Wind Song! Biscuit Flies A Kite by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

It's MARCH! The Earth has come a long way since the fall solstice signaled the advent of cold days, but now the days are creeping close to the spring equinox with longer--and warmer--days. Spring cometh soon, but first--March winds do blow! What should kids do?

Right! GO FLY A KITE! And Biscuit and his fellow pet Puddles are taking their girls outside to give it a try. They have bright-colored kites with long, long strings wrapped around a stick to hold them by, that is, if they can get their kites UP.

But first the pets have to try to play with the sticks and run away with them. Biscuit and Puddles get the kite strings all tangled up.

The girls are patient with their pets, and when the strings are untangled, it is time to try to get their kites to catch the wind.

READY?

HERE COMES THE WIND!

But the two kites are stuck on the launching pad. (Well, actually--stuck on a bush!) Time to try again. Hopefully, the girls jump to toss their kites high to catch the wind.

WOOF!

BOW WOW!

But their strings snap in a gust of wind and only the fast moves of Puddles and Biscuit save the day--with historic leaps to catch the trailing strings!

PUDDLES CAN JUMP HIGH!

But the girls give it one more try... And the third time is the charm for the two girls and their pets. They have LIFT OFF, in Alyssa Satin Cupucilli's salute to March winds in her Biscuit Flies a Kite (My First I Can Read), (HarperCollins) with the help of her artistic partner, Pat Schories, in this breezy seasonal My First I-Can-Read book for young dog and book lovers. It's time for the two plucky girls and their pets to lean back on a park bench and admire their kites flying high in the spring breeze. As always, Biscuit is there for memorable childhood occasions for young beginning readers.

A Boy And His Dog: This Day by Juliana O'Neill

A little-golden and-white Corgi wakes his boy, snoozing deeply in his warm bed.

TIME TO PLAY!

And play they do!

First they take a dip in the pool, the boy with his snorkle and mask, the dog in in his doggie life jacket, as the sun sparkles on the water. Then they climb out and seek the warmth of the tent, creeping into the sleeping bags inside, and then move to the soft, warm grass to to sprawl on their backs to soak up some rays in the sunshine.

And when they are warm and dry, it's time for a good walk together, a friendly talk, and reading a dog story with their friends.

And soon it's time for to curl up together as Mom spreads the coverlet over both of them after the best sort of day ...

...

A DAY OF PLAY.

There are only 23 choice sight words in Juliana O'Neill's early reader about a companionable day with a boy and his dog, This Day (Reading Stars), (Xist, 2022). Beautifully muted soft pastel illustrations by artist Ding LinHui, provide the visual cues in his illustrations which help early readers "read" the 23 sight words in this soothing early reader. What a way to spend a day!

Best Buddies: Dogs Love Cars by Leda Schubert

WINDOWS DOWN, NOSES OUT, EARS FLAPPING, DROOL ON THE WINDOWS....

Most dogs are mad about cars.

Don't get me wrong. Cats are great pets. But most cats are not fond of car rides. Having wind in their fur and faces does not particularly appeal to them. (They don't drool much, however.) But if you love a pet who likes to go places and do things outside in brand new places, dogs are ecstatic! (Most cats could not care less, (unless it's their idea!)

BUT DOGS LOVE CARS!

Dogs love to go for walks with their owner on the other end of the leash. They like to meet strange dogs and exchange sniffs. Dogs like pretty much everything about going places and doing things outdoors. Or indoors will do as if that's what you've got.

DOGS LOVE TOYS.

Floppy, bouncy, rolling, chewey, new, or old, dirty and disgusting, chewed up, broken, dogs adore 'em.

DOGS LOVE CHORES.

Dogs love washing cars, and they love digging dirt for any purpose known to man. (Cats, on the other hand, only dig for one purpose, one that most owners do not care to share!)

Dogs love to eat almost any kind of food, and some things that their owners don't even consider to be food.

But the best thing about dogs is that. . .

DOGS LOVE PEOPLE!

Dogs try to love cats, but that doesn't always work out so well! But in fact, the best thing about dogs is that they love their owners. And they usually want to love everything their owners love, even if that's a cat, in Leda Schubert's joyful, just published picture book in praise of all things canine, Dogs Love Cars (Candlewick Press, 2021).

