Dino Etiquette: How Do Dinosaurs Show Good Manners by Jane Yolen

Some dinosaurs have manners--BAD MANNERS!

Do they belch loudly at the table and throw food at each other,or spit half-chewed broccoli on the floor?

At the library, do they yell and throw books around the stacks?

On the playground, do they push each other off the top of the tallest slide? Do they sass their mothers when they're caught making mudpies in the bathtub?

NO! THEY DON'T!

THEY'RE NEVER THAT CRUDE,

AND TRY NOT TO BE RUDE!

Dinosaurs are the very picture of politeness and the essence of etiquette.

They always say "Please" and "Can I help you with that?" "You can go first. I can wait till you're done." They share toys at play and when they go, say, "Thanks, everyone!"

GOOD MANNERS GALORE, MY POLITE DINOSAUR!

Heaven knows, dinosaurs and kids need to mind their manners wherever they go, in the latest in their best selling series, How Do Dinosaurs Show Good Manners? (Blue Sky Press, 2020). With the Caldecott-winning artist Mark Teague on board with his jolly illustrations of human parents and assorted recalcitrant dino offspring, kids are off for a rhyming good time from notable author Jane Yolen. As always, illustrator Teague uses a variety of esoteric dinosaur "children" just for those geeky youngsters who pride themselves as experts at spotting various species of large prehistoric beasts to add to their paleontological vocabularies. (See the backmatter for dinosaur names in order of appearance)

How the Race Is Run! I Am Darn Tough by Licia Morelli

How do you win a race?

First, you have to finish the race!

But as all competitors know, things don't always go your way.

STUFF HAPPENS!

As our girl takes her runner's stance for the start, things look good.

I REMEMBER TYING MY SHOES.

The sun is warm and the breeze is just right, and... she's off! The ground crunches under her feet, her stride lengthening as she moves. But the path is not smooth: There are patches of mud and puddles. There are rocks and roots ready to bring her down, and soon . . . . one does!

. . . TRIPPING AND FALLING. . . MY KNEE BLEEDING. . .

But she gets up and hobbles a few steps before finding her rhythm again. And then... there's the hill ahead... Running up and up is hard! There's a pain in her side, and the sun is too hot. But she can't stop now. She takes a deep breath.

I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE. I AM DARN TOUGH!

And her stride lengthens, her cramp fades away, and she catches up with the other runners, smiling, laughing with the others, seeing the finish line ahead.

THROUGH THE TAPE. ARMS UP!

I AM BRAVE!

And the race is run, in Licia Morelli's I Am Darn Tough (Tilbury House, 2020), beautifully illustrated by artist Maine Diaz, in a fun run, but learning that what it takes to finish the race is first to master yourself and not falter on the way to the finish. Stay the course! Says School Library Journal, ". . . a surprisingly poetic glimpse of the heart of the athlete, with a welcome, winning heroine."

Making It Matter! I Promise by LeBron James

REMEMBER!

NOTHING IS GIVEN.

EVERYTHING IS EARNED.

It takes a superstar to preach to kids like LeBron James does in his best-selling, straight-shooting picture book, I Promise (Harper, 2020). LeBron's admonitions are the real thing, the sorts of thing parents, ministers, and teachers say and which may go over kid's heads in daily life. But coming from the NBA hero, rather than the bespectacled old Ben Franklin, James' rules for living carry plenty of clout.

I PROMISE TO WORK HARDER AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT,TO BE A LEADER IN THIS GAME OF LIFE.

...

 TO REMAIN STRONG BUT HUMBLE, RESPECT MY ELDERS AND PEERS THE SAME.

...

 

TO USE MY VOICE AND STAND UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT!

TO WALK BRAVELY AND BREAK DOWN WALLS.

With lively and engaging illustrations of kids working and playing by artist Nina Mata, LeBron's book helps kids to be themselves, to be the best selves that they can be, and to help others do the same along the way. A full-court press by a super athlete for the importance of good character, this one is a timely summary of modern proverbs and adages that include the timeless wisdom of the ages.

