From Seed to Glow! How to Help A Pumpkin Grow by Ashley Wolff

Where do pumpkins come from? A packet of freeze-dried powder? A can of orange glop? The frozen dessert section of the grocery?

No! Pumpkins come from pumpkin seeds! Cut off the top of any pumpkin and you'll see them, clustered together inside the pumpkin--seeds that came from a pumpkin patch somewhere on earth!

And how do we get pumpkins for Halloween Jack-O'-Lanterns and Thanksgiving pumpkin bread and pies and those ubiquitous pumpkin-spice flavored smoothies? We plant pumpkin seeds in early spring! And that's what author-illustrator Ashley Wolff shows us how to do in her just-in-time pumpkin-planting book, How to Help a Pumpkin Grow (Beach Lane Books, 2021). A helpful black and white Aussie dog recruits some friends and shows them how to cut a lid off the top of a pumpkin and separate the seeds from the glop inside to dry them for planting in the pumpkin patch.

DIG IT!

SEEDS TO SOW.

Protect them from the falling snow! Fence them and chase away a marauding crow. They like a bit of fertilizer and plenty of water from time to time. When the tender stalks and leaves begin to show, fence in the patch so their vines can go! Co-opt the bunnies and geese and goat to let the vines and tiny pumpkins just GROW..., losing their green color and gaining their orange glow!

FILLING UP THE GARDEN--WHOA!

When the big green pumpkins turn to orange, it's time to roast the seeds, to mix the filling, and bake the pies in the oven.

IT'S TIME TO CARVE THEM JUST SO!

Light the candles and watch them--

"GLOW!

With bouncy rhyming text and jolly illustrations of all kinds of friendly animals collaborating and cooperating to produce pumpkin treats together, this lovely book written and illustrated by Ashley Wolff does double duty for fall read alouds. After all, where do next year's Jack O'lanterns and pumpkins pies come from?

Share this one with Margaret McNamara's How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (Mr. Tiffin's Classroom Series), reviewed here:

What's the BIG Idea? Twenty Big Trucks in the Center of the Street by Mark Lee

On a sunny, tree-lined city street, a boy bikes through the park. And then something happens!

ONE ICE CREAM TRUCK, SELLING EVERYTHING SWEET,

BREAKS DOWN AND BLOCKS THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

And before the vendor gets out to check under the hood, the mail truck comes along and stops behind him.

And one after the other, more trucks are stopped behind them--even a truck with bales of hay! Looks like nobody's going anywhere today!

And behind him, others stop--a pick-up truck full of landscaping trees, a giant yellow crane truck, delivery trucks of all kinds, two moving vans (who won't be moving), a stake truck of pigs, and a dump truck loaded with sand. Two traffic cops show up, but they're no help. Nobody can back up or go forward. Meanwhile, a cement mixer and a gasoline tanker pull in behind. Next come a tar truck and a truck for towing; nobody here is going to be going.

A garbage truck, a bread truck, a truck full of meat, no is moving on this street. Everybody frets, without a clue. There must be something somebody can do!

A small voice speaks up--the kid on the bike. At first they ignore him, then realize he's RIGHT.

PLEASE LOOK! CAN'T YOU SEE?

THE BIG CRANE TRUCK IS WHAT WE NEED!

And suddenly the stalled crane operator swings his boom over the others and lifts up the ice cream truck, swinging him down to the grassy park's side, leaving the others to continue their ride.

And with the ice cream truck open for business in the park, the boy gets a free ice cream cone, in Mark Lee's latest, Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street (Candlewick, 2022). Author Mark Lee lets the youngest bystander save the day and help everyone else be on their way, Kids get to polish their counting skills as well in this reading treat, and illustrator Curt Cyrus adds to the fun with his realistic vehicle drawings, All's well that ends well (and with ice cream for all comers.)

Writes the Wall Street Journal's reviewer, "Handsome entertainment. This softly rhyming picture book presents children with a small but exciting dilemma that quickly involves—hurrah!—all sorts of trucks.

Undercover Brother and Snoop Dog: Secret, Secret Agent Guy by Kira Bigwood

SECRET, SECRET AGENT GUY,

WORKING FOR THE FBI.

His trenchcoat and Fedora hanging on the door, the super sleuth relaxes in his PJ's and with his bullfrog-slippered feet on his desk, perusing the newspaper.

But a message comes through on his walkie-talkie from the intrepid chief, ordering him to grab his gear and get on the job. He stows his stuff in his kit, cleverly disguised as a third grade lunchbox--with ropes, grappling hook, and see-in-the-dark glasses. He slips downstairs on silent feet to surveil the security guards. Ah, there they are, busy listening to tunes on Alexa!

But his device begins to quiver with a message from headquarters. Chief directs him to a backpack stashed in the kitchen cupboard:

"SET YOUR TRAPS AND GET TO WORK!"

"IN THE SHADOWS SOMETHING LURKS!"