With the funny child-centered illustrations of dogs being dogs, doing their thing, including loving their owners, by Paul Meisel, this is a book that almost anyone will love.

Says Booklist, "Energetic and appealing... a doggy delight!"

Dognabbit! Interrupting Cow: New Tricks for The Old Dog by Jane Yolen

The cows were lounging around in front of the barn, when Interrupting Cow appears and tosses out an old cannard.

"KNOCK KNOCK!"

Interrupting Cow, giggled, rolling in laughter on the floor, while the clueless cows rack their brains for the meaning of that non sequitur, and an old gray dog appears in the barn door with a smug smile.

"NOT FUNNY!" REPLY THE COWS.

In a huff the cows vacate the barn. To the surprise of Interrupting Cow, the old dog giggles again, with a winner's chuckle.

For parents who've endured those "Guess What?/That's What?" jokes, look who's the one who gets the laughs now?

At least Old Dog gets a laugh out of Interrupting Cow this time in Jane Yolen's latest in her nonsense beginning readers, New Tricks for the Old Dog: Ready-to-Read Level 2 (Interrupting Cow) (Simon Spotlight, 2021). Make way for certain silliness here. It's Old Dog who scores the first giggle in this book by the noted Jane Yolen, author of the best-selling How Do Dinosaurs..., rhyming easy-to-read series.

When Is A Hog Not A Hog? Hog Dog by Audrey Bea

Through the mist of the morning a nattily-attired little girl, in blue hairbow and red dress, spies something ahead, partially obscured in the fog.

What could it be?

IT MAY BE A HOG.

Does its head look like a hog's? It does, sort of. Does its tail look like a hog's? What about those ears? Are they the ears of a hog... or a dog? Maybe.

I THINK IT'S A HOG DOG!

Author Audrey Bea makes good use of all twenty-nine words in this beginning reader book, as her charming little character collects the clues, in Hog Dog (Reading Stars)(Xist Publishing, 2021).

The focus is on what the author considers "sight words." Words like "a" and "I" certainly can be sounded out by anyone who knows the English alphabet, whereas their curious spellings make "through" and "tongue" are clearly sight words, easy to use as reading cues from the illustrations. The bright artwork by Franko Sviatoslav contrasts with the small clouds of fog make in appealing pages for young readers to puzzle over.

For another quickie reader for rookies in the Reading Stars series, see Audrey Bea's My Ball (Reading Stars).

Pig The Pug--Deported! Pig the Tourist by Aaron Blabey

Pig the Pug has proved to be a pain in the patootie plenty of times!

But his putative owners and his co-pet, the timid and long-suffering dachshund Trevor, somehow put up with his pranks.

PIG WAS A PUG AND I'M SORRY TO SAY,

WHEN HE WENT ON VACATION, HE'D CAUSE GREAT DISMAY.

Sweet little Trevor is happy to travel cheerfuly in his little carrier without a whimper, probably because Pig can't pick on him there.

But Pig the Pug skips the leash to outdo himself in mayhem on several continents, leaving a swath of devastation in his wake, be it Brazil's Carnivale, the Great Pyramid and Sphinx, or the Tower of Pisa, now leaning more than ever.

He chases Queen Liz's Corgis right out of the palace, leaving the Monarch both shaken AND stirred, ALAS!

In the Amazon, Pig scoffs at the signage--"PIRANHAS! BEWARE!

So he dives into the river and gets bitten You-Know-Where!

And, dear readers, his bottom bandaged, truth to tell . . .

PIG THE PUG DOES NOT TRAVEL WELL!

In the awesome Aussie author-illustrator Aaren Blabey's tale of the terrible tourist, Pig the Pug, his Pig the Tourist (Pig the Pug) (Scholastic Press, 2019), this canine miscreant provides sight gags and rollicking rhymes to get the giggles from his many preschool and primary fans, who welcome each new entry in this New York Time's best-selling series. Blabey's latest in his Pig the Pug series is Pig the Monster (Pig the Pug)

Winning! Houndsley and Catina by James Howe

CATINA WANTED TO BE A WRITER.

Attired in her classy leaf-print caftan and with her cup of ginger tea, Catina seated herself at her writing desk to write a chapter of her book.