Watch for It! Finding Kindness by Deborah Underwood

KINDNESS IS SOMETIMES A LADDER, A TRUCK, AND A TREE.

How can that be?

To a cat stuck in a tree, a firetruck and ladder are a welcome sight to see!

To hungry birds in winter, seeds and a feeder are the best things that can be!

Kindness can be a ride to where you need to go.
It's a friend who visits when you're feeling low.

It's a wiggly puppy you get to cuddle.
It's a helping hand when you're in a muddle.

Kindness can even be a replacement dip of ice cream when one falls off the cone. It's a homeless kitty to adopt when she's left all alone.

Popular author Deborah Underwood's picture book, Finding Kindness (Henry Holt, 2919), celebrates the smallest of kindnesses, even helping a stranded lady bug fly out the window. Doing the kind thing, no matter how small, gets a charming and rhyming exposition in author Underwood's latest look at the lowly good deed. Underwood, author of books tailored to young children such as The Quiet Book, Here Comes Valentine Cat,  Here Comes the Easter Cat, and The Panda Problem. is paired with fine artwork created by illustrator Irene. "Chan's illustrations are featured on expansive spreads, with bright, bold colors that pop. Depicted is a tight-knit community with members of varying races, ages, ethnicities, and genders," says School Library Journal.

Been Cool? The Cool Bean by Jory John

BEANSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Home of the Pods

All of a sudden, some beans are the really cool beans.

The Cool Beans are known all over school.

The rest of us are--HAS BEENS.

Oh, this Has Bean tries.

I wore sun glasses. I slicked my hair back.

But when it comes to being cool, copying the Cool Beans only makes you even more un-COOL.

And then things get worse for Has Bean. He drops his tray in the cafeteria. He falls off the slide. One day he gets caught daydreaming when the teacher calls on him. People laugh... How low can he go? He feels as limp as a canned green bean. He feels as squashed as a toddler's green peas. He feels smaller than a lentil.

But then one of the Cool Beans comes over and shows him his place on the page.

THEN SHE GAVE ME A WINK!

Just knowing someone has your back makes things cool in legume-land in Jory John's latest, The Cool Bean (Harper, 2019). Kids will readily recognize the coolness factor that begins in elementary school, giving this latest of John's little life lessons resonance with early graders. We can't all be COOL, but we can all be KIND, and with plenty of beanpod puns and Pete Oswald's comic illustrations, at least there can be peace in this pod. Kirkus Reviews says, "Cool beans, indeed!"

AD ASTRA! Shine! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Some people are meant to shine.

Others are better off blending in.

Me? I'm a blender.

Piper has the world's worst voice, but she is backstage at the Municipal Auditorium to help her dad with the middle-school a capella choir competition, the Winter Singoff. Busy blending in in her black dress, she overhears an elderly man in a blazer asking for Mr. Glass, the director of the prestigious Chumley Preparatory School chorus. The preppy choristers continue talking and Ainsley's voice emerges from the scrum of loud chatter by the Chumley singers.

"I sent him to talk to the judges!" says. Ainsley. "We need to be first so we can set the bar so high that no one can top it!"

The old man narrows his eyes. "You, my friends are not the center of this or any other universe. Think hard about who you want to be, children!"

But it's a Pyrrhic victory for Piper when her dad's public school singers actually win. Her dad is offered the job replacing the disgraced Mr. Glass. Piper gets free tuition at the posh prep school, not exactly her Christmas wish, but she goes along because her dad is thrilled at the offer.

But while Piper is busy trying to blend in, Ainsley and her clique continue to vie for glory, competing for everything, from academics to extracurricular activities, and when the school announces a new competition, the Excelsior Award, to be given to one student at the end of the year, the war games are on.  When Piper wins the Science Fair, she and her new friends, Tim, Kwame, and Emily, kick their own efforts into high gear, determined to beat Ainsley and Co. if they can. 

