spare Sibling? Robobaby by David Weisner

The Robo family is expecting a new member of the family, and when a 278-pound shipping carton filled with parts arrives at their pod door, they are thrilled.

It's the new Flange model! Wow!

What a big boy!" coos Mama Diode.

Daddy Lugnut frowns.

"Babies have gotten a lot more complicated since we built Cathode!" he grumbles.

"I've got my tools," says little Cathode.

"Oh, how hard can it be," says Mama Di. "This is a mother's job."

But their first attempt isn't quite up to standards. in fact it CRASHES!

Daddy Lugnut asks Mama Di to call in her brother Manifold who arrives with Aunt Gasket and their two pets, Sprocket and Sprockie, along with jolly neighors bringing a sludge cake and and greasy gear cookies. Uncle Manny buckles on his tool belt and starts assembling parts. Little Cathy complains that he's not following the instructions, and Uncle Manny grouches that they can always do that later. But there's a major malfunction. Suddenly Baby Flange takes off with a WHOOSH out the door in wobbly flight, while Mama and Daddy call Robobaby Corporation for technical assistance.

But with the help of Uncle Mannie's pets Sprockit and Sprockie and a net, Baby Flange is retrieved, piece by piece, and with the expert help of the Robo tech guys, the talented Cathy, and the usual requisite updates installation, little Flange is soon functioning to specifications. The techies and neighbors depart, and baby Flange finally goes nighty night in her perma-rock cradle. Mama Di and Daddy Lug finally take a deep breath--until big sister Cathy discovers another shipping carton at their pod door. It seems Robobaby Corporation is having a special--there's a big box that says ROBO BONUS BABY, the AXLE MODEL on their porch.

Don't put away your toolkit yet, Cathy, in three-time Caldecott winner David Wiesner's latest inventive creation, Robobaby (Houghton Mifflin Clarion Books, 2020), which will make even devoted techno-types appreciate the way human babies are assembled. But The Jetsons' boy Elroy would feel right at home in Wiesner's rollicking illustrations of an expanding robot family, comically spoofing both interfamily relations and internet commerce and the unexpected "some assembly required" arrivals that come with it, while throughout celebrating the hard-wired love of family all along the way.

In a five-star product review, Kirkus says, "A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy."

Snow Sculptures! Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow by Jacky Davis

"It's magic outside, Bingo!" whispers Lulu. "Everything is covered with snow!"

It's not just a little snow--it's a BIG snow, one that transforms the outside world into a new view. Lulu quickly pulls on her snow gear--long johns, snow pants, snow jacket, and boots. But because she is Ladybug Girl, she also puts on her red tutu, her black-spotted wings, and her earmuffs with red antennae.With so many puffy clothes, it's hard to walk in the deep snow.

But that won't stop Ladybug Girl!

The snow cover makes all the low bushes look like snow cakes. Lulu and her Basset hound Bingo taste them. Not bad! The few yellow leaves on the silver maples tinkle in the wind like little bells. The bright sun makes her brother's snowman sparkle like it's sprinkled with glitter.

The fir trees look like Snow Giants! She must stop them before they eat all the snow cakes!

Inspired by her brother's snowman, Ladybug Girl tries to build a snow castle, but the powdery snow won't stick together and her castle crumbles into a ruin. Even Ladybug Girl's antennae are covered in snow! Hmmmph! Everything is so hard in the snow! Lulu is consternated.

"Oh, I give up!"

But then she spots the snow hill and decides to climb to the top. Her boots sink deep into the snow. She's up to her tutu in the stuff!

But she's not just Lulu. She's Ladybug Girl, and Ladybug Girl can do anything!

With strong, determined steps Lulu climbs to the top of the hill. From there she notices that her crumbled castle looks like a snow sculpture of her dog Bingo. Then Ladybug Girl has a great idea! Rounding up her brother, Lulu conscripts him to sculpt snow animals--a snow bear, a snow reindeer, a snow camel, a snow lion, even a snow gorilla!

Now, feeling soggy and chilly, Lulu and her brother go inside to dry out and drink cocoa by the fire, recalling their snow fun

"Snow really is magic!"

In her Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow (Penguin Group), illustrated by David Soman's lovely snow scenes. Author Jackie Davis skillfully manages to incorporate the qualities of independence, perseverance, creativity, and cooperation into a joyous story of a day of play in the snow. Pair this one with Ezra Jack Keats' classic The Snowy Day.

Worlds That Never Were: Lift by Minh Lee

WHEN I'M A BIT DOWN, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT CHEERS ME UP.

PUSHING ELEVATOR BUTTONS!

Iris always gets to push the elevator button when her family comes home to their apartment building. It's a little like magic, really. She pushes the button, enters a plain little box with her mom, dad, and toddler brother, and almost immediately it opens onto a completely different place, one where her apartment is her own personal world. But one day the unthinkable happens. One elevator is out of order, so they move to the other one, and...

Her little brother pushes the button first!

BETRAYAL!