One day her friend Houndsley politely asked how her book was going. Catina reported that it was called Life Through the Eyes of A Cat and that it going splendidly, had seventy-three chapters so far, and would no doubt win her lots of prizes.

But when Houndsley asked politely if he could read it, he saw that it was full of wrong spellings crossed out and the first chapter, on mice, concluded with "I am bored writing abut mice. Who cares?"

Houndsley could not think of anything good to say about about her work, but he was honest.

"I AM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS," SAID HOUNDSLEY.

"I AM SPEECHLESS!"

"THANK YOU, HOUNDSLEY!" SAID CATINA.

"NOW I KNOW I WILL BE A FAMOUS AUTHOR!"

Every Saturday Houndsley made dinner for Catina and his friend Bert. They were not an easy pair to cook for. Bert only liked worms and seeds. And despite her cathood, Catina was a vegetarian.

But one Saturday night Bert praised his worms and broccoli aux poppy seeds. To please Catina, the worms were made of tofu, and she raved over the novel dish. Bert urged Houndsley to compete in the upcoming Cooking Contest, and Catina insisted that it was his duty to share his skills with the world. And, besides, the contest was going to be on TV!

The two persuaded Houndsley to enter the cookoff, and he prepared to show off his friends' favorite recipe, Three Bean Soup with Rice.

Houndsley arrived cheerfully for the contest, but it seems that nothing went the way it should.

First, a big can of tomatoes fell on his foot. Then the rice wouldn't get done. And in all the fiddling with the heat under his pot, Bert forgot to put any of the three kinds of beans in the pot. His three bean chili was a No Bean Bust!

"I THINK I BROKE A TOOTH ON THE RICE!" SAID ONE JUDGE.

"I DON'T TASTE ANY BEANS!" SAID ANOTHER JUDGE.

And all three judges laughed when the third judge suggested it should be called "No-Bean Soup!"

But an invitation from his best buddies to watch the fireflies come out consoles Houndsley, in revered children's author James Howe's gentle story about life's little failures, Houndsley and Catina: (Candlewick Sparks) (Candlewick Press, 2021).

Howe's tale of three friends, written for early chapter book readers, drolly stresses the wisdom that not everyone can win first prize and it's possible to do something just for the pleasure it brings to you and/or your friends. Mary-Louise Gay's pencil and watercolor illustrations are lively and expressive, interacting with and amplifying the text wonderfully. Howe's tales are a wonderful addition to the canon of beginning-to-read books, especially when two best friends help each other.

James Howe is the noted author of his perennial best-seller series, Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery and sequels, Bunnicula in a Box: Bunnicula; Howliday Inn; The Celery Stalks at Midnight; Nighty-Nightmare; Return to Howliday Inn; Bunnicula Strikes Again; Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow (Bunnicula and Friends) and his hit middle school series, The Misfits (Turtleback School and Library Binding Edition).

Bear Hunt! Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

WOOF! WOOF! "WHAT DO YOU SEE, BISCUIT?"

Biscuit keeps woofing and looking up. Does he see a bird? A butterfly?

No! It's a tiny Teddy Bear on the fence post. Biscuit and the girl look around. Puddles the terrier is getting a brushing. But it's not his Teddy. And Shaggy Sam is chewing his stick. Surely it's not his bear either.

"SOMEONE LOST A TEDDY BEAR! WHO?"

Woof! Biscuit sees that there are a big truck in the driveway and a lot of big boxes sitting around on the neighbors' lawn. And then Biscuit hears and then spies a toddler in a stroller crying! That's a CLUE!

WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

"IS THIS YOUR TEDDY BEAR, LITTLE BOY?"

Case closed! The mystery of the missing Teddy is solved, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear (My First I Can Read) (HarperCollins), in another My First I-Can-Read book for rookie readers.

Charmingly illustrated by artist Pat Schorie, this one is a great starter for youngsters just beginning to read for themselves, and though it is a far cry from Sherlock Holmes, this one has all the right stuff--illustrations that foreshadow the text as they attract and delight the eye and repetitive language that makes it easy for young readers to turn the pages and see what happens next.

Hand-Me-Down Canines, Unite! Secondhand Dogs by Carolyn Crimi

"It's a new dog day. Miss Lottie, who adopts homeless dogs, has driven the whole pack to the park, a thing she only does when there was a new dog to join the pack."

