Peppa Does the Exhibits! Peppa Pig and the Day a the the Museum by Neville Ashley

AT BREAKFAST MUMMY AND DADDY HAVE A SURPRISE.

"WE HAVE A SPECIAL DAY PLANNED!" SAYS MUMMY.


"WE ARE GOING TO THE MUSEUM!"

The WHAT?

Peppa and George haven't a clue where they are going for this special day and what they will do when they get there. Mum says they will see "special things."

???? That doesn't narrow it down much!

Daddy says some of the things are extremely old--even older than he is!

????

As they drive to the museum, Mummy and Daddy try to describe some of the sorts of exhibits they will see.

Peppa zooms in on the Queens' Gallery, with jeweled crowns, ornate thrones, and fancy dresses!

George is down on the gowns but strong on the "Dino-Saws!" Is there going to be a museum stalemate?

Learning to share is not just learning to share toys. It is also learning to share experiences, to take turns letting the other do what he or she wants to do, too.  So George patiently views more of the royal tresures than he would otherwise choose, and Peppa provides some sisterly backup when he finds the Hall of the Dinosaurs just a bit TOO awesome at first, with ginormous Dinosaurs gnashing big fangs and slashing spiked tails.

Then George meets up with his friend Edmund, who directs them to the Space Room, where the family gets to bounce around in helmets like nearly weightless astronauts on the moon as they experience low gravity. The whole family has a blast(off) in a simulated space trip that is figuratively over the moon!

Of course, a visit to the museum is not complete without a souvenir from the gift shop and a little smackerel of something from the snack bar,  Daddy's favorite "exhibit," in Noelle Ashley's Peppa Pig and the Day at the Museum (Candlewick Press, 2015). This new addition to the series is a perfect prep for preschoolers' first visit to a museum, whether with family or with a school class, with the added theme of allowing everyone some time with their favorite "special things!" Fans of the veddy, veddy British Peppa Pig cartoon show will find this one spot on!

Cousin Crisis! Don't Feed the Geckos! (The Carver Chronicles) by Karen English

It's after school, and Carlos sits down at the kitchen table to eat his Toaster Tart and eavesdrop on his mother and Tia Lupe's telephone conversation.

Carlos overhears that his cousin Bernardo is coming to stay with them all the way from Texas because Bernardo's mom--Tia Emilia--"needs a fresh start." She's moving to their town and sending Bernardo ahead.

A cousin his age moving in "for a while"--that could be good or bad, Carlos muses. He remembers Bernardo vaguely as a big, bossy kid celebrating his sixth birthday and demanding two pieces of birthday cake at the same time. Maybe having Bernardo around, sort of like a bodyguard, would be a good thing, Carlos thinks. Maybe Mami will let him go to the park or the store anytime he wants if Bernardo is with him. Then Mami interrupts these promising thoughts to tick off jobs for him to do. She tells him firmly to make room in his closet and dresser for Bernardo's stuff.

"I want you to put fresh linens on the top bunk."

"But that's my bunk, Mami," Carlos complains. His little sister Issy is smiling. Sometimes she likes to see Carlos flustered.

"He's had a hard year," Mami says. "I'm thinking Bernardo will probably prefer the top bunk--so let him have it.

Carlos frowns. No way I'm going to let that guy touch my geckos. Or my ant farm, he thinks.

And Carlos' memory is right on target. Bernardo is still big and bossy. He punches Carlos on the arm--hard! He demands to feed the geckos; he leaves his clothes all over the floor; eats all the Toaster Tarts even though Mami only allow one a day for after-school snacks, and then sneaks the empty box back in the cupboard to cover his crime. He stays up playing video games after bedtime and keeps Carlos awake. He fakes his showers most of the time, and when he brushes his teeth, he leaves the spit-out toothpaste all over the sink. He even snores.

It's even worse at school. Mrs. Shelby-Ortiz moves Carlos' best friend Richard and gives Bernardo his seat so Carlos can "help" him learn the class routine, but Bernardo only pretends to do his work. At recess, he announces to all the kids that he's good at all sports. Unfortunately he is. He gets chosen first for teams, and Carlos is picked last, not even on the same team with his friends Gavin and Richard. And after school, Mami takes him to soccer practice with Carlos, and Bernardo takes over the scoring right away and becomes the star of the team, making Carlos look even worse than he is.

Then Carlos sees Bernardo steal three pieces from the 1000-piece puzzle the class is doing, just so it can never be finished. Carlos doesn't want to be a tattletale, a curmudgeonly cousin, but he hates that Bernardo keeps getting away with everything. Carlos wonders just how much longer "for a while" is going to be!

And then one night, Bernardo claims he's done a perfect job of feeding crickets to Carlos' geckos, but in the middle of the night Carlos comes wide awake to the chirp-chirp of loose crickets from the bathroom. That's it! Carlos flips on the bedroom light. It's time for a midnight cousin showdown!

Mami comes in and Carlos unloads all his complaints, even telling about the theft of the puzzle pieces. At first Bernardo denies it all.

"Bernardo--I found the pieces in your backpack. Why?, Bernardo? Why?"

"I ... don't know." Bernardo says. "How come you just fixed it so someone would find them on the floor?"

"Good question." Carlos says.

