Flower Girl At Last! Superlove by Charise Mericle Harper

THERE WILL BE A WEDDING AND A HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

As that month of blooming flowers and June, moon, spoon approaches, little girls of a certain age become inspired by weddings--brides in long white gowns, bridesmaids with bouquets, flower girls with rose petal baskets, and big white cakes. What's not to like about that?

In Charise Mericle Harper's Superlove (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014), her girl goes into instant wedding planning mode, titling herself Superlove, and staging her own event, a flowery garden wedding with her dolls and toy animals as guests, and her plush puppy, Mr. Mittens, and her cat, Pinky, as the betrothed.

The only problem is with the perspective bride. It seems that the blushing bride is up a tree, switching her tail and spurning her intended bridegroom. Love's Labour seem lost, and no amount of coaxing and cat food can persuade Pinky to come down and enter into matrimony. Mr. Mittens seems spurned as a spouse. Cue strains of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!"

But as a meltdown from Ms. Superlove threatens, Mom steps in with a plan that pleases the little wedding planner.

"DADDY AND I CAN GET MARRIED AND THIS TIME YOU CAN BE THERE, TOO."

The bride is smiling through her resurrected wedding veil, the groom is handsome, in formal bowtie with a freshly-picked posy in his buttonhole, and Superlove is a happy flower girl as her parents renew their vows. Even Pinky the Cat seems to be seeing Mr. Mittens, attired for the occasion in a natty top hat, in a new light. Author Charise Mericle Harper steps in to save their day with a sweet plot twist that satisfies, an ending that especially celebrates the "happily ever after" part of family life.

For more down-the-aisle festivities, pair this one with Julie Andrews' The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl!, (read review here) Kevin Henkes' best-seller, Lilly's Big Day,  Jane O'Connor's recent Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century, or Barbara Park's hilarious classic, Junie B. Jones Is (almost) a Flower Girl (Junie B. Jones, No. 13).

Sinister Plush Stalker? I Don't Like Koala by Sean Ferrell

It's a picture-perfect beribboned present just waiting for Adam. He goes for it, unties the bow, opens the box, and quails at what's under the tissue:

ADAM DOES NOT LIKE KOALA.

HE IS THE MOST TERRIBLE TERRIBLE.

It's his eyes--yellow-orange, slightly cockeyed, staring.

Koala is freaky spooky.

Adam's parents are appalled when his first reaction is to throw the plush animal across the room. That's not the way to act about a nice gift....

"I DON'T LIKE KOALA," ADAM SAYS.

Those eyes seem to follow Adam wherever he goes. Koala is just creepy.

Nobody understands. Each night before he goes to bed, Adam tries to get rid of Koala. He sticks him in his mom's big purse. He hides him at the bottom of the clothes hamper. He stuffs him under the sofa.  But when Adam opens his eyes each morning...

KOALA IS ALWAYS THERE.

IN BED. ON HIS PILLOW.

CLOSER THAN CLOSE.

AAARRGGHHH! Adam can't take it anymore. He decides that Koala needs to go on a long, long walk to nowhere. With Koala crammed in his backpack, he hikes high into the hills and leaves Koala leaning against a tree, his yellowish eyes staring off into the opposite direction. Adam hightails it back home without a backward look. Mission accomplished.

Or NOT.

AND THERE IS KOALA!

Okay.  This is clearly freaky deaky. It's clearly not Mom, tidying up before bed, putting Koala next to him every night. Adam lies in bed, trying not to look at Koala staring at him, and tries to be brave. But now even the shadows of the leafless tree outside his window seem sinister.

Surprisingly, Adam finds he is kinda glad to have Koala on watch with him.

MAYBE KOALA ISN'T SO TERRIBLE AFTER ALL.

But when his fond parents peep in on him, snoozing comfortably with his plush pal, Mom smiles tenderly at the cozy sight. Dad, though, suddenly gets a gander at Koala's weird eyes glinting back at him in the moonlight.

"I don't like Koala!." he whispers to Mom.