"It'll be great," said Tank, the big bulldog. "It always is."

But Gus, the titular leader of the pack, is not so sure. So far, for a group of one-time strangers, they get along pretty well. Tank is a trustworthy bulldog backup, with some weighty muscle behind him if needed. Roo is smart but a bit flighty, observant but still unsure of herself, and the latest inductee, pug puppy Moon Pie, is enthusiastic about everything and anything. But Gus is a mature dog whose been around the block a few times, and he is wise enough to see the problems of heading the pack, especially when he sees the new dog, Decker, sitting up very straight and still on the leash, giving nothing away as the pack looks him over.

But when they get to Miss Lottie's house, Decker is already on the make, taking over, as Miss Lottie praises him and talks about how much he is like her childhood pet Mr. Beans, and he watches craftily as Moon Pie cajoles tidbits from Miss Lottie.

"Humans are such suckers," he says. He knew Miss Lottie would be easy.

And before the pack knows it, he climbs into the back of Miss Lottie's van, subordinating Gus' position, and when they are back to her house, he gets all the best food and the special place in Miss Lottie's big bed, previously held by little Moon Pie. Gus tries to smooth over his treatment, but the cat named Ghost has Decker's number already.

And the next day, the whole teamwork of the pack is in shambles as Decker has his way with them, and when Gus tries to assert his leadership, Decker bites his own foot to make Miss Lottie believe Gus is guilty. By the end of the day, Gus is in disgrace; Moon Pie is out of the big bed: and the other dogs are quarreling with each other over which side to take. And to make it worse, Moon Pie is made to share his food with Decker, who lays it out to him cruelly:

"YOU, MOON PIE, ARE THE WEAKEST, SMALLEST SILLIEST MEMBER OF THE PACK. YOU ARE LOWER THAN THE CAT!"

"I AM THE TOP DOG NOW."

But Decker is not done with his takeover. He convinces Moon Pie that his former owner, Miss Gertie, is still alive and is searching for him, and then hints that there is a hole in the fence hidden behind some bushes, a good place to escape and find his way back to Gertie's big bed and popcorn. Overnight, the wishy-washy Roo follows Moon Pie into the alley behind Miss Lottie's house--despite the scary scent of coyote there.

But despite her distrust of the dogs, Ghost the cat has it all figured out and finally tells Tank about Decker's plan to take over Miss Lottie's house as the only pet. It's up to Tank to convince Gus to take back his job as leader of the pack. At last, Tank and Gus slip out and brave the outside world, coyotes and all, to try to rescue the lost little Moon Pie and recover and rebuild the family of Miss Lottie and the whole pack.

It's finally all for one and one for all, when the showdown with both coyote and Decker comes, in Carolyn Crimi's latest middle grade novel, Secondhand Dogs (Balzer and Bray, 2021). Gus sees even the fear behind both Decker and indeed even the young coyote, as he retakes his place as leader, stronger and wiser, in an exciting animal tale for middle readers told by veteran author Carolyn Crimi with understanding and insight into both human and animal nature.

Little Dog Lost! I'm A Baked Potato by Elise Primavera

THERE WAS A LADY WHO LOVED BAKED POTATOES. SHE ATE ONE EVERY DAY.

SHE ALSO LOVED DOGS, AND ONE DAY SHE GOT ONE.

The dog was round and brown and warm, so she called him "Baked Potato." They ate together by the fire and slept together at night. But one day the nice lady went out.

Later the little dog went out the open door, too, and wandered far away. At last he met a dog, who wanted to bite him.

"YOU LOOK LIKE A GROUNDHOG!" HE SAID.

The little dog went on down the road, hoping to find the lady. It got darker and colder, and then he met a fox who invited him into his warm kitchen. The fox told the dog he looked more like a tasty bunny rabbit and opened his creepy oven door. But the little dog was rescued by a wise owl, who told him that he was not a baked potato or a groundhog or a bunny.

"YOU ARE A DOG, GOOD AT FINDING THINGS WITH YOUR NOSE!"

And the little dog sniffed his way back down the road where he met the Lady looking for him, and now he knows who he is and where he belongs.