Family loyalties are complicated, as the award-winning Karen English shows in the latest in her series, Don't Feed the Geckos!: The Carver Chronicles, Book Three (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). And when his sister Issy admits being the cause of the great cricket escape, Carlos quickly apologizes to Bernardo, and when he learns that Bernardo's father was killed in the military, he begins to understand his cousin's behavior a little better. As in her earlier books in series, Dog Days: The Carver Chronicles, Book One and Skateboard Party: The Carver Chronicles, Book Two (see reviews here) author English has great insight into early elementary students as they begin to learn how to be members of a family and school community, one with careful respect for the changing child. For young readers Karen English's easy narration and Laura Freeman's realistic but humorous drawings ease the transition from picture book to novel format with great insight and sensitivity.

Thankful: Sharing The Bread by Pat Zietlow Miller

MAMA, FETCH THE COOKING POT.

FETCH THE TURKEY COOKING POT.

BIG AND OLD AND BLACK AND SQUAT.

MAMA, FETCH THE COOKING POT.

Mama leads the way on Thanksgiving Day, but everyone pitches in, sharing the work to share the meal together.

Daddy builds the fire and and gets it nice and hot for Mama's cooking pot. Sister kneads the dough for the loaves of bread and sets them aside to rise, while brother bastes the turkey and the delicious scent of roasting meat fills the room.

Grandpa crushes the cranberries and soon the sauce is bubbling away. Grandma crafts the crust for the pumpkin pie, and it adds its spicy smell to the mix. Auntie wields the potato masher with an iron hand:

AUNTIE, MASH THE POTATOES NOW,

JUST LIKE GRANDMA TAUGHT YOU HOW.

TOP WITH BUTTER FROM OUR COW.

Even the cow makes her contribution, as Uncle brings out the cider jug, and the children make decorations for the long table.

Soon it's time to shout, "Come and get it!"

WE WILL SHARE THE RISEN BREAD,

OUR MADE-WITH-LOVE THANKSGIVING SPREAD.

GRATEFUL TO BE WARM AND FED.

WE WILL SHARE THE BREAD.

Pat Zietlow Miller's contribution to our 2015 Thanksgiving, Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story (Schwartz and Wade, 2015) shows in her lively quatrains the whole family sharing the chores and food in the cooperative spirit of the holiday, and artist Jill McElmurray dishes up delightful gouache American primitive-styled illustrations of a cozy 1800s household preparing the traditional feast together. Among the few new holiday offerings this year, this one is a standout. “...A warm and wonderful holiday treasure.” says Publishers Weekly's starred review.

Show Me The Way To Go Home! I'm An Alien (And I Want to Go Home) by Jo Franklin

My incredibly annoying older sister, Jessie, has a Random Mood Generator. Her favorite tracks are Psycho, Bossy, and Mega Mean.

Today I was still eating when Jessie came in to annoy me. "What is it with you and those freaky long legs, Beanpole?" Jessie said, waving her hair straightener in my face.

"Wanna know the family secret?" she said. "The one about you?

You aren't really my brother," she growled.

"You're an alien, abandoned on Earth by your alien parents. Why don't you take your alien legs and go back where you came from?"

Daniel Kendal, a.k.a., Bean for Beanpole, is the world's tallest kid, way taller than even his average-sized dad, and the more he thinks about it, the more he begins to believe Jessie is right. Everyone else in his family is average-sized and has blue eyes and blond hair, except his dad, who has blue eyes and used to have blond hair--back when he had hair.

So when Bean finds no baby pictures of himself in the family album, he gets worried. And then he finds a clipping in the album about a meteor strike on the day he was born. That must have been the spaceship he came to earth on.

Bean's brainy friend Gordon the Geek, who wears his laptop strapped in front of him at all times, does a quick search and announces that he knows exactly where Bean must have come from.

"Kepler 22b," he said. "Six Hundred light years away. Average surface temperature 72 degrees Fahrenheit."

That's it. Bean decides he has to return to his home planet, Kepler 22b. His other friend, Eddie the potato chip king, is on it right away. Eddie and the Geek do their research and come up with a MISSION STATEMENT.

PREPARATION AND TRAINING

1. Test cryogenic survival, a.k.a. being frozen alive.
2. Find a country with plans to relocate to Kepler 22b.
3. Raise cash for airfare to foreign country.
4. Get fit. Astronauts have to be in peak physical condition.
5. Pack stuff to take to new planet.
6. Take things to trade with Kepler kids to make friends.

Amazingly, Bean survives the cryogenic survival trial, submerged in the bathtub in Eddie's contribution, eight supersize bags of ice, and the Geek's thermos of dry ice, but it's a near thing for his extremities.

Then Eddie has an better plan. Phone home like ET and ask the Keplerites to come and pick him up. Gordon the Geek has the technology. He'll connect his laptop to the satellite dish atop Bean's house and send a message though the satellite to Keppler 22b. Then all Bean has to do is wait for his real parents to pick him up. Perfect. Right?

But like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Bean finds out that there's really no place like home, in Jo Franklin's forthcoming I'm an Alien and I Want to Go Home (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). Author Jo Franklin's wry and witty writing makes this first novel a laugh-a-minute easy read for upper elementary kids in which Bean realizes that he may have more in common with his family than he ever knew. Illustrator Marty Kelley adds inspired comic drawings which catch Franklin's funny characters in just the right vignettes. For any kid who has ever felt like an alien in his or her own family, this one will definitely phone home.

Life, Happiness, and the Pursuit of Liberty! Liberty on the Loose in the White House by Mary Therese Grabowski

The Johnson family vacation to Washington D.C. had been planned for over a year. America's brother Sam hoped to see big monuments, while her dad was excited about the airplane museums. America's mom, a librarian, wanted to visit historical places with documents. And the family dog Liberty, famous for exploring, wanted to run around.

America looked at Liberty and said, "Wait till we wake up tomorrow. I'm going to show you the White House, where the president lives! They even have a dog of their own."