At last it comes down to the Talent Show. Piper prepares a show on the constellations, complete with her new star projector, purchased with dog-walking dollars; Kwame is chosen to be comic master of ceremonies; and Tim, the Great Timdini, plans to end his magic show by sawing a "girl" (actually Kwame and Emily) in half.  It looks like they have a shot at besting the popular crowd yet! But on the day of the show Emily sprains her wrist, and Piper gallantly gives up her act to be the lower half of Tim's magic trick.

It's looking like Ainsley and her snooty cohorts are going to blitz the Excelsior Award competition. But that award turns out to be not what Ainsley expected, an award designed by the old man in the baggy Chumley blazer, the grandson of the founder, tailored to discover the  kindest and most unselfish student in cleverly staged fake disasters over the semester. Needless to say Ainsley is not the winner!

Middle school readers may not be surprised in the comeuppance of the in-group and their self-proclaimed most awesome leader, but perhaps it's not too much to hope that J.J. and Chris Grabenstein's latest best-selling school saga sets a great example in their thoughtful protagonist, Piper Milly. In their latest, Shine! (Random House, 2019), the nice guy does finish first, and for good reason.  Says Kirkus Reviews, "A crowd-pleasing reminder that kindness pays.”

It's What We Do! People Share with People by Lisa Wheeler

It's good to share a window,
It's fun to share a ball.
It's best to share a cupcake
BEFORE you eat it all.

On the face of it, sharing what you have leaves you with less--right?

But the wisdom of the ages bends the other way--toward sharing--because humans, a long-lived species, have long since figured out that over time cooperation and sharing provide MORE for ALL. Sharing begins with parent and child, and families seem to have built-in belief that early sharing means more for all in the long run. Life in large societies requires that people share-- or suffer.

Of course, there are some things you shouldn't share... Keep your sneeze, PLEASE!

It's normal for youngsters to have trouble with the concept that sharing now means that someone in the future will do the same for you, and in noted author Lisa Wheeler's and Caldecott artist Molly Idle's People Share with People (The People Books) (Atheneum Books, 2019) the two creators share their considerable picture book skills to show young readers how it's done, especially in the case of playthings like balls that provide more fun when used by two, not one.

We DON'T live in a zoo!
I CHOOSE to share with you!

Of course, even most wild animals share, finding safety in numbers--family, pride, or herd--and although it's a hard lesson to teach toddlers, Wheeler and Idle's newest, with Wheeler's rhyming lines and Idle's engaging rotund tots, is a great way to understand the historical meaning of shared resources. Says Booklist, ..."this book demonstrates that learning social skills can be fun!"

I Am NOT Negative! The Knight Who Said "NO!" by Lucy Rowland

Once inside a castle lived
a little knight named Ned,
who always picked his toys up
and always made his bed.

Ned is the only kid in the town, and as kids go, he's pretty much perfect. No matter how unpleasant the task, Ned is Never Negative.

When asked to pick the cabbages,
Ned wouldn't whine or stress.

He always answered right away
and always answered,"YES!"

Life in the castle is never negative--except for the DRAGON who nightly swoops down low over town and terrifies the townspeople and the royal parents, too. But Ned can't help thinking that maybe the dragon needs someone to play with, too. What to do?

And one day Ned wakes up in a contrary mood. When The Queen asks him to bring in the milk, he opens his mouth and says "NO!" His royal parents are nonplussed. The townspeople are not pleased.

And when the dragon makes her daily pass over the castle, Ned walks out into the square and says--

"NO!"

The dragon has to confess that she only wants to stay and play with Ned. Ned is impressed with the Dragon's daring, and there's only one thing to say.

"YES!"

