Sweet Revenge: I'll Fix Anthony! by Judith Viorst

Mother says deep down in his heart, Anthony loves me.

Anthony says deep down in his heart he thinks I STINK!

When I'm SIX, I will fix Anthony!

Little brother Alexander can't wait till he can get even with Anthony. He dreams of giving Anthony a taste of how it feels to be a little brother. He's going to be taller than Anthony because he eats vegetables and drinks milk and Anthony eats junk like jelly beans and root beer. He'll dive right off the diving board, but Anthony will chicken out! Alexander will know how to float, and Anthony will just sink to the bottom of the pool. Alexander will know how to sharpen pencils, and Anthony will have to beg him to sharpen his! Alexander will be reading The New York Times while Anthony is still reading baby ABC books.

Anthony will have a virus, and my grandfather will take me to the movies. I won't even have to save him some popcorn unless I want to.

Revenge will be sweet when Alexander is six and can jump higher, run faster, and beat Anthony at Tic-Tac-Toe every time! And Anthony will never chase him out of the playroom again...

I won't have to run when I'm six!

The thoughts of the payback are sweet, in Judith Viorst's classic story, I'll Fix Anthony (Aladdin Picture Books) (Aladdin/Atheneum Books) in her classic series of books about her sons' sibling rivalry. Alexander is, of course, the Alexander in her best-sellers, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Top Hen! One Happy Chicken by Diana Calkins

ONE DAY A TINY BROWN CHICKEN FOUND HERSELF ALL ALONE ON A SIDEWALK.

A kind lady finds her, and since keeping poultry is prohited in her subdivision, she decides to find the adorable orphan chick a home. And she has just the place! She knows a lady who has two kids, three dogs, six cats, two parrots, and a bunny. How much difference can one tiny chick make in that menagerie? The little boy took to the chick immediately.

"MY TURN TO HOLD HER NEXT!" SAID THE LITTLE GIRL. "WE'LL CALL HER ZOE," SAID THE MOM."OH, BOTHER!" SAID THE DAD.

So Zoe moves in and soon is on the way to being the Mistress of the Menagerie. An unfortunate run-in with a rescue dog named Foxy doesn't go well, but Zoe achieves local fame as --

"THE CHICKEN WITH A BANDAID ON HER BUTT!"

Zoe's escapades finally force the vet to clip her wings to keep her out of treetops, but she soon finds eggs-actly her true destiny, discovering her prowess at egg-laying and finding diversion in her talent for doing so in creative places.

SURPRISE! MOM FOUND ONE IN THE DRYER!

It's a good life for Zoe and her big family. But tempus fugit, and in good time all the pets are adopted and the kids are grown and ready to fly the coop themselves, leaving Mom and Dad with only one happy hen, but one with an egg-cellent reputation! Diane Calkins' One Happy Chicken (1) (BookBaby/StoryMonster, 2020), is a light-hearted story of a critter-loving family and a hen with a flair  for the unpredictable.  Artist Sharon Davey provides the comic illustrations for this merry menagerie with a happy ending for all.  Roost well, everyone!

Eggs-capade! The Chickens Are Coming! by Barbara Samuels

One day Mommy, Winston, and Sophie saw an interesting sign:

MY CHICKENS NEED A HOME!
I'm moving and I can't take them with me!

Inexplicably, Daddy declares that chickens can be pets, and Winston immediately expresses a wish to walk a chicken. And before they know it, their backyard is transformed into a hen habitat and ... Sophie declares,

"THE CHICKENS ARE HERE!"

There are five different sorts of hens--Desiree, Daphne, Divina, Delilah, and Dawn--one striped and speckled French hen, one Rhode Island Red, one fat and fluffy Chinese hen, one sleek golden hen, and one with a topknot of long, droopy feathers. They all run away from Winston's attempts to make friends.

"Why don't they like me?" he shouts.

As the chickens settle down in their lovely new coop, the kids can't wait for their eggs--those all-they-can-eat eggs. None are found. What they do find is... ... plenty of chicken poop to scoop!

Sophie serenades the hens with her violin tunes and Winston reads them bedtime stories.

Finally there's a wake up call from the chicken coop.

Buk BUK BAWK!

And the next morning, there are eggs all over the yard, but it seems that the chickens have made an eggs-cape!

THE CHICKENS WERE GONE!

But when Sophie suggests that they follow the poop trail, the kids discover all five hens hanging out in the family room, roosting on the sofa, watching a video, and snacking on last night's leftover pizza.