Suddenly the security guards send Spy Dog, who leaps over the deadfall trap set for them. Luckily, he's turned double agent, actually on their side! Grabbing the backpack in his mouth and trotting upstairs, he passes it over, and the secret agent guys attain possession of the contraband, a giant top secret lollipop concealed in the closet. But, OH, NO! The fake box broadcasts a call to the authorities!

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

Could it be that their code has been blown? By a double agent sister...?

SECRET, SECRET AGENT GIRL!

It's "Curses, foiled again!" by a super-secret big sister, in Kira Bigwood's new Secret, Secret Agent Guy, (Atheneum, 2921), which we hope is the beginning of a brothers-and-sister secret agent wars series. It's a fun and funny kid pleaser, coded in spy lingo and a clever rhyme scheme, only slightly concealed, to be read and sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!"

"For readers looking for a little action and suspense in their bedtime story...." says Horn Book's reviewer.

Meet the Neighbors! Five Busy Beavers by Stella Grosso

Building a beaver dam calls for all hands on deck.

But when one beaver sneaks away with a muskrat to play, his hard-working brothers, the remaining four, now have to do more!

But as the remaining four brothers "beaver on," chewing down trees to construct their lodge and dam, a lazy heron shows up to persuade one more of the brothers to run away to play!

That loss leaves the three all bereft, each one feeling sorry for himself. And soon some frolicsome frogs lead one more beaver in the bog to abandon his log. More playmates turn up, to lead the remaining brothers to be done for the day. as three frolicsome frogs and and a tempting turtle lead two more away to play!

Only one beaver is left to do the job of building their dam made of logs.

Depressed, the last beaver brother finally paddles off by the dim light of a firefly. The dam's not done, and he is alone.

But as he swims to shore in a lonely, sad slog, he sees something new going up in the bog!

It seems the muskrat, the heron, the turtle and a trio of frogs, by the light of the firefly, have pitched in to finish the lodge with elan!>

"Many hands make light work," says the old saw, and in the bog that proverb comes true, as the five busy beavers celebrate with water lily pie and new friends with whom to watch the winter go by, in Stella Grasso's rhyming adaptation of the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper, Five Busy Beavers (Scholastic/Skyhorse, 2018). Grosso also adds her "Author's Notes, with more about the beavers' new neighbors who share the area around their dam.

With a bit of nature lore, counting lessons, and jolly verse in a novel rhyme scheme in store, Grosso's jolly picture book, illustrated with elan by illustrator Christine Battuz, is a fine seasonal read-aloud for preschool and primary kids.

Opines School Library Journal, "This original take on a classic is recommended as a general purchase for a primary collection. Great for a number-themed storytime or a lap read!"

No Matter What the Weather: More Than Sunny! by Shelley Johannes

"IT'S EARLY!" GRUMBLES LITTLE BROTHER."

"IT'S SUNNY AND BIRDY" COAXES BIG SISTER."

She hustles her sibling into a spring jacket and outside beside the pond, where he complains...

"MUCKY!"

"IT'S SUNNY AND DUCKY!"...

. . . Sister counters, as a proud Mama Duck and a long line of little ducklings strut by.

And spring blows through as if on one long breezy day, until suddenly one warm sunny day, the siblings realize it's summer. Little Brother whines!

"IT'S MUGGY!" AND BUGGY!"

But as Shakespeare says, "Summer's lease hath all too short a stay."

As summer races by, the kids have fun, collecting caterpillars and worms and wishfully fishing and not catching fish, waiting out stormy, steamy, summer rain showers, suiting up in yellow slickers and boots, catching squirmy worms in the mud, and before they know it, summer melts away, to be replaced by whooshy winds and nervous, fussy, busy squirrels storing up acorns for the winter. And on one gray, cloudy day, they wave goodbye to the geese sailing by, heading south. And then it's. . .

"WINTER. AND WAITY!"

The two kids color and cut out Christmas decorations to hang from the windows with red yarn and watch at the windows for snowflakes to catch and melt on their tongues. And then it is snowy, and ready for sledding and chilling and spilling and then watching at their dark windows. . . .

And with a shushed sneaking downstairs to step out on the porch, they see... their very own falling star.

It's the grand finale of one more joyful trip around the sun to celebrate those blessed seasons of childhood, in Shelley Johannes' delightful latest, More Than Sunny (Abrams Books, 2021). It's all good weather to be together, and rain or shine, it's all fine!

Author Johannes' descriptive pairs of rhyming adjectives are as bouncy as the big sister's two ponytails, leading the way through the seasons, and artist Johannes' charming illustrations in pencil and mixed media are as lively and bright as the two young siblings in a sweet salute of the seasons, from spring glow to falling snow, late and lovely.

Says Publishers Weekly, "Breezy and buzzy/ summer and fuzzy!” transitions to “winter.../ and waity” before a sweet close focuses on a turnaround—and the night sky. Dynamic art rendered in pencil and mixed media on tracing paper and finished digitally matches the text’s energy in this charming seasonal perusal."