It's a happy reunion, in Elise Primavera's simple book of self-discovery and coming home, I'm a Baked Potato! (Funny Children’s Book About a Pet Dog, Puppy Story) (Chronicle Books).

In this simple story of a little lost shaggy dog, veteran author Primavera takes on the big subject of what and who we are and where we belong, part of the important knowledge of early childhood. Artist Juan Medena provides the humorous textured and blackline drawings that make for this warm homecoming doggy tale and gives children a reason for chuckles at the obvious mis-identities applied to the main character. A good, somewhat silly, but cozy and reassuring story of belonging where love is.

Downtown! Biscuit Visits the City by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

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

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

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

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

"OH, NO, BISCUIT! COME BACK!"

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

"SILLY PUPPY!"

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

DOWNFALL! Pig the Slob by Aaron Blabey

PIG WAS A PUG, AND I'M SORRY TO SAY,

WAS SHOCKINGLY LAZY, SUCH A SHAMEFUL DISPLAY.

HE LIVED IN A FLAT... HORIZONTAL POSITION,

WHICH LEFT HIM IN TRULY APPALLING CONDITION.

Yes, sadly Pig the Pug (a breed known to be fond of feeding) has become a devoted "couch potato" who lies day and night on the sofa, consuming comestibles constantly, downing mozzarella sticks and pizzas with a candy chaser, and exercising only when he changes the channel on his TV remote.

SWIPE. . . STARE. . . REPEAT!

His mild-mannered co-dog and sometimes friend Trevor, a timid but trim Dachshund, repeatedly warns him that he should change his ways, get off his fat bottom, and do some jogging. But the aptly-named Pig only grows more gross, and his sofa is more of the same, piled high with wrappers, paper cups, drinking straws, and assorted disgusting gnawed-upon bits of fast food.

HIS REPLY WAS QUITE TART.

HE SIMPLY SAID "NO," AND UNLEASHED A FART!

But Mother Nature, particularly as represented in the tensile strength of their apartment's flooring, has her limits, and in time nature follows its course (of course). The floorboards under Pig the Pug's sofa begin to fail, groaning and splintering and finally exploding beneath him, dumping Pig unceremoniously somewhere in the cellar with other disgruntled tenants. Luckily, Pig the Pug's well-developed avoirdupois serves well to soften his descent.

Will Pig the Pug ever change his greedy ways?

Well, sort of, in the noted Aussie humorist author-illustrator's Pig the Slob (Pig the Pug) (Scholastic Press, 2020.

Pig the Pug may work at physical conditioning diligently for a while, but in Aaron Blabey's laugh-out-loud picture books of this odd couple of dogs, Pig seems always to find, er, a new "avenue" for his greediness, much to the amusement of youngsters of preschool and primary grades. Blabey's best-selling rhyming tales of his odd pair of dogs include his trick-or-treat tale, Pig the Monster (Pig the Pug), his Christmas story, Pig the Elf (Pig the Pug), his Pig the Stinker (Pig the Pug), Pig the Tourist (Pig the Pug), Pig the Fibber (Library Edition) (Pig the Pug), and Pig the Winner (Pig the Pug). Couch potatoes and sofa snackers will relish these tasty tales of Trevor and especially Pig, who always gets his, um, just desserts! With plenty of titters and giggles along the way, Aaren Blabey's theme, that being greedy often leaves us needy, finds its mark.

On Second Thought.... We Want A Dog by Lo Cole

WE WANT A DOG!

But there are SO many kinds of dogs! It's hard to choose. Lazy? Crazy? Long? Strong? Tall? Small? Frumpy? Jumpy? Choices, Choices!

ONE THAT BARKS? ONE THAT FARTS?

Ummm.....

ONE THAT DROOLS? ONE THAT BREAKS THE RULES?

Er, well, uh...

ONE WITH FLEAS? ONE THAT PEES ON CHRISTMAS TREES?

On second thought--NONE OF THAT! Maybe what we want is. . .

A CAT!