Ned the Super-Nice Knight discovers he has a mind of his own and a new playmate who even gives him the occasional night ride over the castle, in Lucy Rowland's The Knight Who Said "No!" (Candlewick/Nosy Crow Press, 2019). Sometimes even little knights have to make a statement, and artist Kate Hindley's agreeable but lonely little hero's change in mood will make perfect sense to kids. Hindley's charming geometric medieval scene, done mostly in blues and reds, and her goofy red dragon make this story almost irresistible. Says Kirkus Reviews, "This emotionally astute tale will strike chords of recognition."

Tidying Up With Mama! Llama, Llama Mess Mess Mess by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan

Llama Llama is in his room.
Cars and trucks go HONK! and ZOOM!

Little Llama in his playtime zone, imagining a race between his toys on a track under the bed and the chairs.

Mama Llama calls upstairs.

"Time to pick up all your toys!"
Why is Mama making noise?

Llama Llama is in his race car zone, and Mama Llama is apparently entering her tidying-up-time zone,

Their zones are colliding!

It's a problem of priorities. Toddlers want to play and have fun, and moms want 1) to walk across their floors without danger and 2) to finish their chores with a pleasantly tidy house so that they can have fun. The final goal is the same--but how to get to that goal for both is the problem.

Mom tries the old "what if everybody did" line of debate. Little Llama won't pick up? She won't pick up. She actually lets things like dirty clothes and clean clothes drop to the floor together. She goes on strike for the morning, and by afternoon all the horizontal surfaces are quite crowded. Llama Llama's bed is still unmade and too rumply and bumpy with toys to sit on. Dirty plates, pots, and pans crowd the table and the kitchen counters. The sofa cushions remain a fort, with brooms and mops for cannons. The fort is fun, but when they're done, there's no comfy place to sit. In fact, there's no good place to play! Llama Llama looks around. What has happened to his house?

Clutter, chaos, and distress.
No more Llama mess! Mess! MESS!

Grown-up llamas clean, that's true.
But little ones can pick up, too!

It's time for a little llama to pitch in and tidy-up or suffer the consequences, in Reed Duncan's latest entry in the series, Llama Llama Mess Mess Mess (Viking, 2019), and luckily Little Llama gets the message. Author Duncan makes comic but telling use of the "too much of a good thing" theme that Lillian and Russell Hoban used with exquisite success in their classic tot tale, Bread and Jam for Frances (I Can Read Level 2), and the Hobans' book, with Frances' final admission, "What I am is full of JAM," would make a great go-along with this latest in the beloved Llama Llama series, well illustrated in the style of creator Anna Dewdney by artist JT Morrow.

Back to School! Ready Or Not, Woolbur Goes to School! by Leslie Helakoski

It's the first day of school, and little Woolbur is up for it!

"I can dress myself and fix my wool!"

"No one else will look like you," said Maa.

"Your wool is a little unusual," said Paa.

"I know," said Woolbur.

"Isn't it great?"

With his wool in something like wild dreadlocks, Woolbur is more than ready to take on Barnyard Elementary. His confidence is overwhelming. When the other piglets and puppies and little llamas struggle to to paint houses and snowmen, Woolbur's painting is clearly avant garde abstractionist.

"We can't tell if it's upside down or right side up," said Dog.

"I know," said Woolbur.

"Isn't it great?"

When it's time to wash up after art, Llama laments that there are so many of them at the sink. Woolbur replies that that's great! Goat grouches that grass tastes different in the school cafeteria. Woolbur agrees and adds that that's great. Donkey does not like the noisy new games on the playground. Pig objects to riding the bus home.

"It's filled with kids I don't know," said Pig.

I know," said Woolbur.

"Isn't it great?"

With the exception of James Dean's Pete the Cat's Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, most well-known back-to-school stories deal with fears of the unknown, but in Leslie Helakoski's Ready or Not, Woolbur Goes to School! (Harper, 2018), her popular woolly character is an unusual first-time student who immediately embraces the newness of everything there.