The Adventures of Zip, Bip, & Chip: See Zip Zap! by David Milgrim

Zip is a space alien of the greenish persuasion, with a magical antenna which he uses to zap assorted characters when it seems a good idea--and perhaps when it's not. He first zaps up a striped bug-like critter with two antennae.

Pleased with himself, Zip then zaps up four birdlike creatures. Perhaps to show off his versatility, he zaps up Chip, a canine-ish character whose job is to applaud Zip, and then a similarly egg-headed baby alien named Bip, who seems to be moved mostly to outrun the margins prepared for his persona. Zip follows toward page right to zap up four odd birds who are so exciting that they instantly put Bip the Baby down for a nap!

Bip naps on, despite the flippant and feisty fowls, provoking Bip to wake up and Zip to use his biggest ZAP on the Big Bodied Beastie with one nose horn that he zapped up.

UH, OH. TIME TO GO!

Zap snatches up Bip as the horned Beastie closes in, and the two fall off the cliff as the Beastie skids to a zippy stop.

WHOA!

As Zip and Bip fall toward the ground below, Zip zaps up a squadron of feisty fowls in a flying formation to catch the falling figures of Zip and Bip before they go SPLAT on the flatland below the cliff.

Zip claps and claps!

[THE END]

Author-illustrator David Milgrim's extra-easy beginning reader, See Zip Zap: Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip) concentrates on the beginning reader's venerated reading tricks--rhyming words, repetition, alliteration, and easy-to-sound out words to tickle the punny funnybone and build the beginner's self confidence in this super easy reader in his Adventures of Zip series.

For more reading starters, zip down to the library or bookstore for more Zip and Bip, in Milgrim's sequels, Poof! A Bot! Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip) and Come In, Zip!: Ready-to-Read Ready-to-Go! (The Adventures of Zip).

Teatime Catastrophe: Phoebe Dupree Is Coming to Tea!> by Linda Ashman

PHOEBE'S AS PERFECT AS PERFECT CAN BE!

She's certainly one of the cool kids! It's quite the coup to travel in her company, and our girl hopes that everything will be a perfect as Phoebe. She even bathes her dog Louie, and prompts him to be on his best behavior. He's instructed to offer one paw to shake, and he's NOT to dig holes or jump in the pool!

NO SHEDDING! NO DROOL!

Phoebe's so clever and stylish, with plenty of smarts. She rates fine china, eclairs, and fruit tarts!

The table is set with pink tablecloth and matching flowers. It's ready ahead of time, by hours and hours. At last, says the clock, it is almost three. And right on time, Ding Dong, it's Phoebe Dupree! She greets Louie gently when first she comes in, with an appropriate little chuck of his chin. The teapot is fetched, and tea poured without a drip...

But the triple-tiered tea tray starts to slip...!

IT WOBBLES, I STUMBLE...THEN I TRIP...!

The eclairs fly through the air, Phoebe jostles a chair, and the table totters, with a tumble and a tip!

It's a teatime catastrophe, a hostess' disaster!

And then, to make things worse, Louie runs in from a dip in the pool. His shakes distribute equal amounts of pool water and... drool.

The party is a washout; is this teatime done?

"OH," SAYS PHOEBE, "THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!"

And Phoebe IS perfect, displaying grace under pressure, as our would-be hostess with the mostest discovers, in Linda Ashman's delightful Phoebe Dupree Is Coming to Tea! (Candlewick Press, 2021). Consoled with some slightly smooshed eclairs and cookie shards, and with the lively, comic illustrations of Alea Marley documenting the calamity, a good time is had by all in an absolutely memorable tea party.

"Funny, subtly empowering, and sweet," is the verdict of Kirkus Reviews.

Red is Red is Red. It's a color--a color associated with Christmas, Valentine's Day, the brightest crayon in the box.

But for a little lost fox searching for his mother, there are many reds in his long journey.

Dark red is the deepening color of his coat in the darkening forest in the approach of twilight. It is a lighter red in the light of the sunrise on his coat. Red is the color of rising fear as he wanders through the woods looking for home, the bright red reflectors of the railroad crossing warning in the headlights of a green truck, the old red of gone-wild roses on a fence around a house where a boy stops his ballgame to stare at him. It's the color of wet soil turning into red mud in the rain, and the danger of rusty nails in a wooden fence.

It's the color of blood on his hurt foot, and of the autumn leaves and the tempting fallen apples on the other side of a chain link fence, and it is the sad color of an old brick wall in his way. It is the tempting red of a piece of meat inside a catch cage, and the red of rage and anxiety when he is captured.

But it is also the warm feeling of trust, as a girl sets him free, and the warmth of his mother's happy love as she finds him at last.