But when the Johnsons arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there's a sign posted on the gate:

NO ANIMALS

And before the family can decide what to do, Liberty takes the situation into her own, er, paws, slips her leash, and dashes right through the door of the White House.

One of the guards speaks quickly into his walkie-talkie.

"Pooch on the loose! I repeat, pooch on the loose in the White House! Close all exits at once!"

"Over here!" yelled Dad, "Liberty is running toward the Oval Office, the office that the president works in!"

But before the guards and the Johnsons can grab Liberty, she squeezes through the partly open door and disappears inside the Oval Office. And just as a guard offers to fetch their dog, the door opens wide to reveal a smiling president, holding Liberty.

"Nice to meet all of you," he laughed. "And who is this?" asked the president, looking down at the tail-wagging pooch.

America speaks up.

"She's Liberty!"

"She certainly is," chuckled the president. "Liberty just gave meaning to the words of the Declaration of Independence--life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Or at least the pursuit of Liberty, in the case of Mary Grabowski's Liberty on the Loose in the White House (Page Publishing, 2015). An unusual way to tour the White House, this lighthearted little holiday vacation story offers young readers a chance to learn a some facts about the White House, while enjoying a family adventure in which their exuberant pooch, perhaps the first dog to sneak into the White House, fittingly leaves the White House Gift Shop sporting a souvenir sweater that reads "First Dog." Information about the White House casually revealed in the narration is appended in "America's Quick Questions." This book is especially recommended for primary students studying the nation's capital and for families preparing for their own visits.

Cleat Queen! Kylie Jean, Soccer Queen by Marci Peschke

EVER SINCE I WAS A BITTY BABY I HAVE WANTED TO BE AN HONEST BEAUTY QUEEN. I EVEN KNOW THE WAVE.

Pretty girls in Texas have a tradition of trying out for that beauty queen tiara. But things are about to change!

WHEN I WAKE UP, IT'S A PERFECT SPRINGTIME SATURDAY MORNING.

THE BEST PART OF THIS SATURDAY MORNING IS THAT MOMMA HAS A SURPRISE FOR ME!

But guessing, begging, and snooping don't work. With her bulldog Ugly Brother and her "best cousin" Lucy along, Momma drives to the local college. The surprise is that they get to watch the collegiate lady Buccaneers play soccer. Suddenly Kylie Jean has a new aspiration--to play soccer just like the college girl who scored the last goal. And when she goes for her autograph, Belle Jenkins recruits Kylie for the team she is coaching and hands her a tryout sheet and soccer camp schedule. Kylie practices all weekend. She is a little sad that her best cousin finds the game boring and won't try out, but she does help Kylie work on dribbling, and Kylie makes the team.

"I KNEW YOU'D LOVE SOCCER!" MOMMA SAYS.

Kylie befriends a new girl in town, Ana Sofia, who has just moved to Texas from Florida, and the teammates choose a name, the Tiger Lilies. Instead of ruffly dresses, fancy coiffures, and tiaras, Kylie Jean's new fashion includes shorts, jerseys, long socks and cleated shoes.

And at the first game the next week, Kylie gets lucky and scores the winning goal. She just knows she's on her way to being a Soccer Queen. But in the second game, with the score tied, things take a bad turn.

I'M ABOUT TO SHOOT THE BALL, BUT JUST AS I PULL MY LEG BACK TO KICK IT, A PLAYER FROM THE OTHER TEAM STEALS THE BALL AWAY, SHE DRIBBLES THE LENGTH OF THE FIELD AND SHOOTS A POWERFUL SHOT PAST OUR GOALIE.

I FEEL AWFUL. I'LL NEVER BE A GREAT PLAYER LIKE COACH BELLE. TEARS STING MY EYES, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO CRY. SOCCER PLAYERS SHOULD BE TOUGH.

And it's good that Kylie learns that lesson, because in the soccer camp playoff game, she scores with a jump and a header that wins the game. But when Kylie comes down from her leap, she lands with a crunch on one arm. It's broken, and she's off to the emergency room.

"HOW AM I GOING TO BE A SOCCER QUEEN WITH A BROKEN ARM?"

But soccer queens have to be tough, and Kylie Jean comes through smiling as bravely as any beauty queen, complete with pink cast, which Ana Sofia leads the team in signing right away, in Marci Peschki's Soccer Queen (Kylie Jean) (Capstone/Picture Window Books, 2015). Author Peschki's supplies some gameplay excitement and her text is easy enough for accomplished Grade 1 readers but includes social situations that help all primary students become familiar with the game and team dynamics. Abundant illustrations break up and extend the text, and terms such as juggle and forward are defined in the text or in a handy appended glossary, which also offers activities, a recipe for Momma's best Texas-style cookies, and a web link with pass number that give access to other books and lots of activities on the Capstone Books website, making this one a good summer choice for kids.

Playing on a team teaches kids a lot--athletic skills, of course, but also offers good role models, and a chance for learning goal-setting, teamwork, courage, how to accept both winning and losing gracefully, and the support of a strong social group that carries over to school and family life, and Soccer Queen (Kylie Jean) scores on those goals.

Dogged Handydog: It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee

THE WIMBLEDONS WERE SLEEPING.
IT WAS VERY, VERY LATE.
WHEN WILMA HEARD A SPOOKY SOUND. (HOWOOOO!)
WHICH MADE HER SIT UP STRAIGHT.

"THAT'S VERY ODD," SAID WALTER.
"I DON'T RECOGNIZE THE TONE.
IT'S ONLY STANLEY," WALTER SAID.
"HE'S HOWLING AT THE MOON!"