But then Iris notices the elevator repairman toss an discarded button and its frame in the trash. Quickly Iris fishes out and pockets it, and back in her room, she tapes it to the wall by her door. She gives it a push, and with a BING! her door opens, not to her family apartment, but to a dark forest with a tiger!

GASP!

Iris slams the door just as the doorbell in the living room rings. It's their babysitter, coming to stay with games to play. Iris complies with the plan, frozen dinners and board games and bedtime for her brother and herself. At last it's quiet and in her bedroom behind the closed door, Iris is wide awake and ready for more adventure. She pushes her special private button and her door opens, this time onto outer space, with her own space craft, through which she floats weightlessly and suits up for her own private space walk.

And then when she hears her little brother awake and crying, she floats back into her room and goes into his room, picks him up, and brings him back to have his turn, pushing the button, too, and...

DING!

It's another world of towering snow-covered mountains, and the two move out into it, leaving their tracks behind them....

There is no power like imagination "to take us lands away" to paraphrase Emily Dickinson, in Minh Le's latest, Lift, (Hyperion, 2020), in which little Iris finds that her reach for a magic button can take her to imagined "worlds away" where she can roam the universe in her own space station. Mission accomplished! With the comical and quirky illustrations of Caldecott Award-winning artist, Dan Santat, an elevator button lifts Iris and her baby brother into a fanciful world just as the rabbit hole took Alice to Wonderland, with wonderful adventures to be had. "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a Heaven for?" said Robert Browning, one of those optomistic Victorian poets. Author Minh Le favors a more modern prognosticator, Carl Sagan, who said, "Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it, we go nowhere."

Puns Kirkus in their starred review, "Iris' creative growth elevates us all!"

If It Looks Like a Duck....My Brother the Duck by Pat Zietlow Miller

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Fences: Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins

Abuela stars in all of Mama's stories, but my only memory is a voice calling me "Angelita." We haven't seen my grandmother in five years. But today is La Posada Sin Frontiers, and we are taking a bus to the border to meet her.

Maria, her mom, and her little brother Juan board the bus to the Border Field State Park in San Diego. Mama is knitting the last few rows on a scarf for Abuela which Maria has been working on for weeks and little Juan clutches his gift for his grandmother, a drawing of Mary and Joseph at an inn with a sign that says "NO RUME." At the park they wait for the border officers as they allow small groups to enter the space between the two border fences between Mexico and the U.S. to meet their families on the other side.

At last it's their turn. She hears a voice calling her mother's name.

"Sylvia! Sylvia!

And then Maria hears a now familiar voice, her grandmother's!

"Juan! Maria Angelita!"

"I'm still her little angel," Maria thinks happily.

The openings in the fence are small, only big enough to touch each other with fingers, but their words travel back and forth quickly. But Maria's knitted scarf is not allowed through by a border officer who gives it back to her. Mama' promises to mail it to Abuela, but Maria is still sad. But what about her little brother's drawing? Maria thinks about that as priest leads a short Posado service and the officers tell them it's time to go. But Maria has an idea to get her brother's gift to Abuela.

"Abuela, esparate'! Wait!" she calls.

Sitting on the sand, Maria takes the knitting needles and yarn from her mother's bag and fashions a kite out of Juan's drawing, and on the third try, the little kite soars over the two fences as the crowd and border officials alike applaud. Mama' cuts the yarn and the kite wobbles and drops into the sand of Mexico, where Abuela picks it up and carries it carefully home.

In a touching story of family life at the border, Mitali Perkins' Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) show that love indeed knows no borders. In the skillful illustrations of Sara Palacios, the kite and yarn become apt symbols of the ties that bind families together despite closed borders and steel fences. A Christmas-themed story for young people that speaks volumes. "A story of family strength and unity overcoming fences along the Mexican/United States border. Another poignant piece to add to the current national discussion about the border. A must for any collection," says School Library Journal's starred review.

The Aristotle Adventure: Season of the Sandstorms (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack looks away from his unfinished homework, several pages filled with figures and more figures. For a diversion, he pulls out a small book, TEN MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACK FROM TEDDY AND KATHLEEN. Jack and Annie had already used three of the rhymes on Merlin Missions. Jack is wishing he were on one of those missions instead of doing arithmetic, just as Annie bursts into his room.

The two rush to Frog Creek woods where the Magic Tree House is waiting in their oak tree. It seems they are called to a Merlin Mission to...BAGHDAD... to help the Caliph spread wisdom to the world. There is a letter of clues and a book to help: THE GOLDEN AGE OF BAGHDAD.

But Jack is not so sure this mission is going to be fun. He and Annie find themselves in a huge desert. Their instructions don't make a lot of sense-- to ride a ship of the desert through the starry night and find a horse who sees all and deliver a book to a friend. They turn to Teddy and Kathleen's rhymes and choose the one that seems to fit:

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"MAKE HELPERS APPEAR!"

And soon they hear the bells of a camel caravan approaching. A kindly camel driver says his name is Mamoon and offers them water and asks them to shake date palms and gather the fruit for the group. Then Mamoon offers to take them to Baghdad, but says they must travel during the cool of the night, and he offers each of them a camel, Cutie and Beauty. The camels sway wildly from side to side, but as usual, Annie is up to it all.