Red is the color of many emotions, in Caldecott author-illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger's latest picture book, Red (Holiday House, 2021), the third of her series of stories of evocative colors blended with a family's history, Blue and Green.

Deep and moving, this trilogy is filled with expressionistic acrylic paintings done on a lovely textured surface that opens up the emotional involvement of young readers. With a simple easy-to-read text filled with feeling, the Wall Street Journal's reviewer says, "Laura Vaccaro Seeger has wrought meaning and serendipity from the permutations of a single hue". As an affecting series of family life and a delicately realized introduction to the symbolism of color, this one should not be missed.

Laura Vaccaro Seeger is also a Caldecott Medal winner for her illustrations in Green and First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)). (See reviews here).

What Can Two Do? One, Two, Grandma Loves You! by Shelley Becker

ONE, TWO, GRANDMA LOVES YOU!

Grandma and her little granddaughter love to be together. They love to do the same things--draw pictures of each other, shop in toy stores, go fishing, and make pancakes, paint pictures, and paint their nails the same colors!

But the visit must end sometime, and when the girl goes back home, Grandma is so alone.

What can they do?

They yak on the phone for hours. They mark their calendars and cross off the days until they can get together again! They mail each other paintings and drawings of things they like to do together, and post the pictures everywhere. And they can't wait to see each other again!

"NINE, TEN, PLAN AGAIN!"

They count the days and think of ways to have fun the next time they are together, and Grandmother and Granddaughter count the ways they can be together, in Shelly Becker's latest, One, Two, Grandma Loves You (Abrams Appleseed, 2021). Author Becker delivers the rhymes and artist Dan Yaccarino provides the comic drawings of the good times, in this easy-to-read, easy-to-love book.

Says School Library Journal's starred review,, "Why does it ever have to end? The details in the illustrations will have children poring over the pages, where the clues to good times past and present add up to a generous look at the special bonds of an extended family."

T'was the Night... : Five Little Monkeys Looking for Santa by Eileen Christelow

On the night before Christmas, what do little ones want? Eggnog? A kiss under the mistletoe? Fruitcake? An early bedtime?

We wish!

No, since the celebrated Clement Clarke Moore penned his classic, we know that parents want their children all snug, asleep in their beds. But for little Santa fans, Christmas Eve brings the worst insomnia a youngster can experience! And how are those five little monkeys, famous for jumping on their bed, sleeping on this Christmas Eve?

YOU GUESSED IT!

CREEPING PAST MAMA SLEEPING,

SNEAKING DOWN EACH STAIR. . .

Santa's not putting presents around the Christmas tree, but-- what's that noise in the kitchen? Clickety Clack! Is Santa raiding their fridge for a snack? No, it's Grandpa, having a cookie and cocoa, with a time-honored warning.

"SANTA WON'T COME WHILE YOU'RE AWAKE!"

"GO BACK T0 BED, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!"

But the five little monkeys are still worried. Does Santa know their address? And what's that noise in the bathroom? Santa?

It's Mom in her bathrobe. She repeats Grandpa's advice and shoos them back to bed. But it's not long before they hear a bump on the roof. Is it Santa making a very bad landing?

Quick as a flash, they're out the front door in their jammies, looking up on the roof. The noise is still there, so they find a long ladder and scale it double quick. But there's not a sign of Old St. Nick!

SUDDENLY, WITH A BIG GUST OF WIND AND A CREAKING SOUND...

. . .the monkeys see their ladder blown down to the ground! OOPS! Now how do THEY get down?

Shivering, they brainstorm the only way. If Santa can do it, SO CAN THEY! It's down the grimy chimney for the tired little monkeys.

And sooty and chilly, they now want to sleep. They crash on the couch, all piled in a heap.

And when Santa finally comes down the chimney with care, he finds them all snoozing, totally unaware.

So Santa fills each stocking, grinning from ear to ear.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, LITTLE MONKEYS! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!"

On Christmas Eve what do Santa newbies do? It's an old plot, but for little ones it's all brand-new. As bells jingle and snowflakes glisten, they lie in their beds sleepless, with nothing to do but listen!

Eileen Christelow, the author of so many hilarious books about the Five Little Monkeys, has a good reason for a new one for this season, Five Little Monkeys Looking for Santa (A Five Little Monkeys Story) (Clarion Books, 2021). For youngsters who've yet to meet Christelow's mischievous five, this seasonal story is a great introduction to these famous characters.

What Do We Want? WE WANT SNOW: A Wintry Chant by Jamie A. Swenson

"WE WANT SNOW--UP TO OUR ANKLES...,

"SHINS..., KNEES..., AND CHINS!"

The kids are ready; they want the whole nine yards of the snow season.

But so far the winter sky watch has been a bust. Their snow watch is a fluke, for heaven's sake! But, Wait!

"A FLAKE!"

And do the kids get their wish!