Stanley is a dog, and dogs do that. So with a shrug and a shake of his head, Walter sends all the Wimbledons back to bed.

Then, even later than before, another Wimbledon comes to report another scary sound.

WENDY HEARD A CLANKY SOUND
BELOW HER BEDROOM FLOOR.

Dutifully, Walter gets up to investigate what's going in in the basement. It's Walter, with a Rube Goldberg array of assorted metal objects which he is connecting to the furnace piping. Walter dispatches little Wendy back to her beddy-bye with a Stanley status report.

"IT'S ONLY STANLEY, FIXING THE OIL TANK."

As it grows even later, as late as it can get, late beyond belief, little Willie, Wanda, and Wylie make the pilgrimage to their parent's room to report more strange sounds and smells, which Walter ascertains are just Stanley adjusting the TV, making some smelly stew in the kitchen, and clearing the bathroom drains. "It's only Stanley," he reports soothingly.

But just as the Wimbledons think they might actually get some sleep, there is a BIG bang, a really big bang. All the Wimbledons are thrown from their beds, even Max the cat.

"I'LL GO AND LOOK," SAID WALTER."I'LL BE BACK VERY SOON!
IT'S ONLY STANLEY," WALTER SAID.WE'RE GOING TO THE...

It's a lift-off and touch-down on... you guessed it, the MOON, as the Wimbledon's tall house, re-engineered by the inventive Stanley, lands, peaked roof embedded in the cratered surface. The bemused, pajama-ed family finally files out to find out what all the noise was really about in Jon Agee's latest absurdist tale, It's Only Stanley(Dial Books, 2015). Agee's predictable rhymes lull his readers as he prepares them for the surprisingly goofy ending in which, tongue-in-cheek, he shows them what Stanley has really been up to--and why on the final double-page spread. It's sheer silliness and typical Agee-style fun, which will have kids going back to trace Stanley's rocket science throughout the story. Says Booklist, in their starred review, "Very strange, and very, very wonderful."

Uneasy Is the Head that Wears the Crown: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

Olivia is just your average sixth-grader, average size, brown hair, hazel eyes, determined to avoid demerits from Principal Bushy.

But one day in May things change. A Lot.

No one ever told me, "In middle school Annabelle Jenkins is going to threaten to beat you up by the flagpole for absolutely no reason."

There was no reason that I could think of for Annabelle Jenkins to:

1. Knock my organizer from my arms.
2. Shove me.
3. Ask me if I think I'm so great.
4. Call me a princess.

After school Annabelle waylays Olivia and best friend Nishi scuttling for the bus, and Olivia hears something unbelievable. Annabelle is broadcasting her news to the gathering crowd.

"I heard my dad talking to her uncle, and the truth is, her dad is actually a prince. The prince of Genovia, to be exact," sneers Annabelle.

And while Olivia is reeling from that remark, Annabelle begins to act on her promise to "kick her butt." She grabs Olivia's braids and starts yanking.

At that moment I heard a woman's voice ring out. And I saw the most amazing sight.

Her Royal Highness, Princes Mia Thermopoulos of Genovia.

And princess-ex-machina, Princess Mia and her bodyguards whisk Olivia and Nishi away in her limousine, flags of Genovia flying on the front fenders, and soon the now Princess Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette finds herself in New York City, meeting the dowager princess, her Grandmere Grimaldi, with her own white poodle puppy and a new wardrobe, hearing the whole story of how her deceased mother had insisted that Olivia grow up in a ordinary American family. Suddenly Olivia understand why her aunt and uncle have always treated her somewhat like an unwanted orphan relative and why she had never met her globe-trotting father. A quick trip to the tiny kingdom of Genovia and a happy reunion with her royal father and his family seem like a Disney dream.

But Olivia is not quite done with Annabelle. It seems that her aunt and uncle file a lawsuit, with Annabelle's father as their lawyer, to have her returned to them, not, it appears, because they really want her, but because they need the generous stipend that her father has provided for her care. Even a real princess, it seems, is not immune to a few unhappy endings, and for a while Annabelle has to return to cope with her in-law guardians, Cranbrook Middle School and its demerits, and the tender mercies of the jealous Annabelle Jenkins.

But with a brave and strong princess like Mia Thermopolis on her side, Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette is sure to find her way to a pro tem happy ending, in Meg Cabot's spin-off of her best-selling books-to-movies The Princess Diaries series, her brand-new From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (Feiwell and Friends, 2015).

Cabot deftly draws on her skills at spinning a page-turning princess tale filled with equal measures of tasty glimpses of royal privilege and plenty of suspense. Using the familiar first-person diary format, Cabot gives Olivia an engaging persona, and her well-executed blackline illustrations add to the tale-telling, leaving the reader longing for the next chapter in Olivia's story. While not exactly the dreadful Dursleys, Olivia's distant aunt and uncle are the perfect foils for the new princess' adoring royal family, and Annabelle, the mega-popular, mean girl wannabe, is an appropriately disagreeable villain.

Fluffy fantasy fun, just right for summertime reading when a girl is feeling a little bit like the unloved stepchild, Cabot's tale has got a light touch and the improbable events button pushed all the way in this one, as Olivia Grace's nemesis Annabelle gets put in her place and the stage is set for a sequel with Olivia and her BFF Nishi as junior bridesmaids in the royal wedding of her sister, Princess Mia Grimaldi, in the picturesque, pint-sized principality of Genovia.

