That Won't Fly! Ewe and Aye by Candace Ryan

EWE LOVED WHEELS AND AYE LOVED WINGS.

Both Ewe and Aye were born to move, but Ewe yearned for wheels, and Aye eyed wings. Ewe is a woolly sheep who fashioned herself a little four-wheeled cart, figuring if She got up enough speed on a downhill run, she could achieve escape velocity and fly through the air. Aye (pronounced like "I") is a kind of lemur called an aye-aye who straps on wings straight out of Da Vinci's drawing book and leaps off the highest objects he can find, trying to soar through the air like a bird.

They both crash land. Aye fails to soar, and Ewe just gets sore.

EWE HAD A FLAT TIRE, AND AYE GOT FLAT TIRED.

Ewe and Aye have to help rescue each other from their failed inventions.

It's not working! They will never get it off the ground this way!

It's back to the drawing board, this time with the two members of this odd couple collaborating to combine wheels and wings. What results is a sort of ultra-light tandem bike with wings. With the two of them pedaling for all they're worth down their ramp, they manage to obtain enough air speed for lift off and find themselves sharing their dream together, flying with the birds, soaring past the clouds. After all, a joint venture worked for the Wright Brothers!

THERE WASN'T ANYWHERE THEY COULDN'T FLY... TOGETHER!

In Ewe and Aye (Hyperion Books, 2014), author Candace Ryan has some punny fun (and some funny puns) with her Ewe and Aye (you and I) doublespeak, which make good sense either way you read some of her clever constructions:

THEN ONE DAY WHEN EWE(YOU) GOT INTO TROUBLE, AYE (I) WAS THERE TO HELP.

Artist Stephane Ruble's ebullient cartoon characters and the strong, bright colors are rather, um, uplifting, as she creates a demolition derby with the pair first experiment with wheels and wings but finally rise to the occasion. It's all good (as Pete the Cat would say) when, in a glorious four-page gatefold, we get to see them lift off and jointly take to the air in full flight through the clouds in their fantastical flying bicycle built for two.

Lost & Found? How to Lose a Lemur by Frann Preston-Gannon

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT ONCE A LEMUR TAKES A LIKING TO YOU, THERE'S NOT MUCH THAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.

Losing a lemur is the last thing on this kid's mind as he stops to enjoy his first lick of a double-dip ice cream cone in the park.

In fact, he's never even given a thought to finding a lemur either. After all, this is not exactly lemur-LAND!

But there he is, clearly a lemur, with his bushy barred tail and perky white face--and the look of love in his eyes--proffering a posy he's just pulled from the park's well-tended border.

I TRIED MY BEST TO IGNORE HIM.

I TRIED HIDING UP IN A TALL TREE.

BEFORE LONG, OTHER LEMURS BEGAN TO APPEAR.

The kid is beginning to feel a bit strange. Is it possible to be stalked by a lot of lemurs?

He tries to escape on his bike, pedaling his swiftest, but they catch up, with bright smiles and bright eyes pleading for a game of catch. He's even got a lemur sitting on his head offering the ball!

What to do? He certainly can't go home with a retinue of lemurs. What would his parents say?

The boy buys a train ticket and jumps aboard, but somehow the lemurs are way ahead of him, taking over driving the engine. He boards a boat heading across the lake, but the lemurs follow, snorkeling underwater behind him. It's sort of fun having a following, but now what does he do?

A fantastic escape effort follows, across desert sands on a racing camel, high in a hot air balloon, climbing the highest mountain in sight. It's snowy and windy, but luckily the lemurs have knapsacks with a supply of knitted caps, even one for him.

I HAD TRAVELED VERY FAR FROM HOME AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO GET BACK!

I WAS LOST AND ALONE!

Well, not exactly alone. It's hard to lose a lot of lemurs, and luckily, lemurs don't get lost, ever! But they can lead a friend into some fantastic adventures and finally show him the way to go home, in Frann Preston-Gannon's How to Lose a Lemur (Sterling Books, 2014). The author's charming clique of lemurs are set off in pleasing artwork and palette of teal and greens, sometimes highlighted in spot art and sometimes given room to spread out all over the landscape in full-bleed double spreads. Preston-Gannon's lemurs are as much fun as a barrel of monkeys and way more appealing. "Simple but silly and satisfying," ays Kirkus Reviews.