Sean Ferrell's I Don't Like Koala (Atheneum, 2015) is a sly, layered story that requires just the right illustrator, and artist Charles Santoso is that man. Into his quintessentially homey setting, Santoso's colored pencil drawings subtly juxtapose Koala, superficially a cutesy stuffed animal whose gaze is both goofy and somehow sinister, but with just enough of the look of the horror movie dummy Chucky to plant a humorous sleeper of a gotcha ending for savvy readers. Some kids may be all too happy to close the cover on Koala, but fans who savor Jon Klaas's wickedly funny books will wish Koala a rapid return appearance to the picture book page.

Metro Elephant: Little Elliot Big City by Mike Curato

LITTLE ELLIOT LOVED LIVING IN A BIG CITY, BUT SOMETIMES IT WAS HARD BEING SMALL IN SUCH A SMALL PLACE.

HE HAD TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET STEPPED ON ON THE SUBWAY PLATFORM.

STILL, ELLIOT ENJOYED THE LITTLE THINGS.

It's not easy being a very small spotted elephant in the Big Apple. But Little Elliot takes pleasure in his snug little home, the excitement of the skyscrapers and the thronging sidewalks, and his daily strolls, looking at the wonderful things in the windows downtown. He bravely takes the subway even though he's only knee high to all the people in the crowd.

But Elliot's greatest longing is to have one of those glorious cupcakes in the bakery window. And though he holds his money high in his trunk and jumps up as high as he can, the counterman never notices him among the crowd buying pastries.

But then one day he meets someone who is smaller, much smaller than he is.

"HELLO, MOUSE. WHAT'S WRONG?" ASKED ELLIOT.

"I'M TRYING TO REACH SOME FOOD, BUT I'M TOO SMALL!" SAID MOUSE. "AND I'M SO VERY HUNGRY!"

Suddenly Elliot sees a small ally in the solution to his cupcake problem, in Mike Curato's fantasy story of friendship in the big city, Little Elliot, Big City (Henry Holt and Company, 2014). Elliot is a small polka-dotted toy elephant who goes surprisingly unnoticed in the hubbub of big city streets. Observing the metro scene is the chief charm of this book. Curato's big city has been aptly compared to Edward Hopper's cityscapes, and his muted palette and his portrayal of a small toy elephant, with the body language of a toddler, roaming a retro metropolis, provides a Paddington sort of charm to this old-fashioned story. The author pictures Elliot devising ways to reach the sink in his apartment, making his miniature way down to the sidewalk from his brownstone home, and, like a kid in a candy shop, admiring the goodies in his neighborhood bakery, al in delightful illustrations which create a warm and cozy ambiance to set off Curato's sweet story of friendship found (and cupcake shared).

Hand-Me-Down Bunnie: Found by Salina Yoon

ONE DAY BEAR FOUND SOMETHING IN THE FOREST.

HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE MOST SPECIAL THING HE'D EVER SEEN.

It is love at first sight when Bear spots a white bunny lost in the woods. He's the stuffed toy that Bear has always wanted, and he carries him carefully home and gives him the choice spot on his bed.

But somehow the little white bunny seems sad, and Bear wonders if someone somewhere is sad, too, missing his bunny buddy. So Bear prints out some LOST fliers and dutifully posts them on the fir trees in the woods.

But nobody claims the soft little white bunny toy, and Bear begins to feel that he might just get to keep him after all. Bear sets out for home with Bunny nestled on his shoulder.

The next day Bear celebrates his new friend with a picnic. But as they are picking berries and having a grand time together, a tall Moose passes by.

"FLOPPY?? MY BUNNY??" MOOSE CALLS OUT.

Moose hugs his long-lost toy. Bear can see that Moose is Floppy's original owner and tries to look happy for him, hiding a tear. But then...

"WAIT!" SAYS MOOSE.

Moose senses that it's time to pass his special friend on to someone just right to love him, in Salina Yoon's Found (Walker Books, 2014). Yoon's little twice-lost-and-found toy story is simple, but with a lot of heart, with two characters who gently teach that a good deed is best done just because it's the right thing to do. Yoon's illustrations are also simple, with thick dark outlines for her characters, but she artfully uses just few lines to convey a lot of feeling in their facial features and body language. This one is a warm little parable of the power of empathy, the ability to intuit the feelings of another. "A thoughtful, flawlessly executed exploration of theory of mind and emotional intelligence," says Publishers Weekly.