Even middle-schoolers who once imagined themselves princesses can sometimes to be snatched away to a fairy-tale life, right? And a girl can dream, can't she? (or at least read about a dream come true!)

All For One! Brothers by David McPhail

MOST OF THE TIME THEY GOT ALONG.

SOME OF THE TIME THEY SQUABBLED.

It's inevitable that siblings are going to disagree. Some days big brothers won't share, even if little brothers ask (nicely). No fair!

Sometimes they decide to take turns.

And then they can't agree on whose turn it is.

Sometimes one says it's the other's fault. Sometimes one nicely assumes part of the blame.

"IT WAS MY FAULT, TOO!"

After all, you never know when you might skin your knee and need a ride home for first aid.

When they happen to like to do the same thing, brothers sometimes come up with an idea how to have it their own way.

THEY BOTH LIKE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM, BUT ONE LIKES IT IN A CONE,

WHILE THE OTHER INSISTS ON A CUP AND A SPOON.

In his charming board book edition of Brothers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), there are good things and bad things about having a brother around, and artist David McPhail's tender and empathetic illustrations show both sides of the trials and triumphs of sharing everything--from one bike to part of the blame for a broken lamp to one bed when a scary nighttime thunderstorm blows in. It's nice that McPhail finally got around to creating a companion book to his still popular Sisters.  And parents of a pair of each, brothers and sisters, had better have a copy of each, just to be fair.

How Daddies DO It! Daddy Hugs by Nancy Tafuri

"I LOVE DRIPPY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE TURTLE."JUST-DADDY-AND-ME-HUGS."

With the simple theme that "little ones love hugs," Caldecott author-illustrator Nancy Tafuri gives the daddies of the wild their chance to shine. And do they embrace the opportunity!

Tafuri opens with a raccoon dad and his little one snuggling in the hollow of a tree. It's a sweet sight... but....there's more!

"I LOVE DRIPPY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE TURTLE.
JUST-DADDY-AND-ME-HUGS!"

Tafuri's hook for little ones is that each two-page spread of Dad and his little one shows, in the background, a tantalizing glimpse of at least part of the animal to be featured next, giving sharp-eyed observers a chance to figure what follows the page turn.  Adult read-alouders, on auto pilot at bedtime, may be surprised when their youngsters seem to have amazing predictive powers.

"I LOVE  WHISKERY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE FOX."

And while he's getting his version of just-Daddy-and-Me-Hugs, a big quail soars by, obviously on a mission--a hugging mission--as we see in the next double-page spread, in which Little Bobwhite gets his own "feathery hugs," from his dad.  There are also daddy hugs from Mr. Skunk, Fox, Chipmunk, Beaver, Chipmunk, and Owl, and finally a human parent and child enjoying the best of hugs....

"... GOODNIGHT. SWEET DREAMS, MY LITTLE ONE."

With a repeating and repeatable refrain and Tafuri's big, signature pencil and watercolored drawings, good to teach tots animal names and a bit about their habitats,Daddy Hugs (Little, Brown and Company, 2014) is both a bedtime story and a nature lesson in one.  Tafuri also throws in some fun-to-spot bit parts for an orb spider in her web, a dragonfly, a bee, and an ever-present lady bird beetle on every page.

The author also appends a list of featured animals and their official names (downy woodpecker, American gray squirrel) and challenges older readers to spot and point out arachnids, insects, mammals, reptiles, mollusks, worms, and amphibians depicted throughout.

Read this one with Tafuri's lovely companion book, All Kinds of Kisses, for a perfect pair of Tafuri tales.

Snow Trail Snow Tale: Blizzard by John Rocca

THE FIRST FLAKE FELL BEFORE RECESS.

From his desk, a boy spots the first flake through his school's tall windows. The excitement is palpable in the classroom, as the students hope that this will be the first big snow of the winter. Yea!

SCHOOL CLOSED EARLY.

The boy and his sister trudge home in the snow, already high up on their boots. By the next morning the snow is too deep for them to open their front door.

SO WE WENT OUT THE WINDOW!

The kids play in the snow until they are too tired and wet to have fun anymore, and they resort to cocoa and camping out before the stove. The boy bones up on blizzard lore, reading Arctic Survival.

As more snow days go by, the children begin to tire of snow play and the family begins to run out of their favorite foods. Without milk, their cocoa is not the same, and their snacks are down to raisins dug out of the back of the pantry.

Snowbound for six days, the boy decides that only a certified survivalist like himself is up to the task of resupplying the family larder. And... there is one more thing...

HE WAS THE ONLY ONE LIGHT ENOUGH TO WALK ON THE SNOW.

He suits up, fashions tennis rackets into snowshoes, and with a list of necessities (peanut butter, coffee!) and sled in tow, heads out to the store, stopping by the neighbors to see if they need anything.

It's a post-blizzard scene outside as the boy plods through the snow-obliterated streets. He is a Arctic explorer, stopping to make a snow angel, checking out an igloo some kids have built, getting into their snowball fight, and breaking a trail toward the store, which he is happy to find OPEN.

He's a celebrated returning hero when he drops off supplies at the neighbor's house and when he stomps into his own yard, his dog barks out a fanfare:WOOOFFF!

There's milk for the cocoa, coffee for his parents, and the next day brings a loud but welcome sound in the snow-deadened landscape.

"SNOWPLOWS!"