Woolbur is a far-from-sheepish little lamb who loves novelty, a gung-ho little character who humorously flips the trope of the fearful school newbie and whose ebullient style gives youngsters an appreciation of the positive side of new experiences. As Pete the Cat would say, "It's all good!" Helakoski's use of Woolbur's repeated take on the unexpected will bring some laughs, and noted artist Lee Harper milks Woolbur's enthusiastic embrace of everything for all it's worth in her vibrant, full-bleed illustrations. "In a long list of appealing back-to-school books, this one really makes the grade," puns School Library Journal.

Possibilities! What If? by Sandra Magsamen

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT IS WHAT MAKES YOU AMAZING!

There are all kinds of ways of being different! You could have one blue eye and one green eye!

You could be big and orange with a tufted tail. Or what if you had very interesting spots and a very long neck?

Or what if you were gray and had a big trunk? Or what if you were gray and very, very small?

What if your quiet ways made you a pleasant worker? Or what if your bright colors make you noticeable in any crowd?

EVERYONE IS SOMEONE SPECIAL!

Everyone is unique in some way, says Sandra Magnamen, in her newest little book, What If?: What makes you different makes you amazing! (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2019).  Magsamen's bright faux naif illustrations picture all kinds of animals who look and act all kinds of ways in her jolly preschool story, following Shakespeare's advice "to thine own self be true!" And...

TODAY IS THE PERFECT DAY TO BE EXACTLY AND TOTALLY ...

YOU!

The Way: Zen Happiness by Jon Muth

What do you do when you get to the top?

KEEP CLIMBING.

Stillwater, the stolid, gentle Zen panda is back in an elegantly illustrated little gift book by the Caldecott-winning author-illustrator Jon J. Muth.

Stillwater shows his small friends the best way to go with inspired aphorisms, one for every month and each season, as he offers damp children a big red umbrella and a chance to return as many beached starfish to the sea as possible, even if it is impossible to toss them all back.

How can you continue climbing and observe stillness at the same time? Sit calmly and think.

If we become what we think--we can create our own world, and out world can be changed.

Caldecott artist Jon J. Muth's pithy guide to behavior, Zen Happiness (Scholastic Press, 2018), offers children calming pearls of wisdom, personal proverbs to live by, and lovely pastel illustrations in this latest book about finding peace and joy. Says School Library Journal, "A book that encourages mindfulness, love and self-awareness."

Share this one with Muth's Caldecott book Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book) and sequels (see reviews here).

The Importance of Being Earnest: The Good Egg by Jory John

"OH, HELLO! I WAS JUST RESCUING THIS CAT!

KNOW WHY?

BECAUSE I'M A GOOD EGG."

This good egg is a natural, free-range good egg. Back on the farm, life was simple, eggs-actly the same for all.

THERE WERE DOZENS OF US.

MEG, AND PEG, AND GREG... SHEL AND SHELLEY AND SHELDON, AND EGBERT....

The Good Egg tries to be helpful to everyone--carrying groceries for old ladies and fixing flat tires for folks in need.

But the rest of the guys in his carton are not such good eggs. They break all the rules, and they joke that that's just how they roll!

Keeping up his Grade AAA rank and keeping all those rotten eggs in line is HARD. He tries not to let his fellow eggs spoil his attitude. but being soft with them is only making him too hard-boiled, and ...

... I WAS LITERALLY CRACKING UP!

The Doc advises a yolk transfusion and some eggs-treme solitude.

OUT THERE, ON THE ROAD, I TRIED TO FOCUS ON MYSELF AND WHAT I NEEDED.

Finally the Good Egg discovers that he's a lonely only egg, and that's not so good. It takes all sorts to make a well-rounded carton, in Jory John's newest, The Good Egg (Harper, 2019). The sequel to John's top-selling 2018 book, The Bad Seed, offers some good life advice mixed with plenty of punny yolks, er, jokes, and eggs-pertly comic artwork by gifted illustrator Pete Oswald. Says Kirkus in their starred review, "Both text and art complement each other perfectly.Eggs-quisitely excellent."