British rhymster Lo Cole's latest, We Want a Dog: (Dog Books, Rescue Pets, Gifts for Dog Lovers) (Sourcebook/Jabberwocky, 2021), lets his penchant for internal rhymes romp, as he describes some of the er, less pleasing behaviors of man's best friend running loose in this witty look at sniffy, whiffy, shedding and shredding canine characters. Cole's irresistible red and black illustrations of pooches, shown spot-art style, and his nifty, nimble language make this short book a joy for young readers to take out for a run. Says Kirkus' starred review, "Lively, rhyming text is perfectly paired with expressive, energetic artwork."

Join The March! Biscuit and the Big Parade by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

"IT'S TIME FOR THE BIG PARADE! COME ON, BISCUIT!"

The big bass drum leads the snare drummers and the twirling girls down the street. Flags are waving and the spectators are cheering!

WOOF! WOOF!

But Biscuit pulls on his leash. He doesn't want to sit and watch. He wants to be part of the parade. When the firefighters trucks rumble by, Biscuit has to make friends with the firefighters big dog!

RUFF! WOOF! WOOF!

"BISCUIT! YOU CAN'T MARCH IN THE PARADE!"

But just then the clowns come by, led by a fat clown holding a bunch of helium balloons by their strings. The rest of the clowns blow their hand horns. Oooga! OOOOGA!

The big clown is so distracted that he loses his grip on the balloon's strings! Up they all go!

THERE GO THE BALLOONS!

But of couse Biscuit saves the day, jumping as high as he can to catch all the balloons just in time, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Biscuit and the Big Parade! (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read Books).

It's the season for watching and leading parades--and just the right fun for a puppy hero as he rescues the balloons and marches right along with the drummer in front of the band!

RUM-PA-PA-PUM! WOOF! WOOF!

Whether its a Halloween parade, a Veteran's Day parade, a Championship Game band or the Thanksgiving parade, they are all fun, and it's an especially good time to read a book starring in this popular beginning reader book with a puppy like Biscuit!

There's More Than One Side to Everything! Turtle in a Tree by Neesha Hudson

It's absurd! A greyhound sees something that should not logically BE!

A TURTLE IN A TREE?

His friend, the little bulldog, declares that that cannot BE! Surely that's a squirrel up in that tree. Everyone knows--turtles don't climb trees. Squirrels climb trees. Ergo, That must be a squirrel up there. The bulldog climbs up on the greyhound's shoulders for a closer look.

"I SEE A LONG BUSHY TAIL." SAYS THE BULLDOG....

But the greyhound sees something else.

"A ROUND, LUMPY, TURTLEY SHELL!"

Whatever it is in the tree starts tossing acorns at the two dogs. HA! Proof positive. It's a squirrel!

TURTLE!

SQUIRREL!

TURTLE!

SQUIRREL!

Then--the moment of truth! A squirrel leaps down from the tree! HA! The greyhound admits he was wrong. But before the bulldog gets a chance to celebrate...

THUNK!

A turtle drops like a stone from the tree! What are the odds? A squirrel AND a turtle together in a tree? Could that ever BE?

And as the squirrel rides off on the turtle's back into the sunset (Well, actually, off for a cruise on the turtle's back in the pond), the two dogs ponder what they have learned.

It seems that sometimes two different things can be true at one and the same time, in author-illustrator Neesha Hudson's philosophical little parable, Turtle in a Tree. (Dial Books, 2021)

It's an amazing world, one in which a turtle may be in a tree and a squirrel might take a dive into the pond!

Perhaps Lewis Carroll's Alice was right--believing "six impossible things before breakfast" is the way to go to prepare for life in this amazing world! Says Booklist, "Using sparse text, chuckle-worthy sound effects, and several absolutely wonderful and expertly placed wordless spreads, Hudson is clearly a storyteller and artist who understands intuitively how to use silence and image to amplify laughs."

First Sleep-Over: Charley's First Night by Amy Hest

IT WAS SNOWING THAT NIGHT, AND CHARLEY WANTED ME TO CARRY HIM HOME.

SO I CARRIED HIM HOME IN MY OLD BABY BLANKET

Henry, a tow-headed Christopher Robin look-alike, is totally snockered with his new puppy. He carries him upstairs to show him his room and the cabinet where his mom thinks she hides his birthday presents.