Sew Sweet! My Blue Bunny, Bubbit by Maggie Smith

MY BUNNY'S NAME IS BUBBIT, AND HE'S ALMOST MY AGE. THAT'S BECAUSE MY GRANDMA NONNI MADE HIM FOR ME WAY BACK WHEN I WAS TEENY TINY.

HE HAS A SPECIAL ROW OF XXXS ON HIS FOOT.

But when Nonni comes to visit this time, everything is changing. She's there, not just to visit with Bubbit's owner, but because there's a new baby coming. Our girl and her stuffed buddy are not exactly on board with that project.

"WE WEREN'T SURE WE WANTED A NEW BABY.”

But Nonni is wise in the way that grandmothers are supposed to be (and some of them are), and she senses how her granddaughter feels about the big change coming. Then, when Bubbit sees the empty crib waiting for the newborn, the girl seems to hear him whispering:

"IT LOOKS LONELY IN THERE."

Nonni suggests that together they make the new baby a stuffed toy that he will love as much as Bubbit is loved. Immediately, the girl sublimates her mixed feelings in the fun of the project. She pulls out an old yellow corduroy jacket which has plenty of fabric for the body of a special elephant. In no time the two are crafting a lovable lovey for her baby brother-to-be, and when the girl finds some soft gray flannel for the ears, braids some yarn for the tail, and fashions a bow for it, she's well on her way to becoming a loving big sister, so much so that she is the one who remembers to stitch the three XXXs for kisses to the bottom of one foot.

Maggie Smith's new My Blue Bunny, Bubbit (Houghton Mifflin Clarion, 2014) shows a sew-smart grandmother, crafty in more ways than one, whose skills create a bond between her, her granddaughter, and her new grandson which will resonate with young readers, even those who have no burning interest in needlework.  Building family traditions that live on with siblings into adulthood and even succeeding generations is good thing, and Smith's clever multi-media illustrations (gouache, pencil, and digital, with fabric scrap collage) add sew-much charm to this sew-sweet story.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Have Fun, Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell and David Catrow

"When I was your age...."

Kids are sure to hear stories from their elders beginning with this predictable phrase. It usually goes on to some version of "we didn't have..." or "we had to...," and kids usually tune out at this point.

But this time Molly Lou Mellon actually listens to her Grandma's story:

"BACK IN THE OLDEN DAYS, I DIDN'T HAVE FANCY DOLLS OR ACTION FIGURES.  I MADE THEM OUT OF TWIGS, LEAVES AND FLOWERS LIKE HOLLYHOCKS AND DAISIES."

Molly abandons the  plastic whoseywhatsits in her overstuffed toy chest and tries out the do-it-yourself mode for herself.

She loots the flower gardens for fancy outfits and mines the backyard lawn and garden gear for her own fanciful doll house in the treetops.  She follows Grandma's model and raids the garage for all kinds of boxes from which to build the coolest toy race car ever, and abandons those cliched cartoon networks to watch passing cloud shapes.

Then one day, Molly gets a new neighbor, Gertie, who is heard to complain:

"I'M BORED, BORED, BORED!"

Gertie's got gobs of store-bought stuff, but when Gertie comes over, Mollie shows her a whole new way to play.

ON TUESDAY, GERTIE DROVE OVER IN HER BATTERY-OPERATED FULLY LOADED COUPE DE VILLE.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" SCREAMED MOLLIE LOU MELLON, RIGHT BEFORE HURTLING DOWN THE HILL IN HER TURBO BOX CAR, HAND PAINTED WITH ORANGE AND RED FLAMES.

GERTIE WAS AMAZED.

What's better than a girl with a great imagination? Two girls who share their imaginations and create some amazing playtime experiences! Molly proves a great guru of Grandma's lessons, and Gertie is soon outdoing her new friend with her fanciful ideas in Patty Lovell's Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2012).   Lovell's narration sets the stage, but leans heavily on the kooky illustrative style of David Catrow, whose outrageous contraptions and stylish artistic invention keep this one well on the comic side of  didacticism. Kids will find plenty of inspiration in Catrow's unique and witty cartoons, and maybe, just maybe they'll take themselves outdoors to see what they can do with a little imagination, too.