Different Strokes? Pepper And Frannie by Catherine Lazar Odell

Pepper is plodding, pragmatic, and risk-averse. Frannie is individualistic, haphazard, and frankly risk-taking. But strangely enough...

PEPPER AND FRANKIE ARE BEST FRIENDS.

How does that happen?

THEY BOTH LOVE A GOOD ADVENTURE.

It's all in the way they approach and prepare for their activities.

Frankie is packing up for a weekend skateboarding festival, Wheels in the Woods, while Pepper is planning to take photos of wildflowers. But when Frankie misses her bus, Pepper proffers a ride up to the woods on her motorbike. So far, so good, although Pepper is a bit alarmed when Frankie hitches a ride behind her on her skateboard.

On arriving, Frankie urges her sedate friend to stay and watch the skateboarding exploits, and Pepper agrees to take snapshots. And what a photo op!

Pepper is mesmerized. She snaps photos perfect flips, ollies, and tailstalls on the half pipe.

That's all well and good until Frannie insists that Pepper must learn to skateboard, too. She drags her cautious friend into hopping on the board. Pepper takes some spills and declares that she is done, but Frannie keeps up the encouragement, and soon they are doing a creditable skateboard duet.

"If I can do this... I can do anything!" says Pepper.

Good friends can widen experiences, as shown in Catherine Lazar Odell's brand-new Pepper and Frannie (Page Street Kids, 2019). One of the joys of friendship is that friends can sometimes introduce us to things we didn't even know we liked to do. Author Odell plays off the differences between her two characters as they discover they have more in common than they knew. Odell's soft watercolor illustrations sweetly portray the two friends finding out new places and ways that they can go together, with more Pepper and Frannie adventures sure to be on the way.

'Fess Up the Mess Up! Even Superheroes Make Mistakes by Shelly Becker

When superheroes are not up to speed,
when they slip up, and trip up, and fail to succeed...

They could cry, or deny, or claim it's not fair,
or rip off their cloaks and quit in despair.

Everybody makes mistakes, but nobody likes to admit it when they do.

Superheroes have super powers that would make it super easy to cover up their screw-ups. But THEY DON'T!

If they miss the real felon, they don't start yellin'
that it's not their fault--they were locked in the vault.

If their homemade cake is too salty,
it's not the corner baker who's faulty.

But ashamed superheroes who goofed up somehow,
first stop and consider what's best to do NOW.

In Shelly Becker's latest, Even Superheroes Make Mistakes (Sterling Children's Books, 2018), superheroes don't dodge the blame bullet. When they mess up, they 'fess up, and when they nap, they take the rap.

When superheroes are not up to speed,
when they slip up, and trip up, and fail to succeed...

They could hang their heads down; they could but they don't!
Because real superheroes just wouldn't, they won't!

Artist Eda Kaban's in-motion illustrations offer lots of laughs at the legions of ways there are for various superheroes to slip up, but winners don't whine, and the supers learn from their bloopers. There are some serious life lessons about personal responsibility here, softened by Becker's lighthearted rhythmic rhyming quatrains and Kaban's comic portrayals of heroes taking pratfalls as we all do. For a super pair, share this one with Becker's earlier superhero story, Even Superheroes Have Bad Days (Read my 2017 review here.)

Small Acts: Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

Tanisha spilled grape juice yesterday. All over her new dress.

Everyone laughed.

Mom always tells me to be kind. So I tried.

I don't think it helped.

Parents and teachers and authors are always telling kids to be kind. But what does being kind actually look like? And what do you do when what you do doesn't seem to work?

Our girl rushes in to help dry Tanisha's dress and wipe up the spilled juice, but the Tanisha only dashes into the hall.

