Treasure Quest: Oona by Kelly DiPucchio

OONA WAS SWEET... AND A LITTLE BIT SALTY....

... All of which behooves a little mermaid who lives in the deeps of the sea with her best friend, a cute sea otter named Otto, although not without frequent visits to the beach to collect seashells for her collection and visit with the folks in the shallows. But being a mermaid, Oona had a penchant for searching for treasure, too--coins, bottles, keys. Otto even found a pair of glasses.

BUT THERE WAS ONE SPECIAL TREASURE OONA COULD NEVER QUITE REACH--THE CROWN. IT WAS EXTRA SPARKLY!

STILL, OONA WAS DETERMINED.

.

But the crown was stuck in a deep, narrow rift in the sea bottom, and Oona couldn't quite fathom how to extract it, until, beachcoming with Otto, she found a long, spiraled and pointy shell that had distinct possibilities. But there was always a significant problem--a giant squid, a shark, a conk on the head from a drifting plank, and...

CRABBY CRABS! WAVY WAVES!

ALTHOUGH MERMAIDS ARE GENERALLY NOT QUITTERS... OONA SAID, "I QUIT!"

But without her quest, Oona feels as if she's lost her spark and finally, wearing the glasses to protect her eyes from swirling sand and carrying her spiraling shell for drilling purposes, she decides to dive deep in a final quest to fetch the crown. And even if all that glitters really is gold, Oona finds what she really needs to retrieve her spark may lie beyond, in Kelly DiPucchio's Oona (HarperCollins, 2021).

In lovely lush, watery greens, blues, and purples, Raisa Figuroa's illustrations of endearing marine animals are appealing, and little Oona is definitely not your usual Hans Christian Anderson OR Disney mermaid. Writes School Library Journal in their starred review, “This title celebrates independence, self-confidence, and bravery to try the new even after defeat as Oona becomes aware of the true treasure in her personal effort.”

What Will Your Story Be? Curious YOU! On Your Way by Kathleen Zochfeld and H.A. Rey

YOU HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH.

WHAT WILL COME NEXT?

This time of year is full of happy endings and new beginnings--whether it is graduating from preschool, from primary school, or even from college. And Kathleen Zochfeld's Curious You: On Your Way! (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017) is a way to celebrate those big transitions with a look back and a look forward. Using the classic illustrations of H.A. Rey's original Curious George picture books, we see that sometimes naughty, but always curious little monkey in his high points (as window washer on a skyscraper and the star of the movie about the first monkey in space in Curious George Takes a Job.

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE NEW HEIGHTS TO REACH!

On the other hand, any successful hero will have times when he'll need to hang on and maybe get a little help from his friends, as does George in Curious George Flies a Kite:

SO MUCH TO TRY!

There are a few crashes and falls, from time to time, but if you keep your curiosity and find your own style, the sky is the limit.

WHAT WILL YOUR STORY BE?

Curious You: On Your Way! offers a pat on the back and proud best wishes to a young graduate or anyone making a transition to a new place, a way to look back and a way to look into the future.

When Pigs Fly! The Cow Who Climbed A Tree by Gemma Merino

TINA WAS A VERY CURIOUS COW.

SHE HAD A THIRST FOR DISCOVERY.

HER MIND WAS FULL OF WONDERFUL THINGS.

ALL OF WHICH HER SISTERS FOUND VERY SILLY.

Her sister milkers were mostly concerned with consuming grass. They gave Tina's aspirations short shrift.

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

"RIDICULOUS!"

"NONSENSE."

Not deterred, Tina leaves her pedestrian siblings to their grazing in the meadow and takes off for the woods. The forest itself is magical, the tall trees suggesting mysteries to be discovered. And inspired, Tina decides to take leave of convention and climb one tree. Up she goes, and in the tip-top she discovers---a dragon!

Fortunately, this dragon is both vegetarian and friendly. They hit it off right away.

Tina can't wait to share her adventure with her sisters. But the conventional cows are not impressed.

"DRAGONS DON'T EXIST!"

"COWS CAN'T CLIMB TREES!"

"RIDICULOUS!"

But when Tina doesn't show up the next day for breakfast, her siblings decide to take charge of their wayward sister and set out into the woods, udders swinging resolutely, to bring Tina back to her senses and to her proper place in the pasture. But as they clomp through the woods, they can't help feeling the beauty of the greenwood. And then they see something they can't quite conceive.

A pig is climbing a tree with a sign that says...

FLYING LESSONS TODAY

Can the three bovine sisters believe their eyes? Do pigs fly? Can cows fly? And should they join in the fun?

WHY NOT?

Gemma Merino's The Cow Who Climbed a Tree (Albert Whitman/Macmillan, 2016) is a delightful flight of fancy, with both Tina and the Pig parasailing along behind the accommodating dragon. This satisfyingly silly story of thinking outside the, er, stall will resonate with kids who find it easy to think of six impossible things before breakfast. To add to the fun, Merino's illustrations are fancifully lovely, her trees straight lines with blue-green circles for foliage, abstract but capturing the sense of an enchanted wood in which a free-thinking cow can meet a vegetarian dragon and pigs can fly. This is a picture book that is a joy to the eyes, one that begs to be read with joy. School Library Journal gives this one a starred review, and Publishers Weekly adds, "... a lighthearted and amusing endorsement of leaving one's comfort zone and ignoring naysayers and giving dreams a chance."