They pile on their sleds, dachshunds and all, slipping and sliding down the hill. They make snow forts and have a snowball fight. This is the way to do winter right! Snowmen grow fat and tall with woolly mittens and puffy coats for all. Ice skates and skiis are sure to please. Kids and dogs, and grownups, too, play outside until their noses turn blue.

And then, they have a different thought.

"WE WANT COCOA--PIPING HOT!"

"WITH MARSHMALLOWS--WE WANT A LOT!"

But ... as the wintry days continue and the weather remains windy, dark, and cold... the kids' desire for snow days begins to grow old.

"WHOA! BRRRRRRR! TOO MUCH SNOW!"

"SNOW IN OUR HAIR AND UNDERWEAR...."

And snow keeps coming everywhere.

It seems that there can be ... TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING!

"HOW ABOUT AN EARLY SPRING?"

Jamie A. Swenson's just-in-time chiming, rhyming, loving salute to snowtime, We Want Snow: A Wintry Chant (Sleeping Bear Press, 2021) is a joy to read for kids who can't wait for the white stuff to fall.

Swenson's clever rhyming storytelling, matched to the jolly illustrations of Emilie Boon, make this one an irresistible read-aloud story and a charming performance script for Christmas parties and parent programs, with the winsome warning that it's perhaps good that snowy days and nights, despite their lively delights and charming good cheer, don't last all year!

Poet Percy Shelley's longing got it about right! "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"

We can only hope so!!

"Movin' On Out!" Road Crew, Coming Through! (Construction Sites) by Sherri Duskey Rinker

The workday is done. It's time to head out. But the highway is full; drivers cringe and shout!

It's time to call the Construction Crew. They're the guys who know what to do. It's time to build a bigger, better ...

. . . SUPER HIGHWAY, A MEGA ROAD.

SIX MIGHTY FRIENDS ARE ON THEIR WAY.

TO HELP WITH SOMETHING BIG TODAY.

All the usual suspects are there--Excavator, Dump Truck, and Skid Steer, to dig and and haul away. But...

SOMETHING NEW.

TO JOIN THE BIG ROAD BUILDING CREW.

(THERE'S A GIANT JOB TO DO!).

There are more needed on this job--Bulldozer clears the stumps and boulders, and Scraper smooths it all out. Water Truck comes along to sprinkle down the dust and keep the air clean. Scraper, Grader, Compacter, and Roller makes the roadbed flat and smooth and hard, yard by yard. Paver lays the blacktop down all around, Crane Truck adds the signs and lights, and Striper Truck paints the yellow and white lines so that the drivers know where they should go.

The job of the big machines, the Road Crew, is done ....

EVERYONE IS ON THEIR WAY--

HEADING HOME TO END THEIR DAY.

The moon is rising; the time is right.--Time for a good night back at the construction site.

Sherri Duskey Rinker, the celebrated prolific writer about those beloved BIG MACHINES, from cranes to trains, introduces them all from her first builder book, to her latest in her new Construction Sites series, Construction Site: Road Crew, Coming Through! (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site) (Chronicle Books, 2021)

With Rinker's pleasant, bouncy, and rhyming versification, and illustrator AG Ford's jolly anthropomorphic construction rigs happily on the job, this one is sure to please preschoolers and primary readers of the motorhead persuasion who would love to park Rinker's books on their bookshelf.

Share this new one with Sherry Duskey Rinker's Construction Site: Mission Demolition! (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site), and Construction Site: Merry and Bright: A Christmas Lift-the-Flap Book (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site)

When the Bough Breaks. . . Too Much Stuff! by Emily Gravett

IN A TREE THAT WAS TALLER THAN ALL THE REST,

MEG AND ASH WERE BUSY BUILDING A NEST.

It was to be a grand home, built with mud, grass, and carefully selected sticks, perfectly fitted for their chicks. They even lined the nest with schnitzels of torn-up magazine pages. In this colorful, comfy-cozy nest, Meg soon laid four fine eggs.

But since there was only room for one of them to sit on the nest at a time, the other magpie had time on his or her hands (er, wings), to think of so many other things the nest might need.

AT FIRST THEY BROUGHT BACK LITTLE STUFF.

But soon the two became... COLLECTORS. First a pair of ornamental cuckoo clocks, a bag full of clothespins, tiny baby socks... but eventually . . .

THEY GOT SOME BIGGER STUFF!

. . .a full-to-bursting park trash receptacle, a junked baby carriage, a mop, broom, and scrub brush, and a trike and a big bike, with basket and bell!

AFTER THAT, THEY'D NEED A CAR,

WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN A STEP TOO FAR!

A classic used Volkswagon is the straw that, er, broke the limb, totally bringing the whole collection down to the ground with a CRACK!

And in a messy pile on the ground, all that stuff was...

. . . just trash! And then the two birds have a truly worrisome thought!

WHERE ARE OUR EGGS!