At art time our girl arranges her easel close to Tanisha, paints lots of purple splotches, and wonders if she should tell Tanisha that purple is her favorite color. It is, but what if Tanisha now hates purple? Should she offer Tanisha her extra sweat shirt to cover the purple stain? Should she spill something so that the others will laugh at her? Does misery always love company? Or would Tanisha just rather to have everyone forget about her spill as soon as possible?

"What does it mean to be kind?

It's not always easy to know how to be kind.

Some things seem like sure things. Putting dirty dishes in the sink and listening to her Aunt Franny tell the same old stories over and over again seem to be a easy choice.. Picking up litter, saying "thank you," and " bless you" to a sneezer seem safe. But sometimes...

Being kind can be hard, too.

It takes paying attention. Sometimes what seems like a good thing can be the wrong thing to do.

Maybe I can only do small things.

Pat Zietlow Miller's New York Times best-selling Be Kind (Roaring Brook Press, 2018) gets into the nitty-gritty of being kind in our daily life, while still affirming that small, sometimes random acts of kindness can create a chain reaction among people. Artist Jen Hill's sensitive illustrations extend Zietlow's text, picturing possible outcomes of the impulses to show kindliness as traveling far beyond our girl's actual daily life. "[A] lovely exploration of empathy and thoughtfulness," says School Library Journal's starred review.

It's Not the End of the World, Or, Remain Calm and Carry On! OOPSIE-DO! by Tim Kubart

Talk about having a bad day!

All is cheery as Dad, with baby in sling and preschooler in tow, sets out to deliver them to daycare and preschool. But once she's there, this little girl's day is all downhill. It's her turn to feed the classroom goldfish, but she spills the fish food all over the floor. No way she can put that flaky stuff back in the can. What to do?

JUST SAY "OOPSIE-DO!"

The kids pitch in! With a broom, a dustpan, and a handy trash can, it's spit-spot and soon forgot.

But Murphy's law is in effect still. If something can go wrong, it will.

At art time, just as she completes her yellow submarine, the blue paint runs and turns it green. OOPS!

There's nothing for it but to turn her realistic picture into an expressionist statement of the essence of the sea.

Chasing a ball, she takes a fall. At snack time, she pulls out her treat and it falls at her feet! What does she do?

SAY "OOPSIE DO!"

When it's time to go, she mis-be-buttons her coat, but that's easily fixed. But when she lets the puppy with muddy feet squeeze in through the front door, she can't take back the tracks. But her smile doesn't stop as she reaches for the mop.

But the day's not over yet! The baby flings spaghetti and it lands on her Teddy. The toothpaste misses the toothbrush, but lands squarely on her PJs. But, hey, that's okay; it's a flub-the-dub day, and at last it's over--

OOPSIES CAN HAPPEN AND GET IN YOUR WAY.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY SHOULD RUIN YOUR DAY!

As the English say, "Remain calm and carry on," and our girl does, to the recurring refrain of "Ooopsie-Do," in songwriter Tim Kubart's new picture book for those who make big boo-boos, Oopsie-do! (Harper, 2018). With the downloadable song with this book, preschool kids can learn to to meet life's little screw-ups with a smile and a sing-along moment. Artist Lori Richmond's illustrations are perky and cute and have plenty of appeal to kids who should know that their turn to mess up is bound to show up sooner or later.

Not All It's Cracked Up To Be! Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey

Fairy Tales can come true,
It can happen to you!

At least that's what Thelma the Pony thinks.

Thelma felt forlorn.

You see, she wished with all her heart to be a unicorn.

Although Otis the Mule thinks the stocky little pony is perfect just the way she is, Thelma has bigger dreams. And one day it happened.

She saw it.
A carrot on the ground.

She tied it to her nose.

And without the wave of a fairy wand or a single bibbidy boppidy boo, Thelma is transformed. Upon her head is a spiraling, sparkly horn, her coat is pink, and her tail is long and silvery. She is a beautiful UNICORN.