It's civilization at last for the snow-weary family in Caldecott artist John Rocco's personal memoir of the blizzard of 1978, in his latest, Blizzard (Hyperion Books, 2014). Telling the story primarily through his art, Rocco makes good use of a palette of wintry whites and hues of blue, providing a delightful fisheye lens view of the town's snowbound landscape on a four-page foldout painting. In Rocco's impressive illustrations, it's a child's dream of the biggest blizzard ever, with snow fun and seven days off from school to boot. Special touches, such as the day of the week shown cleverly on each page--Monday in careful cursive on the class blackboard, Tuesday written in the snow by squirrel tracks, Thursday spelled out in spilled raisins from the box---add touches of humor throughout. As Kirkus says "The Caldecott honoree's pencil, watercolor and digital paint illustrations are reminiscent of Steven Kellogg in their light and line and detail, and readers will pore over the pages as they vicariously live through a blizzard,"

Downhill! Peppa Pig and the Day at Snowy Mountain

PEPPA AND GEORGE WAKE ONE DAY.

"IT'S SNOWING!"

"WE'LL GO UP SNOWY MOUNTAIN," SAID MUMMY PIG.

Mummy sees that the kids bundle up, and Daddy Pig loads up and warms up the car. They're all set, right?

But when they get to Snowy Mountain, they realize they are missing something important.

"WE DON'T HAVE A SLED!

Daddy Pig makes a noble gesture: he lies down headfirst and invites Peppa and George to climb on his back. He kicks off and they begin to slide down the mountain. Peppa and George whoop with joy as they speed past the other little sledders. Daddy Pig winds up with a snoot full of snow, but it's worth it.

Now it's time for some skiing. But first they have to take the ski lift UP the hill. From their chairs they marvel at the view. But Daddy Pig gets a little too enthusiastic about ogling the landscape and falls out of his chair and... splat!

"HE'S A WALKING SNOW DADDY!" GEORGE AND PEPPA SHOUT."

But Daddy Pig is a good sport, and after he shakes off his snowman disguise, the family take a few skiing lessons from Madame Gazelle, who leads them to the beginner's slope for their first run. Mummy Pig says she remembers how to ski, and pushes off for a run all the way down the mountain. There's just one problem!

"SHE FORGETS HOW TO STOP!"

It's Mummy Pig's turn to wind up with her face in the snow, in Peppa Pig and the Day at Snowy Mountain (Candlewick Press, 2014). The popular Peppa Pig television series shows the various snow sports that winter offers, including a spot of ice skating as well. Preschoolers get a taste of winter sports, learn a little about planning ahead, and generally enjoy a chilly but silly day of family fun in the snow.

Pair this wintry one with Peppa Pig: Peppa's Christmas Wish, Peppa Pig and the Lost Christmas List,or Peppa's Christmas. (Peppa Pig), for a seasonal storytime for Peppa fans.

Coyote Courtin': When Otis Courted Mama by Kathi Appelt

BEFORE OTIS, CARDELL HAD A MOSTLY WONDERFUL LIFE. HE HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD MAMA AND A PERFECTLY GOOD DADDY. CARDELL ADORED THEM.

THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THAT CARDELL'S PERFECTLY GOOD DADDY LIVED IN A DIFFERENT PART OF THE DESERT. CARDELL HAD TO SHARE HIM WITH HIS PERFECTLY NICE STEPMOTHER, LULU AND HIS PERFECTLY CUTE STEPBROTHER, LITTLE FRANKIE.

But most of the time Cardell has Mama to himself, and that's the way he likes it.

Mama is pretty and talented and she adores her little coyote. Life is pretty much perfect on their side of the desert.

BUT ALL OF THAT WAS BEFORE OTIS SHOWED UP AT THEIR DOOR.

Of course, a lovely lady coyote like Mama has had suitors before. There was Cleburne, a divine dancer, but with one big fault. When he sambas, he slobbers.

"WE CAN DO WITHOUT CLEBURNE," AGREED MAMA.

Other admirers come and go, and their departure pleases Cardell well.

But when Otis shows up at the their door, with ocotillo flowers and cactus candy and what looks to Cardell like a cheesy smile, he is clearly not pleased. Otis can't make jalapeno pancakes with saguro syrup or zig-zag through the sand like his daddy, and Cardell greets him with a growing growl, hoping that Mama will soon send him packing like the others.

But Otis is a coyote who doesn't quit. He makes Cardell a yummy batch of prickly pear pudding and shows off his admittedly impressive pouncing techniques. And one night Otis begins to tell campfire stories so exciting and so funny that Cardell has to howl with giggles and forgets his growl.

Romance blooms, and one night, when the planets in the starry sky are in perfect alignment, Otis proposes, and with Cardell's grin replacing his grrrrrs, Mama says

"YES."

Newbery award-winning author Kathi Appelt has in her forthcoming When Otis Courted Mama (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) a empathetic family story that will have young readers howling with giggles and grinning along with Cardell, the cutest little coyote you could want, with a warm-as-a-chili-pepper ending to this blended family story.

Artist Jill McElmurry's Southwestern-tinged gouache illustrations reveal personalities with small touches--Mama's cactus flowers worn over her ears, Daddy's bolo tie, Otis' big sombrero, and Cardell's little guitar. McElmurry's book design features action vignettes set against white pages and emotionally evocative scenes in full-bleed style, as in the double-page spread in which Otis patiently smiles while little Cardell faces off against him with his best protective growl, setting off family scenes of great insight and some sweetness and affection. Appelt and McElmurry have themselves a howling-good winner here.

Turkey Day Resister: Thanksgiving for Emily Ann by Teresa Johnston

EMILY ANN HATED TO SAY
SHE WAS NOT THANKFUL FOR THANKSGIVING DAY!