"Isn't this fun?" she laughs.

"Sort of...," said Jack, shivering.

Actually he isn't having any fun at all. He feels seasick and is freezing in the night air. How could the Caliph spread wisdom? And how will they ever get back to the Magic Tree House?

"Jack!" says Annie, "We just solved the first mystery: Ride a ship of the desert through a cold starry night!"

But just as Jack begins to enjoy the ride, the little caravan is attacked by bandits. Mamoon tosses a small wooden chest to him and tells them to protect it and take it to the caliph in Baghdad. Cutie and Beauty veer away through the dunes and race for what seems like miles. When their camels finally stop, Jack decides to bury the precious chest in the sand, just as Mamoon rides up again. When Annie asks if the chest is magic, Mamoon says what it contains is better than magic--it has knowledge of science inside in a special book of writings by a philosopher named Aristotle. But just as they mount their camels to continue their journey, a terrible sandstorm surrounds them, and when it is over, Jack and Annie see the towers of a strange city gleaming in the first rays of the sun. They have reached Baghdad!

Leaving their camels inside a stable, the two make their way toward the palace of the all powerful Caliph, still wondering how they can help him spread wisdom to the world. But then Jack remembers that he left the box with the the book, THE WRITINGS OF ARISTOTLE, in his bag hanging from his camel's saddle. And back in the stable, Jack and Annie see something dreadful.

Jack's bag lay at Beauty's feet. The THE WRITINGS OF ARISTOTLE was open. Wet pages hung in shreds from Beauty's mouth as she happily chewed the precious treasure.

Is there a magical rhyme in the book given to Annie and Jack by Merlin's helpers, Teddy and Kathleen, to help them? Jack opens the rhyme book and they look down the list of spells. Aha!

MEND WHAT CANNOT BE MENDED!

And after restoring the scientific writings of Aristotle to the Caliph of Baghdad to preserve them for the future, Jack and Annie find the Magic Tree House settling down into the big oak tree back in the Frog Creek woods, and Jack finds himself with his homework still waiting for him--but this time he smiles when he realizes that he is doing his math with Arabic numerals from Baghdad, part of the wisdom of the world, in Mary Pope Osborne's time-travel adventure, Season of the Sandstorms (Magic Tree House (R) Merlin Mission) (Random House), Book VI in the Merlin Missions series. Nobody combines magic and mystery, history and science, and the fun of reading beginning chapter adventures that kids love quite like Mary Pope Osborne's long and notable series.

Mary Pope Osborne's and illustrator Sal Murdocca's latest in this series is Hurricane Heroes in Texas (Magic Tree House (R)) (see review here.)

Save the Tiger! Tigers at Twilight (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack and Annie walked past the Frog Creek Woods on the way back from the library.

"I miss Teddy!" said Annie."He is a really smart dog."

Jack agreed.

"And here!" said Annie.

"ARF! ARF!" The small dog barked from behind a bush. "Is it time to get our third gift?" asked Jack.

Teddy sneezed, as if to say "YES!"

Teddy leads them into the woods where inside their tree house they find a note from Morgan Le Fay.

"Now we have to get a gift from a faraway forest," Annie reads.

And with a tap of Morgan's magic book, the tree house rises above the trees and spins away, finally coming down to rest in what is indeed a forest, with two langur monkeys, Kah and Ko, waiting in the tree to guide them. Kah places his little paw in Jack's hand and leads him into the beautiful forest. Jack and Annie are amazed at the bright birds and flowers, but frightened by a giant python and a tree marked by the deep scratches left by a huge tiger. And then they spot a real tiger, unconscious with his foot caught in a steel trap. Jack and Annie spring the trap, and dash up a tree, afraid of the tiger.

Kah and Ko show them how to swing from the vines in the tree to the back of a patient elephant. Safe for the moment, they meet a hermit seated by a blue pool who asks Annie to pick him a lily from the pond. It's a beautiful bloom, but its stem ends in a muddy smelly root. Annie wonders how can anything as beautiful as the lily and the tiger can be so ugly at the same time?

"When you saved the tiger, you saved all of him, his graceful beauty and his fierce nature. This perfect lotus blossom grows from dark, thick mud," said the wise man. "It's beauty cannot live without its ugliness. Do you understand?

Take this lotus." he said.

"A gift from a faraway forest.... Our third gift," said Annie, thoughtfully.

Their task is complete and with a tap of the magic book the Magic Tree House returns them to its place in Frog Creek Woods, with only more task and gift left to free Teddy from his spell, in Mary Pope Osborne's book from her best-selling series, Tigers at Twilight (Magic Tree House, No. 19) (Random House). As she always does, Osborne also includes an appendix which explains much about the folklore and animals of India's tropical forest

Jack and Annie have only one last task to perform to free Teddy from his spell. For that transformation, see Osborne's Magic Tree House #20, Dingoes at Dinnertime (Magic Tree House, No. 20)

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."