The two compulsive hoarders are all a-flutter as they get busy, removing, repurposing, and recycling the stuff, until they get down to their nest, where they discover--

You guessed it!--FOUR FINE CHICKS--eager to learn to fly, in noted author-illustrator Emily Gravett's latest, Too Much Stuff! (Simon and Schuster, 2021 Am. Ed.).

Emily Gravett, a two-time winner of the Kate Greenaway Award, Britain's version of our Caldecott Award, given for picture book art, and and here adds this gorgeously executed and joyfully humorous pencil and watercolor artwork. Told in rhyming couplets that keep the story flying along, this one makes a great read-aloud for preschool and primary aged kids, and a clever cautionary tale in anti-clutter-collecting for avians and non-avians! Says Kirkus, "Cheerful, dear, and funny—with a comforting conclusion."

QUIET! SHHH! The Baby's Asleep by JaNay Brown-Woods

NOW DON'T MAKE A PEEP....

THE BABY'S ASLEEP!

Mom creeps out of the room on the quietest of feet, worrying that the slight creak of the floor will wake the baby, who is finally asleep!!

But there's a whole big family downstairs, each one with his or her own noise potential.

Daddy's hungry stomach rumbles and Granny's washing swishes, and Pop Pop's big ACHOOS might end Baby's snooze! Sister Shae's hair dryer's whir gets shushed, as well as Dante's little hammer and Rover's howls.

Now what's that loud noise from next door?

MR. YOUNG'S MOWER ROARS!

UH OH! WAAAHHHHHH!

That does it! The baby is awake and bawling. Then big brother has an idea.

"YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED IS A GOOD BOOK TO READ!"

And brother Dante is at least partly right. Daddy reads and Baby loves the book, while the rest of the family slip into sleep, in JaNay Brown-Woods' brand-new picture book, Shhh! The Baby's Asleep (Charlesbridge Press, 2021).

With clever rhyming couplets with plenty of onomatopoeic words just right for read-aloud fun, and with artist Elissabura's bright caricatures of a multigenerational family and colored lettering that tracks the sounds through the not-quite-quiet house, this is a fine story for all the families who have ever been hushed or shushed while baby sleeps, or not. Says Kirkus, "Delightful comic relief for every household with a baby."

Bella Noche! Hello, Moon by Julie Downing

GOODBYE, SUN.

The shadows grow long. Sleepy butterflies cling to the underside of leaves. Song birds flit to their nests.

DAY IS DONE.

The animals sense the change, Squirrels seek their dens. Snails creep under fallen leaves. The dog dashes for the open farmhouse door to sleep inside.

But the night animals are ready to go on duty.

MOONLIGHT CALLS. COME OUTSIDE.

Foxes pounce for a burrowing mouse. Owls fly on silent wings. Raccoons chitter when they find fruit with savory seeds. Bugs chomp on juicy leaves, while mice scurry at the shadow of a cruising owl. Baby foxes scamper to the shelter of their den at the flash of lightning and crash of thunder. It's time for these nocturnal creatures to hurry home and catch a catnap before first light.

HELLO DAY! GOODNIGHT, NIGHT!

And as the now wide-awake dog dashes out the open back door, the day begins again with opening morning glories all around, in Julie Downing's just published Hello, Moon (Holiday House, 2021), a hymn for the night and a song for the new day.

In pages wreathed by maple leaves of many colors--yellow green, bright green, and blue-green for the day and lilac, mauve, and deep green for the night, woodland places with the beautiful shapes of vines, toadstools and clover in all kinds of light, author-illustrator Downing marries her gorgeous colored pencil watercolor and acrylic artwork and the rhythm and rhyme of gentle poetry in a lovely tribute to day and night. As Kirkus Reviews advises, "Whether read as Zen nature walk, bedtime story, or gentle science starter, this story begs to be visited again and again."

Planting Planning! How To Help A Pumpkin Grow by Ashley Wolff

DIG IT! SPADE IT! SEEDS TO SOW!

Gardeners have to plan for the future. It's early spring, with just the first tree blooming, but Farmer Dog is already getting ready to grow pumpkins for the fall.

He has his seeds in a pail and an intriguing assortment of umbrellas in a box and stakes out where his patch will be fenced and tilled. He spades away in his plot, but he is not alone. Curious animals appear, a goat who's been tasting the blossoms on the tree, a gray mouse who watches from a hole in a tree, a duck dunking for tidbits in the pond, a rabbit nibbling weeds, and a crow with a clear interest in seeds--all are drawn closer as the building and tilling continues.

When Farmer Dog raises an umbrella over each planting place to shelter the seeds from the late spring snow, the curious critters come closer. With a knowing eye especially on Crow, the farmer asks...

WANT TO HELP A PUMPKIN GROW?

And all the animals DO! He shows them how to take care of the growing plants, and they are eager to help. Crow steps up to hold the hose as Farmer Dog waters the little plants. Rabbit eats the weeds and Duck pulls them up, while Mouse watches from the fence. Goat helps wind the vines around the fence and stakes so the leaves can get plenty of sunshine and soon the little white pumpkins become big orange pumpkins, still growing in the long days of summer sun.