And soon Thelma is living the glittery life of a celebrity idol. The fame of her beauty and charm spreads worldwide. Crowds follow wherever she goes. She has a worldwide fan base who greet her with banners that read

OMG! I 💖 YOU!

Thelma The Unicorn tours the world, making appearances before her adoring public, sailing the seven seas on her cruise ship, The Fairy Princess. Throngs await her at every port, swooning at her beauty and begging for her sparkly autograph. Fans await her everywhere, from early morn till midnight. It's great!

Until... it's NOT!

Thelma realizes that it's all a bit too much.

So much fame was kinda tricky, too.

You see, her fans were mad for her. They'd chase her everywhere she went.

It never ever stopped.

Thelma realizes that there's no escape from her fame. She's no longer herself; it's like her admirers own her! They are her FANS, so they feel entitled to follow her every move.

One dark night, she felt quite sad, this famous little pony.

She said, "I thought that I'd feel great..., but all I feel is lonely."

Heavy lies the head that wears the horn. Thelma finds it lonely at the top. There's only thing to do, and Thelma does it. Off comes the magic carrot, and Thelma the glamorous unicorn is no more. It's back to being an ordinary pudgy pony with good ol' Otis waiting to keep her company, in Aaron Blabey's little picture book parable of ditching the Disney delusion of fame, Thelma the Unicorn (Scholastic Press, 2018). Like Blabey's popular character Pig The Pug, Thelma longs for fame, but finds it folly, with artist Blabey providing a plenty of comic scenes along the way as Thelma flees her fans and returns to savor the simple life. Unlike the hopelessly self-absorbed Pig the Pug, though, Thelma emerges a reformed and more lovable character, and with her big smile and googly eyes intact, Thelma returns to her roots as artist Blabey's lovable illustrations poke fun at the glow of the glitterati.

Blabey's other books are Pig the Pug, Pig the Winner (Pig the Pug), Pig the Star (Pig the Pug), Pig the Fibber, and Pig the Elf (Pig the Pug). (See reviews here).

Revenge of the Underdog! Pig the STAR by Aaron Blabey

DOGGY STARZ
PET PHOTOGRAPHS

Trevor and Pig
Had a big photo shoot.
They wore little costumes.
They really looked cute.

Pig the pugnacious pug and his timid housemate, Trevor the dachshund, are back! Pig the Pug is just as obnoxious as ever as he pencils himself for all the sittings on the photographer's call sheet. But even the timorous Trevor gets into the spirit of the glamour shots as he giggles at himself dressed as Elvis Prestley.

But Pig the Pug pushes Trevor aside and mounts the pedestal as the King of Rock 'n' Roll. He hogs all the costumes, posing as the Mona Lisa in Renaissance gown, Tarzan in a leopard skin loincloth, Madonna in her metallic bustier, and in burly rapper gear, and insults little Trevor, calling him sausage, salami, and frankfurter!

Yes, Pig ruled the photos.
He hogged every shot.
He whispered to Trevor,
I'm IN, and you're NOT!"

But playing to his strength, Trevor turns the tables and dons a hot dog costume.

Then something happened
That changed the whole shoot.
The man with the camera said,
That dog is CUTE!"

As always, author-illustrator Aaron Blabey celebrates the triumph of the underdog, in his latest, Pig the Star (Pig the Pug) (Scholastic Press, 2018). Trevor has his moment in the limelight, and Pig the would-be star falls from fame, in another delightful revenge of the nerd doggy tale by Aussie author Blabey. In this just-published sequel in his doggy series, Blabey's rhyming quatrains tickle young readers' funnybones, and his over-the-top illustrations of the predictable bug-eyed bully Pig the Pug do not disappoint!

Other books in this series include Pig the PugPig the Elf (Pig the Pug) and Pig the Elf (Pig the Pug). (read reviews here)