Coming Out in the Wash: Small Bunny's Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

SMALL BUNNY LOVES BLUE BLANKET.

EVERYTHING HE DID, SMALL BUNNY DID WITH BLUE BLANKET.

With Blue Blanket with him, Small Bunny swings higher, reads bigger words, and paints better paintings. Blue Blanket feels and looks and smells just right.

But Mommy Bunny thinks Blue Blanket is getting a bit grotty. He's getting grimy and even smelly. One afternoon she makes a distubing declaration.

"YOU BOTH NEED A BATH!"

Small Bunny is sure that Mommy Bunny can't improve upon perfection, and he is dubious when she promises that it'll only be a "minute."

ACTUALLY, IT TOOK 107.

Small Bunny sits and watches every swish of the washer ordeal, as his beloved blankie twists and whirls in the soapy water.

And that was just the wash cycle.

Mommy Bunny whisks Blue Blanket outside to dry on the line in the gentle breeze and warm sunshine, while Small Bunny keeps the vigil. At last Mommy whips his blue buddy off the line and gives it to him.

"GOOD AS NEW!" SHE SAID.

No way, thinks Small Bunny. Blue Blanket doesn't feel right and he doesn't smell right! It's going to take a lot of seasoning before Small Bunny gets that blankie back to where he wants him, but lots of swinging and painting and reading, and hugging is the way to restore Blue Blanket back to perfection.

"PERFECT!" THINKS SMALL BUNNY.

And perfect is the way this picture book comes out as well, a faultless melding of design, art, and language where each element contributes equally to the whole. In Feeney's art, Blue Blanket is a diaphanous and amorphous bit of tissue paper collage, its shape always conforming to its current use, but despite that, Blue Blanket is the heavyweight of this story. Bunny and his world are portrayed in simple, childlike drawings, himself accented minimally with pale pink ears and an equally pale pink scribble of a fluffy tail, done in a pale blue-grey line. The terse but effective text is done up in simple blue lettering against a white background. Out of these spare elements a funny and insightful tale is told. Tatyana Feeney's just published Small Bunny's Blue Blanket (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012) takes a popular childhood phenomenon, blankie addiction, and turns it into a universal story of human nature. "A fine dramatization of the classic childhood blanket drama, and a noteworthy debut," puts in Publishers Weekly.

Pair this one with Bubba and Beau, Best Friends, by the award-winning Kathy Appelt and Arthur Howard, and Kim Lewis' Hooray For Harry for a bodacious bunch of blankie-washing tales.

Hold the Crown: Too Princessy! by Jean Reidy

It's a rainy day--and not the sort of rainy day that makes a girl want to go out and play in the puddles either.

I'M BORED!

Maybe just the right toy is hiding in that big cardboard box, one that will inspire some indoor fun. How's about some music? There's a drum and a toy piano....

TOO BANGY! TOO PLINKY!

The jumping jack is too jolly. The play clay is too gloppy and the robot is too blinkety. The clown is too over-the-big-top circusy. Even the costume is too princessy and her tiara is too crowny. Soon the too-something cast-offs are scattered all over the floor , and the big brown box sits empty.

It seems no plaything in the box pleases this persnickety girl.

But---wait! That box has possibilities. Can she fit inside? Could it be a rainy day castle?

Could it be....FUN?

Collaborators Jean Reidy and Genevieve Leloup join forces in their third picture book ode to adjectives, Too Princessy! (Bloomsbury, 2012). As in their earlier Too Purpley! and Too Pickley! Reidy's smart wordplay and Leloup's monochromatic and stylized illustrations spoof the picky among us with good humor and verve. Pair this one with Antoinette Portis' notable Not a Box for some fun with the power of the playful mind.

Spelldown: Where's My T-R-U-C-K? by Karen Beaumont

SHHH! I HEAR MY PARENTS SAY,
"TOMMY'S NOT HIMSELF TODAY!

HE'S LOST HIS T-R-U-C-K!"

We've all been there. Something we have GOT to have is NOT where it's supposed to be, and we can't do anything until we find it!

Tommy's in that kind of funk. He woke up in the mood to play with his red truck, and now it's nowhere to be found. You might think that it's his fault. After all, he's a rumply, disheveled sight, and his room, with its half-open drawers trailing pajama bottoms and his closet, an avalanche waiting to happen, is in total disarray. But he knows just WHERE that truck is supposed to be, and IT'S NOT THERE!