TWINE THEM, VINE THEM.

WATCH THEM GO!

FILLING UP THE GARDEN--WHOA!

All the animals pitch in to pick and load the pumpkins on a cart, and now it's Goat's turn to show off, as he steps into the traces to pull the load of pumpkins to the kitchen.

PICK THEM! STACK THEM!

OVERFLOW.

And in the kitchen there are soon piles of pumpkin seeds, some to toast and eat and some to save for next year, and there are plenty of golden pumpkin pies all in a row, even a small one for little Mouse. They're all happy they helped to make them grow.

And that's not ALL! There are still enough pumpkins to . . .

CARVE JUST SO

PLACE THEM SO THE CANDLES SHOW.

And what's left now for their pumpkins to do but...

GLOW!

A bright and shining new pumpkin book for the scary season, veteran author-illustrator Ashley Wolff's latest How to Help a Pumpkin Grow (Beach Lane Books, 2021) does it all, with warm rhymes, and fall scenes of a variety of animals adding to the fun of growing and processing pumpkins to share with all.

This new book by the celebrated illustrator of Joseph Slate's classic Miss Bindergarten books for early graders is a real winner, sure to take its turn in the read-aloud rotation of autumn stories, introducing various animals while also working in the themes of pumpkin gardening, cooperation according to abilities, seasonal stories, cooking, and Halloween and Thanksgiving symbols.

While including all these items in the early education curriculum, Wolff also works in a charming visual joke in which she "hides" the little mouse throughout the story: Mouse, visible partially on almost every page, offers some counting fun for sharp-eyed young "readers." All this comes with the warmth of color-saturated acrylic gouache illustrations that glow with the outdoor pleasures of the growing seasons, especially autumn.

Says Kirkus Reviews, "A rhythmic seasonal read-aloud with rich, detailed illustrations." A first purchase for school and public libraries for sure!

Big Wheel On The Road! The Runaway No Wheeler by Peter Stein

Tony was a rugged truck who had a load to haul.

He'd load his rig and hit the road without a hitch or stall.

But there's many a slip between start and end of trip... when you're on the road.

But it was a not much time till he slipped on some slime. There goes one wheel! 

Then a pothole made one tire bounce off and fly high. It's off the road and gone!

And there's many a way to lose a tire this day. He dodges baby ducks and loses two wheels--Bad luck! He just misses some chicks, and finds he'd lost six! There's many a swerve and many a skitter, but Tony The Truck is not a quitter!

At last after many mishaps and with no wheels left at all, he skids to a stop right at the end of his haul.

There's a final visual joke in store, in Peter Stein's The Runaway No-wheeler (Viking,2020). With the noted comic artist Bob Staake's illustrations on board for this wild ride, this is a fun read for young motorheads who get revved up by tales of truck and truckers.

Says School Library Journal, "...an upbeat tempo and an impeccable sense of rhythm."

So Many Ways! All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors by Davina Bell

I'M OFF ON AN OUTING WITH MY MOM TODAY,

AND WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO THE PARK TO PLAY.

They roll past the usual destinations--the pool, the school.... so... where will they be?

IT'S THE LIBRARY!

"HELLO, THERE, FRANKIE MCGEE!"

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MISS SQUID, THE LIBRAIAN SAYS TO ME!

Mom smiles. This is a kid who loves books! How great is that? Frankie makes a beeline for the shelves and comes right back with a big grin and holds a book up for Mom to see.

It's a book about tractors, one of what seems like the zillions he's already checked out. How 'bout trains and planes, boats and trucks, she suggests? With all the books available for free, why, says she, does Frankie McGee's have to to be... about TRACTORS?

"I'D LOVE TO EXPLAIN THE MANY GLORIOUS FACTORS

THAT GO INTO THE LOVE I HAVE FOR ALL TRACTORS," SAYS FRANKIE.

You see, says Frankie McGee, all those vehicles are great at what they do, but all of them, from cement mixers to submarines, from firetrucks to steamrollers, mostly do just one thing! But tractors, well, they are the Swiss Army knives of vehicles! They have glorious attachments and adaptations to deploy or add on. They can tow or sow, plow up snow, pull a boat, haul a goat, harrow wide furrows, tote a tree.... Frankie goes on and on. Mom shakes her head in frustration, but the librarian checks out the tractor book with a big smile and some good advice for Frankie and for Mom.

"YOU KNOW YOURSELF BEST.

WHEN YOU WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, COME FIND ME!"

In this cheery homage to single-minded readers of the primary sort, Davina Bell's brand-new All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors (Greenwillow Books, 2021) bounces along brightly in lively rhymes that salute youngsters who know what they want. Many kids like a smorgasbord of subjects, but others prefer to stick to a favorite subject, sometimes to the dismay of parents. But, as Pete the Cat says, it's all good, and as Frankie points out, when he knows a book by heart, he can read it to himself--or to his mother, who will, with the help of illustrator Jenniy Lovlie's tractor-filled endpapers and pages, no doubt learn the many factors that make tractors irresistible.

