Goin' NUTS! I Want That Nut! by Madeline Valentine

Mouse and Chipmunk are pals who happily play and share together all the time Until when one day they are startled by a loud. . .

KER-PLUNK!

And when they investigate, they see...

. . . a NUT! A BIG, BEAUTIFUL NUT!

Mouse and Chipmunk look at that perfect fat acorn. Both want it. But they try to be generous.

Chipmunk says Mouse should have it. Mouse says Chipmunk should have it. After this goes on for a couple of rounds, Mouse admits that he did see it first, but Chipmunk takes Nut and heads home.

Now the twosome is Chipmunk and Nut. Chipmunk reads story books, the kind with lots of pictures, to Nut. They cloud-watch together. They sleep together. Mouse, on the other hand, is alone and jealous. And he wants that nut! When Chipmunk flaunts his ownership and invites him to tea with him and Nut, Mouse arrives promptly, wearing a festive bowtie. He seems congenial, but he is only waiting for his moment!

"THIS IS LOVELY," SAYS MOUSE.

"OUR PLEASURE," SAYS CHIPMUNK," GESTURING TOWARD NUT, SEATED AT A PLACE AT THE TABLE.

"LOOK! A DINOSAUR!" SHOUTS MOUSE."

Now Mouse has taken possession of The Nut. He plays Tic-Tac-Toe with Nut, dances with Nut, and naps with Nut, but Chipmunk is not done. Disguised in mustache, fur stole and high heels, he claims to be the judge of the World's Most Beautiful Nut Contest and dashes off with Nut.

Mouse has had it with his one-time friend and the two square off at each other, each claiming ownership of Nut, until... they hear a new voice.

"ACTUALLY, IT'S MINE! THANK YOU FOR FINDING MY NUT!"

It's Squirrel who claims full ownership of Nut and has the bulk to enforce possession.

Mouse and Chipmunk agree that the whole thing had gotten totally out of hand, in Madeline Valentine's charming little parable of greed grown all out of proportion, I Want That Nut! (Alfred A. Knopf). Friendship wins out over acorn lust, with the help of a domineering squirrel claiming precedence of possession, in this comical and adorable story for preschool and primary students. As Mark Twain observed in Tom Sawyer about whitewashing a fence: To make something desirable, you must first make it hard to get!

Easy enough for emerging readers, page-plotted perfectly by author Valentine to set off her comic illustrations, and with its varying font size and speech balloons, this is a versatile picture book for reading aloud or as a beginning reader. Says School Library Journal, "Expertly drawn and designed to keep the action moving as tails fly off the page.

Friendship Blendship: Mistletoe--a Christmas Story by Tad Hills

MISTLETOE GREETS THE CHILLY MORNING! SNOW IS FALLING. FINALLY IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS!

In her bright red boots, mittens and coat and green plaid scarf, Mistletoe loves walking in the snow and can't wait to get her friend Norwell to enjoy it with her.

But Norwell the elephant doesn't like the cold snow. Instead, he invites Mistletoe in for a warm cup of tea, and they spend the day trimming Norwell's Christmas tree. Mistletoe gets her snowy walk going back home as the world fills with snow and the evening turns blue. She still wishes Norwell would walk with her.

But the next day Mistletoe has an idea. She climbs up to the attic and brings down boxes and boxes of yarn left over from projects.

"YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH YARN!" SHE SAYS.

Mistletoe knits nonstop, finding out that it IS possible to need more yarn, which she goes out in the snow to buy.

She knits everywhere, even in the bathtub! At last she folds up her knitting, and loads it up on her sled and walks to Norwell's house, still hoping for a walk in the snow with her friend. Norwell greets her with a gift, his painting of her in the snow. Perfect!

It 'snow surprise to young readers what happens next, in Tad Hills' brand-new Yuletide yarn, Mistletoe: A Christmas Story (Schwartz and Wade, 2020), a happy story of a mouse and elephant in the mold of unlikely friends who find a way to honor each other and their differences, which satisfyingly concludes with a warm-hearted Chrismasy stroll in the snow. Tad Hills' charming illustrations make this one a great gift of a holly-jolly holiday tale. Author-illustrator Tad Hills is also the top-selling creator of How Rocket Learned to Read and sequels and his delightful Duck & Goose series.

Two Little Kitties in Trouble! Kit And Kaboodle by Rosemary Wells

GRANNY MADE SHAMROCK SOCKS FOR KABOODLE AND DAFFODIL SOCKS FOR KIT.