And there are all the eggs they can eat for breakfast in Barbara Samuels' homey and cozy chicken story, The Chickens Are Coming! (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019), illustrated in jolly style by the author to show off the individual differences between family members and their poultry pets. With the new popularity of raising chickens in urban settings, this brownstone-dwelling, adventurous city family stars in a story that hits the ups and downs of poultry raising with good humor and just enough poultry lore for a fun read-aloud that kids will find egg-cellent storytime fare."Samuels gets excellent comic mileage by drawing her hens as unblinkingly unflappable," quips Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal sums this chicken caper up, saying "Chickens rule the roost."

Bottomless Joy! Grandma's Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Today my Grandma Mimi is coming to visit.

When Mimi comes over, she always has new treasures to share.

And no matter what, they come from inside her purse.

Grandma Mimi believes in being prepared for any exigency.

"You never know what you'll want to have with you!" Mimi says.

Mimi's got it all in that purse. It's kind of like a magical cornucopia--a regular Santa Claus's pack to her granddaughter!

She has a little mirror to make sure she looks her best, and extra earrings, just in case she feels like fancying up her look during the day. She's got her "smell-good" spray, some hairpins, the scarf of many uses, Grandfather's coin purse that holds memories as well as nickels, her funny old phone with no photos, just friends' numbers, and, of course, something sweet for those times when you need a treat--like sit-still-at-sermon-time at church.

But today, her granddaughter finds something else in there--a purse of her own. Joyfully, she wraps herself in Grandma's scarf, dons her big sunglasses and beads, and struts her stuff with her new carryall.

Grandmas come in all sorts and so do their purses. Some are sleek clutches, and some are stylish leather handbags with intricate closings. Some are businesslike briefcases, some are youthful knapsacks of the fringed persuasion. Some are recklessly stuffed reticules or totes, not unlike a hobo's sack, bristling with knitting needles or a laptop, a box of dog treats, or sweets for the sweet. No matter what kind it is, Grandma's purse is almost magical, because it is as big as her heart, in Vanessa Brantley-Newton's Grandma's Purse (Random House, 2018). Brantley-Newton's salute to grandmothers celebrates all the wisdom and the ways that grandparents enrich a child's life, while her fantastically ebullient illustrations bespeak the joy that grandparents bring.

Says the New York Times Review, "... a tribute to the steadying force of grandparental love in a child's life... No illustrator does clothes, decor, and style better than Brantley-Newton."

Ole'! All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle

We have a gift and we have a cake.

And today we're driving all the way to Havana to see my new baby cousin on his zero-year birthday.

That's the plan, anyway. The thing is, it's a long way to Havana, and the family's old Chevy, nicknamed "Cara-Cara," is what euphemistically might be called unpredictable.

Some of these elegant old cars purr like kittens.

But ours is so tired that she just chatters like a chicken--Cara cara, cluck, cluck cluck!

Papa's repair box gets a full workout as he tries to get Cara Cara patched up with "wire, tape, and mixed-up scraps" for the journey, and after several tries, she finally kicks off, not with a roar, but a rumble. The whole family piles in, and the narrow way winds along the coast road, beside the sea walls in the sun, and Cara Cara bumps along merrily until the kids begin to see more and more old cars on the road, painted in bright colors of red, and pink and purple.

Some with fins like a shark!

And soon they are in the city of Havana. Drying laundry floats like flags from the balconies and people are everywhere, and soon Papa steers Cara Cara into a parking space where a party is about to get underway.

They have a gift and they have a cake, and there's a new baby cousin to welcome into the world!

Margarita Engle's All the Way to Havana (Henry Holt, 2017) portrays a picturesque tale of a possibly perilous trip in their beloved old blue Chevy, but all's well that ends with a celebration at Abuela's house. It's an unusual story of a different place, but a visit with cousins ready to play all day is the same everywhere, and a good time is had by all. Mike Curato's charming paintings portray the scene in old Havana, with the colorful old cars almost becoming characters in the story with a warm palette that reflects the joys of family life. "A vibrant snapshot of modern Cuba, full of rich, sensory detail," says Kirkus.

Never A Flower Girl? Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century by Jane O'Connor

MY UNCLE CAL CALLED! HE'S GETTING MARRIED!

WEDDINGS ARE SUCH SPECIAL OCCASIONS. (OCCASION IS A FANCY WORLD FOR SPECIAL EVENT.)

I'VE PLANNED SO MANY WEDDINGS, AND NOW I'M GOING TO A REAL ONE!

Nancy's head is filled with visions of herself strewing rose petals before an elegantly gowned bride and tuxedoed groom. She packs up her laciest, frilliest dresses and best shoes in high state of excitement. Dad is not much help with the wedding details.