"... a rollicking love letter, not just to tractors, but also to libraries," says Book Page.

No Smooches!! Rissy No Kisses by Katey Howe

"THE NESTLINGS ARE JUST DARLING," SAID MISS BLUEBIRD. "THEY LIKE ME!"

Miss Bluebird planted two big, fat smackeroos on two of the three little ones.

"NO KISSIES!" RISSY CHIRRUPTED.

Miss Robin opines that Rissy is confused. Papa insists that all lovebirds love kisses, but Rissy still doesn't want one, not even from him. Her parents think she might be sick. And when Rissy refuses her kiss, Grandmother tried to unruffle everyone's feathers with a little peck on the cheek for Rissy, and when Rissy repeats her denial, she suggests that Rissy is just RUDE.

At nursery school, the little lovebirds sitting on each side of her on the storytime rug are sweet and affectionate, but Rissy just repeats herself.

"NO KISSIES!!"

Rissy's classmates' feelings are hurt. They make a scene and say Rissy is mean! Rissy feels terrible. Is it possible that she's not really a lovebird?

It's time for a little talk with Mama. Rissy explains that kissing just makes her tummy feel funny. But Mama explains that it is okay if she doesn't like kissing, but she can still hug her friends and hold their wings and play together and show them that she likes them.

"YOU'RE A LOVEBIRD THROUGH AND THROUGH"

Lots of youngsters shy away from kissy-kissy adults, and little Rissy is a good spokesbird for kids who just don't go for smooching from relatives and strangers, in Katey Howe's sweet and sympathetic new picture book, Rissy No Kissies (Carolrhoda Books, 2021). Her book offers understanding for kids and adults in respecting personal preferences and feelings in two separate author's notes, one for children and one for adults, in dealing with the important issue of "bodily autonomy," how to say "NO," how to ask if hugging or kissing is all right, and how to respect choices from the very young. This is a sensitive read-aloud for school groups and for parent-to-child reading--especially before big family-and-friends gatherings.

In its starred review, Kirkus Review says, "This is an artistic gem for consent discussions, sensory-processing contexts, and anyone who champions children's agency and bodily autonomy. Radiant."

Just the Right Word! Wanda's Words Got Stuck by Lucy Rowland

Wanda is a little witch who has a problem with spelling--but NOT the black C-A-T kind of spelling. Wanda liked cauldrons, black cats, witches' hats and black bats, and learning to cast spells. But there seems to be a spell on her voice..

IT WAS TALKING--SHE TRIED

BUT NO WORDS WOULD COME OUT.

One day a new girl named Flo appears to join Wanda's class. Their teacher, Miss Cobweb, calls on all to make her feel welcome. All the student witches and warlocks except Wanda shout a loud "Hello!" But the shy new girl can only blush at the sudden rush of greetings. Wanda feels a kindred spirit and offers her a welcome wave and a smile. Flo thankfully waved back. No words required!

FLO SMILED AT HER FRIEND AND THEN WANDA KNEW

(THOUGH SHE NEVER QUITE SAID IT) SHE'D FOUND A FRIEND, TOO!

But then Miss Cobweb announces the annual MAGIC CONTEST in which everyone will have to perform an animal spell in front of the whole school. Wanda has that sinking feeling when she realizes that she will have to speak her spell in front of everyone. But Flo seems unworried and promises that they will practice their spells together in the park every day. Will Wanda be struck with a tongue-tied spell before an entire audience?

But in the Contest, Flo and her partner Jake go first. Wanda waits for her turn as her stomach starts to churn.

Jake conjours up a black cat and then a dog! And when the dog predictably chases the cat...

JAKE MAGICKED A... LION!

So far so good. Flo steps forward for her grand finale!

HUBBLE BUBBLE! SHE CONJURED A... DRAGON!

YIKES! When the flame-spouting dragon turns on Flo, she is totally SPELLBOUND! Not a single magic word can she speak! Of all times to have the cat get your tongue! But after all those practices in the park, Wanda knows the right spell-breaking word to save her friend....

"ALAKAZAM!"

And although Wanda's shyness vanishes like the dragon with the applause of the croud, there are times when between her and good friends like Flo...

SHE DOESN'T NEED WORDS AT ALL.

Lucy Rowland's forthcoming Wanda's Words Got Stuck (Candlewick Books, 2021) takes on extreme shyness by dealing humorously with the problem in a sensitive story useful in the classroom for the beginning of school, a tongue-tied new student, and even as a multi-purpose scary season read-aloud witch tale. With the spirited illustrations of artist Paula Bowles and Rowland's lively rhyming text, younger students will get the message that indeed words (and friendship) can have magical powers!