The kitty twins are quite taken with their handknit socks. They wear them everywhere!

But somebody else is not pleased.

SPINKA WAS NOT HAPPY. GRANDMA HAD NOT MADE A PAIR OF SOCKS FOR SPINKA'S FEET.

Spinka is a jealous, elvish little house mouse with a scheme to get some handmade socks for himself!

When Kit and Kaboodle's socks get really dirty, Mom confiscates them and sticks them in the wash, carefully setting the washer to the COLD cycle. But Spinka sneaks in and turns the washer knob and the dryer dial to HOT, sneaking out once more to fish the well-shrunken socks from the dryer before Mom comes to take them out.

The socks are now a perfect fit for Spinka.

In a new twist on the three little kittens who lost their mittens, Rosemary Wells' latest, Kit & Kaboodle (Henry Holt and Company, 2018) provides the first title in her new series about the two kitty twins and their elfin house mouse Spinka, who makes trouble for the kittens and plenty of giggles for tots and primary readers who are in on the secret. In the style of including several short stories in books like her beloved Max and Ruby series, Wells shows the mischievous mouse also purloining Daddy's brand-new baseballs, all of Mama's bottle of Foame de Paris bubble bath, and one of Kit's chocolate blimpies. Spinka even leaves the electric toothbrushes on to buzz well into the night. As the irreproachable twins proclaim their innocence, it's a ton of fun for youngsters who may wonder if the two have a sort of Swedish house elf alter ego. Wells' sly storytelling and soft and enticing illustrations make this one a first choice for young readers.

Getting Away From It All: Monster & Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood

Mouse is psyched. She interrupts her friend Monster in standard mode, scarfing up a snack, with her big idea.

"Let's go camping!" she said.

"What's camping?" Monster asked.

"You walk in the woods. You sleep in a tent. You tell spooky stories." says Mouse.

Camping sounds scary, but Mouse says she'll take care of Monster. She also promises something Monster will love--tasty camp-out treats! Monster is ready to go right away, but Mouse makes a simple list--tent, two sleeping bags, food, and a lantern lamp. Monster loads up his red wagon, and they are OFF! 

Mouse and Monster walk deep into the woods. Mouse hears the sound of a stream and offers to go ahead to reconnoiter. While Monster waits, he gets a little peckish.

Monster had a snack.

He eats the lamp.

Mouse returns and the two campers trudge down the trail. Mouse offers to go ahead and scout for campground markers. Monster agrees to wait, but he soon gets the munchies and chows down on their sleeping bags.

Following the trail markers, Mouse spies a hill ahead and offers to go up and check it out. Monster stays with the wagon, but while he waits, he wolfs down the tent. Mouse returns to announce she's found the perfect place to camp atop the hill.

Let's set up the tent!" said Mouse.

"Uh-oh," said Monster.

Monster has to 'fess up that he's eaten the sleeping bags and the tents. He's so sorry.

Mouse magnanimously says not to fret. It'll be fun to sleep on the grass under the stars, she says.

Hand me the lamp so I can find our food."

Ooops! Monster assures Mouse that the one thing he did not eat was their food. But this time it's Mouse's turn to confess a mea culpa.

"I forgot the food." she admits.

Mouse's campout is not panning out as promised! It's getting chilly and dark, and they are starving. But then Mouse spots a glimmer of light and smells something very much like roasting s'mores ahead. It's a family of campers, with a campfire, camp lamp, and cozy tents, and Dad is telling a scary story in a spooky voice:

"But then," Dad was saying, dramatically, "a terrifying monster came...."

"Excuse me," Monster says politely, stepping into the clearing....

All's well that ends well, as Monster appears the flickering firelight and the human family makes a hasty escape in their SUV. It would be a shame to let that cozy campsite go to waste, so Mouse and Monster have a classic campout after all, in Deborah Underwood's charming new picture book, Monster and Mouse Go Camping (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018). Mouse and Monster are the usual odd couple of unlikely buddies in a clever story in which Underwood drolly sets up a denouement in which Monster's sudden appearance clears the campsite in a trice. Underwood's delightfully daffy story is ably assisted by noted artist Jared Chapman, whose cartoon illustrations in comic color and line tell the story with stylish visual humor.

Underwood is the seasoned author of many popular picture books, including The Quiet Book and sequels, and Here Comes the Easter Cat and sequels (see reviews here), and Jared Chapman is the noted illustrator of Steve, Raised by Wolves Vegetables in Underwear and Veggies with Wedgies (read reviews here).