Most grownups like Thanksgiving. For some it's their favorite holiday. It's a day off from work; there are no gifts to select and wrap; the decorations are mostly edible; and it's a day when it's considered polite to overeat. What's not to like?

But for little kids, it may not be so enticing.

Emily Ann is one of those. Her grandpa gets to snore in her comfy bed, while she gets a sleeping bag on the floor. Her mom's attention is focused on preparing food, and the house is too full of loud, gabbing people who aren't usually there. To Emily Ann, it all feels like an invasion.

SO EMILY ANN, FEELING QUITE ALONE AND SAD,
CHOOSES NOT BE THANKFUL
AND INSTEAD TO BE BAD.

But with all the hubbub it's hard to find something noticeably bad to do.

So Emily Ann decides to GO BIG. On the kitchen table crowded with everyone's special dishes, she see something really BIG.

SHE DUCKED BY THE TABLE TO PLAY A FUNNY TRICK.
SHE REACHED FOR THE TURKEY, TO HIDE IT REALLY QUICK!

But Mom is not as oblivious to her daughter's dilemma as Emily Ann thinks. Instantly spotting a turkey-napping in progress, Mom slyly co-opts the little prankster.

"HI, EMILY ANN. WHAT A BIG HELPER! YOU'RE SO GREAT!"

Emily has no choice but to lug the turkey dutifully into the dining room to put it on the table, and when she gets there, she notices that her mom has set the table with the Thanksgiving placemats she made in school, "the best in her grade." Suddenly, she sees Thanksgiving in a different light. She looks at all the food everyone has contributed, all her relatives smiling at her contribution and getting ready to sit down together.

BY THE TIME SHE SAT DOWN ON THANKSGIVING DAY,
"I'M THANKFUL FOR MY FAMILY" WAS ALL SHE COULD SAY.

Teresa Johnston's Thanksgiving for Emily Ann (CarolRhoda Books, 2014), may slip in a too-easy transformation for this little conscientious objector, but it does offer a bit of a contrarian child's-eye view of Thanksgiving gatherings. It can be intimidating for youngsters to have a crowd of noisy adults, rowdy cousins, or strange guests taking over their space, and at least here Emily Ann gets to make her statement and her mother gets to model the ideal of making even the youngest feel part of the big day. Vanessa Brentley-Newton adds reassuringly humorous cartoon illustrations of various family types to add to the holiday atmosphere. For another salty look at Turkey Day, pair this one with Mark Fearing's brand-new The Great Thanksgiving Escape (Candlewick Press, 2014).

Are We There Yet?: The Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) by Jeff Kinney

The last thing I need is to turn into some kind of were-pig, because that could really mess up my dating life.

Mom took a look at my finger, and I could tell she was a little worried. She tried to find an emergency-care place on the GPS, but there was nothing in a fifty-mile radius. But she DID find a VETERINARIAN'S office five minutes up the road. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot.

A minute later Mom came back with a clipboard and some paperwork to fill out. All I can say is, I hope this stuff doesn't get filed on my permanent record. because if it comes up later in life, it could be embarrassing.

EMERGENCY PET CARE
Patient Registration

Pet's name: "Greg"
Owner's name: Susan Heffley
Species: Human
Last vaccination: January 12
History of worms? X Yes* (*as a toddler)
Last rabies shot: N/A
Spayed/Neutered? XNo

You'd think I'd get some priority as a human, but I got put behind a gerbil that swallowed a cigarette and a cat with its face stuck in a yogurt container.

Mom has been spending way too much time reading Family Frolic Magazine, and when school's out there's no deterring her plan for a fun-filled family road trip. She's got it all planned, but when the Heffleys stop at a roadside FUN FAIR, toddler Manny wins a piglet, and when the prize piglet tries to escape through the sun roof while Dad is driving and handing at hostile client from work, Greg grabs the pig and gets bitten. And that's the good part of the trip.

As only he can tell it, Jeff Kinney's latest in his best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (Amulet Books, 2014) may be the best Heffley saga yet. Once more the hapless middle child Greg plays straight man to one of the funniest family series of all of literature. (In less than a week, it's already #1 on Amazon's sales of all books!) Car breakdowns, the world's sleaziest motel, a piglet who figures out how to raid the mini-bar, and a series of perfectly normal mishaps take the family on the funniest car trip ever, and when the Heffleys finally limp home, towed by a couple of friendly, non-English speaking hombres, the car's leaking radiator patched together with glue and duct tape, Mom and Dad's credit cards, phones, and clothes supposedly stolen from their locker at Water World, and a pet piglet they can't seem to give away, it looks like home-sweet-home for the Heffleys for a long time.

Trust me, this one is as drop-dead funny as the earlier books, funny enough to make me laugh out loud, in my parka, in my chilly garage, late at night, into my second hour on an exercise bike! Although its target 'tweener audience will undoubtedly devour this one in one sitting, the humor in Kinney's artfully clever stick cartoons and this hilarious but somehow believable tale will tickle the ribs of anyone, kid, parent, or grandparent who has ever gone on an "eventful" family car trip.

All for Love! Family Ties by Gary Paulsen

I'm the happiest guy alive. Because Katrina M. Zablinski is my girlfriend.

I'm also the greatest family member you'll ever meet.

Lack of confidence is not Kevin Spencer's problem.

But he's under a lot of pressure. He is totally head-over-heels smitten with Tina, and he's sure she's the one for him for life. So naturally, he's got to plan a first date with her that will sweep her off her feet in awe with what a wonderful family man he's going to be.