He can't be consoled and he can't be cajoled into doing something else. His brother tries to distract him with a jaunt outside to climb trees, and his sister offers to play house with him, but Tommy keeps searching.

"I SEARCHED MY BROTHER'S PILE OF JUNK.

I LOOKED IN GRANDMA'S SMELLY TRUNK.

AND UNDERNEATH THE BED AND CHAIR.

AND BEHIND THE CURTAIN...

OOOPS! NOT THERE!"

Grandma's bath is interrupted by Tommy's search behing the shower curtain, and her screech doesn't improve his mood in the least. Outside he goes to search the sandbox and flower garden plots. Tommy even gets stranded in the treehouse when his dog mysteriously zooms by and knocks the ladder down.

But no luck! No TRUCK!

Tommy may not have a clue, but by this time most of the young readers will have figured out the source of the problem--his dog Bowser, who is seen on each two-page spread making off with a different object firmly clamped in his teeth. And when the mutt makes off with the cat's favorite toy, the fur flies as the cat gives chase and leads Tommy right to Bowser's secret stash in a well-excavated hole in the garden, where a quick archaeological dig uncovers (you don't say!)--Tommy's T-R-U-C-K!

Author Karen Beaumont, the creator of such hilarious rhyming tales as I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards),) Doggone Dogs, and No Sleep for the Sheep!, is reunited with zany illustrator David Catrow for another funny-bone tickler, Where's My T·R·U·C·K? (Dial Books, 2011), a sure-fire pleaser for the preschool/Kindergarten set. There's even a short and sweet spelling lesson thrown in, with everyone (including Tommy) learning how to spell TRUCK by the conclusion.

Kirkus Reviews has some salient advise here: "Don't read this at bedtime; the boisterous energy here is aptly summed up in the final rhyme: "HOORAY! I FOUND MY T-R-U-C-K! / Come on, Bowser! Let's go play!"

Lights Out! The World's Champion at Staying Awake by Sean Taylor

"GOODNIGHT, STELLA," SAYS DAD. "TIME TO GO TO BED."

Not a problem for Stella. She's fine with that. It's her bed buddies--Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt the Supermouse, and Beanbag Frog--who are not up for going down!

"SLEEP IS TOO SLOW!" CROAKS BEANBAG FROG.

"I'M THE WORLD CHAMPION AT STAYING AWAKE!" SAYS CHERRY PIG.

Stella knows she's going to need some imagination--and a bit of luck--to get her plush pals into night-night mode. How 'bout a voyage on the her trusty pillow boat, rocking gently on the soft waves of the sea? Cherry Pig soon succumbs to the gentle motion and drops into dreamland.

Then Stella puts the pillow into a box and beds down Thunderbolt and Frog in it for a dream wagon drive across the floor, and Thunderbolt the SuperMouse falls fast asleep during the ride. But Beanbag Frog seems to be made of sturdier stuff.

"I'VE SHUT MY EYES, BUT MY FEET ARE COMPLETELY WOKEN UP!" HE COMPLAINS.

Hmmm! Land and water transport hasn't done the trick yet. Time for liftoff into a space soporific. How about a ride into the wild blue yonder? Frog is air-lifted heavenward in a hot-air balloon, and the soft floating sensation finally sends him into slumberland. Whew!

SO THE WORLD CHAMPION AT STAYING AWAKE MUST BE STELLA.

OR MAYBE NOT.

Stella is satisfied, but too sleepy to celebrate her newly-won status, in Sean Taylor's newest,The World Champion of Staying Awake (Candlewick, 2011) and this slumbertime switcheroo puts Stella in charge of putting her reluctant charges into snooze mode in this little bed-NOT! saga. The straight-forward narrative is set off in charming color drawings against a white background, and the design shifts the pleasant poetry describing the dream-inducing sequences into artist Liao's full-bleed pages as Stella's pals take their trip into sleepytime land. Plump those pillows and settle down for pleasant voyage to sleep!