"PERHAPS UNCLE CAL WANTS IT TO BE A SURPRISE!"

With the car finally packed, Nancy leans back in her seat and conjures up expectations of a snazzy weekend wedding.

I MAY SHUT MY EYES FOR A MOMENT OR TWO AND GET A LITTLE BEAUTY SLEEP," SHE THINKS TO HERSELF...

...Oooh-la-la! The hotel is fit for royalty, the swimming pool is like a lake and the water slide is a mile long, and after the water fun, Nancy enjoys a spa mani and pedi and lots of pampering before she dons her fabulous flower girl gown, summoning JoJo to hold her train... and then it's almost time to be the first in the wedding party to walk down the....

"WE'RE HERE! WAKE UP! NANCY!...."

"SAY WHAT?"

The reality of the affair is nothing like Nancy's dream. They are at a lake with log cabins all around. Dawn the bride wants an all-natural service, so there is not going to be any fancy wedding, no elegante reception with molded ice sculptures, towering, tiered cake, and jacketed waiters. And there is not going to be any flower girl at all.

It is a terrible blow to Nancy's hopes, but our girl bucks up and carries it off like a proper niece should. She even offers her own coronet to add some sparkle to Dawn's white muslin dress for "something borrowed" luck. Nancy is a bit overdressed for the pre-sunrise ceremony, but she takes an aisle seat and hops up to strew a few petals before the bride after all. And, she reflects...

"OF ALL THE GUESTS, I AM THE FANCIEST BY FAR."

In Jane O'Connor's latest full-color Fancy Nancy picture book, Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century (Harper, 2014), Nancy Clancy comes through to make the rustic wedding an occasion to remember. Artist Robin Preiss Glasser gets to go all out, illustrating two possible weddings in her trademark style, plus a hearty bucolic party with fun for all.

Is Nancy never to make it down the aisle as the fanciest of flower girls? Surely Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser have a rose-petal basket somewhere yet in Nancy's future! It would be tres triste if her creators let her age out of the flower girl job, especially since that means that honor will go to ... JoJo. Quelle horreur!

"Frothy and fun, Nancy's latest adventure feels as fresh as her first appearance," pronounces Kirkus Reviews.

For Art's Sake! Fancy Nancy Aspiring Artist by Jane O'Connor

IT'S SPRING VACATION. I SHOULD BE ECSTATIC, JOYOUS, CAREFREE, (THOSE ARE ALL FANCY WORDS FOR HAPPY.)

BUT I'M NOT.

Nancy Clancy not feeling fanciful? How can that be? But she's just bid farewell to her best best friend Bree, off for a fabuloso New York City spring fling, and the spring rain is so uninspiring.

But it's Mom to the rescue, back from shopping with a huge box of fresh crayons for her little sister and a brand new selection of glitter pens for Nancy. Spring break is saved! Nancy is inspired to turn her clubhouse into a fabulous art studio, and wearing her smock and a French beret just for the atmospherics, she's all set to create.

An afternoon ballet class intervenes, and as Nancy admires the Edgar Degas prints there, she has her first inspiration, turning out Degas-style ballerinas, all of whom have strawberry blond curls like you-know-who. Having tea with Mrs. DeVine on Monday, Nancy is again inspired by the colors of her Claude Monet prints and goes home to her own dark and light period as she turns out Monet-inspired tulips.

And so the week goes. Lionel comes over and they paint each other's portraits, Lionel's good but goofy as always. On the next day Bree's letter arrives with a description of her visit to a famous art museum and the watercolors of Henri Matisse, and Nancy is again inspired to paint butterflies, bending the rules in impressionist style.

As the vacation week begins to draw to an end, a trip to their own museum with her Dad provides Nancy with another inspiration: with an old sheet and leftover house paint, Nancy, Robert, and friends have a blast doing a Jackson Pollock drip painting in the backyard. And when Bree returns with her own sketches from the Big Apple, there's nothing to do but put on a neighborhood art show, refreshments and all.

Finally Nancy relaxes with Mrs. Devine for tea in her garden.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW TIRED MY HANDS ARE FROM ALL THE ART I MADE LAST WEEK"

MRS. DEVINE SAYS SHE KNOWS THE PERFECT REMEDY FOR ACHING ARTIST'S HANDS:

A MANICURE!

Jane O'Connor's hot-off-the-presses Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist, (Harper, 2011) with its appended vocabulary and suggestions for inspiring art projects (Harper, 2011). is a perfect spring treat, an antidote to the spring shower blues and a nice jumping-off place for a study of noted artists or a spring break trip to the local art museum as well.