Henry's parents start out with hard-nosed pet ownership rules: Henry does the feeding and dog-walking, and the cleaning up of dog puddles, and the putting-to-bed of Charley on the dog bed they make for him downstairs in the kitchen. Henry lay down with Charley so he wouldn't be afraid, and the tired pup falls asleep almost instantly with the company of Henry's teddy bear and his ticking alarm clock...

LIKE ANOTHER LITTLE HEARTBEAT IN THE NIGHT.

As instructed, Henry went up to his bed and fell asleep with thoughts of playing with Charley in the snow tomorrow. But he soon wakes up.

"DON'T CRY, CHARLEY. DON'T CRY!" THOUGHT HENRY AS HE RAN DOWNSTAIRS.

He picked Charley up and walked him around the house. He put him into his bed under the table and rubbed his back and scratched him behind his ears, and Charley fell asleep by the light of the moon.

"'NIGHT, CHARLEY," WHISPERED HENRY.

It was a long time, but then Henry woke up to the sound of Charley, crying plaintively downstairs in the moonlight.

CHARLEY WANTED ME TO PUT HIM IN MY BED.

I THOUGHT ABOUT WHERE MY MOTHER AND FATHER WERE PRETTY CLEAR ABOUT WHERE CHARLEY WAS NOT TO SLEEP.

WE DIDN'T MEAN TO FALL ASLEEP....

And on that last page of notable author Amy Hest's boy-and-his-dog classic, Charley's First Night (Candlewick Press), there's no doubt where Mom and Dad find Charley when the sun peeps into Henry's bedroom. With the admittedly charming (darling, sweet, heart-warming, lovable) characters in this book, created visually in the soft, pastel illustrations of the acclaimed picture book artist Helen Oxenbury, winner of Britain's Kate Greenaway Award (the English equivalent of our Caldecott Medal), this is a moving boy-and-dog story that is the essence of learning to love another creature.

Says School Library Journal, "From Charley's adorable face and poses to Henry's mother's reflection in a mirror as she looks at the pair asleep, the pictures have a timeless quality and beautifully complement the story."

Both Sides Now: Yes & No by Elisha Cooper

GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING!

MY DEARS, ARE YOU AWAKE?

A new owner has two new pets--a dog and a cat--hoping that they will be good company for each other.... But little does she know that dogs and cats don't exactly have compatible.. er,.... world views.

Their answers? "YES!" AND "NO."

The pup bounces up, full of vim and vigor for the new day! The cat lolls, eyes still closed, on their rug.

The little doggie can't wait to begin. The cat says "HMPFF!" So the puppy grabs the rug in mouth and drags it out from under the cat. Now she's up!

The pup is SO up for his breakfast kibble. The cat eschews her cat crunchies and stalks away, nose in the air.

It a work day for the new pet owner, who has hopes the dog and cat will amuse each other. The cat flees to a table, imperiling a lamp, and then to the mantel, bringing down some books, and dashes for the sanctuary of the bathtub. The owner decides that perhaps it's a perfect day for playing outside.

"YES!" "YES!" "YES!" SAYS THE POOCH.

He rips and romps and chases his tail, while the cat walks the fence, finally leaping to a tree branch, above it all.

The dog gnaws a gardening boot, pulls the laundry down off the clothesline, and chases a bunny into its hole, where he begins a grand excavation in the lawn, while the cat naps well above the fray on his trusty branch.

"ENOUGH!" SHOUTS THE DISGRUNTLED OWNER"

BOTH OF YOU! GO!

Sadly the exiles climb to the top of the hill behind their house. The two outcasts sit together as the sun drops lower in the sky. At least they have each other.

Finally the owner calls them in, offering cat chow and doggie dinner.

WELL, OKAY....

"DID YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY?" SHE ASKS.

"YES AND NO. THE DAY WAS GOOD,"

"BUT NOW IT'S DONE." THINKS THE POOCH.

But there's always tomorrow, in Elisha Cooper's little menage a trois, Yes And No (Roaring Brook Press, 2021). And in the Caldecott-Award-winning author-illustrator's latest, where, as the owner wishes them good night, the dog begins to snooze immediately, while the cat--who marches to a different drummer--whispers "NO!" as he slips out the window into the night.

As Publisher's Weekly puts it in their starred review, "Sweetly comic . . . this sustained conversation offers giggles, reassurance, and warmth. Readers may even recognize themselves in a certain hound’s bedtime reluctance to say goodbye to the day’s pleasures.”