So Kev starts the ball rolling by e-mailing his dad's brother Will, whose last visit practically wrecked the house, to come for the weekend and mend some family fences with his brother. Of course, Kevin's parents have not a clue about this amnesty project, so when the doorbell rings, Dad has a big surprise on his doorstep.

"Michael!" Uncle Will's voice boomed, "Got a big hug for your favorite brother?" Uncle Will put his arm around a woman stand just outside the door and pulled her into the house. "This is Brandee! Two ees! Because she's Extra Excellent.

Brandee's my new wife!"

Brandee's excellence wasn't so obvious to my folks. "Nice to meet you," Mom and Dad muttered.

Uncle Will reached behind Brandee and yanked a small boy forward. "And this is her son Larry. I call him Sparky....!"

It seems that Larry's nickname was chosen with care. Sparky is fascinated with fire, especially starting them.

Uncle Will had saved the best for last. He reached behind Brandee again and pulled forth a polar bear on a leash. "And this is Athena. Athena is part Great Pyrenees, he added.

"Oh, yeah, Athena's got a bladder infection. She can't always hold it real well!"

It looks that pulling off a miracle mending these family ties is going to be just the ticket to impress Tina, Kevin figures, and he heads off to school full of enthusiasm. In short order, he signs up for the school art fair, because Tina's old buddy is on the committee, and agrees to partner with Tina's best friend Katie in the social studies family project, where he has to take care of his and Katie's "baby," simulated by a popcorn-kernel-stuffed onesie, so that they get extra credit for family stress.

But Kevin is on a roll. He's got a great idea for that first date with Tina--he'll plan and stage a wedding celebration for Will and Brandee. That ought to knock Tina's socks off and show what a caring husband he will make.

But things at home get even more complicated. First, Grandma Lucille hears about the big event and shows up on that doorstep, packing a utility belt stuffed with cleaning supplies. Lucille is an compulsive cleaning fanatic and immediately gets to work scrubbing and cleaning the upstairs bathrooms.

Then the doorbell rings again. On the well-worn stoop is Kevin's grandfather, Lucille's ex-husband, Papa, with his flashy girlfriend Lola, a Vegas showgirl way back in the day. Lola takes over the introductions.

Lucille looked uncomfortable and stated toying with a bottle of tub and tile disinfectant jutting out of her fanny pack. Lola zoomed over and threw her arms around her boyfriend's ex-wife.

"I feel like I know you, like we're sisters or old friends already." Lola squeezed Lucile and rocked back and forth. She tucked her arm through Lucille's and grinned, clearly believing she'd just made a new BFF.

Kevin's mom is treating a sudden headache by resting her forehead on a bag of frozen peas in the freezer by this time, but Kevin volunteers to take care of all the wedding arrangements. He gets as far as making a to-do list, but as the week goes by, he finds that he's falling behind, way behind, as wedding planner, especially since there are suddenly two other potential happy couples, Papa and Lola and Aunt Buzz and her boyfriend Jim. Then Athena's "problem" turns out to be an unrecognized pregancy, as she gives birth to a litter of giant Pyrennes puppies. The more the merrier, Kevin thinks, all the more likely to secure Tina Zabinski's eternal love when she sees him as the complete family man, toasting all four couples suavely at the wedding.

And it's all in the name of love, in Newbery author Gary Paulsen's latest in his comic Kevin series, Family Ties (Random House, 2014). This time Kevin is not outdoing himself at daring deeds or raking in cool cash, but presiding over yet another sit-com-style adventure in Gary Paulsen's comic novel series celebrating the world's funniest dysfunctional family.

Other short, laugh-a-minute titles in this series are Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception, Crush: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love, Flat Broke: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed, and Vote.

You Can't Take It With You! Peppa Pig and the Great Vacation by Neville Astley

PEPPA PIG AND GEORGE WERE PACKING TO GO ON VACATION.

"YOU CAN'T BRING EVERYTHING!" SAYS PAPA.

But Peppa and little brother George insist that they must have all their toys. Pappa Pig firmly tells them they can only bring their very favorites, and Peppa picks a Teddy and George chooses his "dino-saw."

But then Peppa thinks about her goldfish Goldie. Papa says definitely NOT, for all the right reasons, and Grandpa and Granny agree to Goldy-sit for the duration with plenty of tender loving care.

Mollified, Peppa and George climb into the back seat, and the Pigs are off to vacationland. After a few "Are we there yets?," they arrive at their cottage near the seashore and hit the outdoor pool for plenty of Pig family splashing.

As the days go by, they shop, go out to eat, have a picnic and take a scenic nature walk, and of course enjoy sand castles, splashing in the waves, and wading in the tidal pools. George and Peppa are having the time of their lives, except ... the fishies in the tidal pools remind Peppa of Goldie, alone at home in  a lonely little fishbowl.  How sad is that?

Peppa has to call Granpa and Granny Pig right away to check on Goldie.  Reassured that he's swimming happily, she still feels that she has to do something to let him know she misses him. Momma and Peppa make a secret visit to the post office, and as soon as they arrive back home, the Postman delivers a postcard addressed to Goldie from Peppa.

"GOLDIE, YOU'VE GOT MAIL!"

Peppa Pig, the perky protagonist of the popular television series, shares all the fun of a summer seaside holiday in her latest, Peppa Pig and the Great Vacation (Candlewick Press, 2014) The illustrations, stylized, cartoon abstractions retain few porcine features, except the snout, and show their characters doing all the things kids do on a family beach trip.  Other titles in this popular and prolific preschool spinoff series include Peppa Pig and the Perfect Day, Peppa Pig and the Muddy Puddles, and Peppa Pig and the Vegetable Garden. (Read review here).