It's A Dog's Life! If I Were A Dog by Joanna Cotler

IF I WERE A DOG, I'D BE SILLY, JUST LIKE ME.

This young dog lover dreams of a compatible dog. He could be a Dachshund, a terrier, a bulldog, or even a Doberman, but he needs to be nosy but a little shy, big or small, fond of fetching--fast or a slowpoke, playful or grumpy, or even a little bit of trouble. But there's one thing that is most important.

IF I WERE A DOG, I'D BE LOVED... JUST LIKE ME!

The main character in veteran children's author Joanna Cotler's latest, If I Were a Dog (Philomel Books, 2021), is dreaming of a first dog, what he or she would do, which is important when becoming a dog owner, and Cotler shows doggie behavior in many of its possibilities. Illustrated by the author, adorable pups of different breeds are depicted, doing what dogs do, cuddling or being grumpy, bouncy or sleepy, but always needing and giving ... love! Says School Library Journal, "An intuitive, joyful book that gives children agency to imagine their own doggy selves, but also creates a foundation for discussions on differences and similarities."

A Boy's Best Friend Forever! Lenny and Wilbur by Ken Wilson-Max

LENNY AND WILBUR ARE THE BEST OF FRIENDS.

Wilbur sits when Lenny tells him to. He lets Lenny give him a warm bath with plenty of suds and a goatee of bubbles!

And when Wilbur's all clean and rinsed, he shakes and gives Lenny a bath!

The two eat lunch together. Lenny doesn't share from Wilbur's bowl, though.

They sing "Old MacDonald" together. Wilbur gets to do the "WOOF WOOFs" here and the "WOOFS WOOFs" there!

And when they are all tired out...

BEST FRIENDS REST TOGETHER!

Ken Wilson-Max's latest addition to his charming series, Lenny and Wilbur (Kane Miller, 2020) has owner Lenny and pet Wilbur just hangin' out and enjoying doing ordinary things together. Wilbur is the sort of big, companionable dog who makes people want to shake his paw and say, "You're a good dog, Wilbur!" Lenny is a good owner, too, giving his dog a nice warm bath and singing songs with Wilbur's cooperation, including soloing on the WOOF-WOOF passage, and young readers will find this one an easy one to breeze through. Share this one with Ken Wilson-Max's search-and-rescue romp, Where's Lenny?

Tasty Tale: Toasty by Sarah Hwang

Toasty was a well-browned piece of bread who had an unusual affection for dogs.

HE LOVED WATCHING THE DOGS PLAY OUTSIDE. HE LOVED HOW THEY BARKED AND RAN WITH EACH OTHER IN THE PARK.

Toasty wanted to be like them, but dogs had four legs, and when he got down on all fours, he could only see the ground. Dogs slept at night in dog houses, and Toasty spent his nights in a toaster slot. Dogs were furry, and he was a slice of bread.

AND WHEN TOASTY ROLLED IN A PUDDLE, HE ENDED UP SOGGY.

But Toasty had one canine trick: He could bark!

So one day, Toasty slipped out the mail slot with a red ball and took it to the dog park for the dogs to chase with him. Predictably, the dogs, being dogs, were more interested in Toasty as potential food than as a playmate! Thinking quickly, Toast leaped on top of a picnicking girl's sandwich and blended in with the bread. The dogs were flummoxed, but the little girl was delighted to hear the extra slice of bread on her sandwich barking!

"I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A DOG, SHE SAID. "BUT I'M ALLERGIC!"

And Toasty was just the pet she needed! WOOF!

All's well that ends with a perfect pet! In this tasty tale, author-illustrator Sarah Hwang breaks the old parental dictum, "Don't play with your food!" in a savory picture book romp, Toasty (Margaret Ferguson Books, 2021). Joining the recent spat of food characters, such as Peanut Butter and Cupcake and Peanut Butter and Jellyfish (Turtleback School and Library Binding Edition) (I Can Read!: Level 1), Hwang's charming and versatile hero is delicious fare for the picture book crowd.

Says Publishers Weekly, "Toasty becomes the toast of the dog park. Newcomer Hwang’s quirky plot has the meandering joy of a small child’s storytelling logic."