Sharing Pairing: Toy Trouble (Martha Speaks) by Susan Meddaugh

Up 'till now, catching Frisbees has always been Martha's and Skits' favorite outdoor game. But that was before Helen's friend T.D. gave them the best dog toy ever--a genuine Screaming Slingshot Squirrel! Not only does it catapult from his fingers and soar across the yard, tail flapping in the breeze, but it makes a sound--chitter-chitter-chitter--calculated to make any pooch swoon! Martha and Skits are after it in a nanosecond! Skits makes the first catch.

"SKITS! GIVE IT!" MARTHA YELLS. "MY TURN!

Helen is forced to be the judge and jury here. "You have to share," she frowns, but when Skits reluctantly hands over the prize, Martha seizes the prize and taunts Skits with a triumphant "All mine!"

Helen confiscates the toy and takes the two inside. Pulling out an old toddler video on sharing, she plunks the two mutts down in front of the TV for a bit of attitude adjustment.

It's still a squirrel standoff. Martha tries negotiating a swap for one of her old toys, but Skits isn't having any of that either. Finally Martha makes a grab for the squirrel and is off and running. The two dogs are soon merrily competing in a game of "steal the squirrel," which morphs into a toy tug of war when Skits catches up with the swiped squirrel. Helen frowns again and points out that they are still not sharing!

"THIS IS HOW DOGS PLAY!" MARTHA POINTS OUT PATIENTLY.


'HMMM, THINKS HELEN. THAT DOES LOOK LIKE FUN!

As usual, Martha manages to get the last word in Susan Meddaugh's newest, Martha Speaks: Toy Trouble (Reader) (Green Light Readers Level 2) (Houghton Mifflin, 2010). Another entry in her Green Light Readers for beginners in the independent reader group, this one offers additional activities following the story to reinforce the vocabulary introduced. Kids familiar with the favorite PBS program based on Susan Meddaugh's long-popular Martha Speaks books will find that Martha the talking dog is a natural as a companion for playtime and reading time.

Summer Cinema Spinoffs: Toy Story 3 and Marmaduke

If movie makers can take children's books and make them into movies, why not try going the other direction with the product? Well, book publishers have wasted no time moving into summer hit movie spinoffs, and Random House's Toy to Toy (Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3) (Step into Reading) is a good example.

With text by Tennant Redbank set at the lowest (Level 1) beginning reader format and illustrations faithful to the characters in the Pixar movie, this book briefly sketches out the first third of the movie as loyal toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie the Cowgirl, and the rest watch their beloved Andy packing up to go to college and find themselves recycled into a questionable home at Sunnyside Daycare. There they are introduced to the powers-that-be, Lotso the boss teddy bear, Sparks, the electronic action figure, Big Baby, and the rest. "Will Andy's toys like their new home?" the text reads as this segment of the story concludes. This one and its follow-up sequels in the Toy Story 3 sequence offer the youngest a chance to reminisce about a favorite movie as they hone their emergent reading skills.

I saw the movie with another adult, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, and a sophisticated eleven-year old, and all of us found something to like. The youngest ones loved the fantasy action, the older child got the humor aimed at adults and older viewers, and I myself responded to the familiar pathos of the empty nest syndrome. The book should prove popular with kids who have seen all the movies and those just moving into the age to enjoy them.

Not to be outdone by Random, Harper has their own entry into the easy-reader spinoff market, based on this summer's Marmaduke movie, Taking a page from the premise of Susan Meddaugh's successful Martha Speaks PBS cartoon series, this venerable magazine cartoon character has been reborn as a talking dog in the movie and its Level 1 emergent reader titled Marmaduke: Meet Marmaduke (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper, 2010).

In this entry into their classic I-Can-Read, series, the gigantic Great Dane ("Call me Duke"), cast here as the lonely guy shunned because of his enormous size, seeks friends at the dog park. There he is rescued from Bosco the bully and a trio of turf-guarding Dobermans by a sympathetic pack led by the thoughtful Maizie and her sidekicks Raisin and Guiseppe. Invited over to party with them, right away Marmaduke knows that he has at last found his own buddies to hang with at the dog park daily.

Both of these short and easy books for the earliest readers make use of the incentive that a popular movie offers for kids who need to keep their skills up during the summer. And if you are among the three or four families in the country who haven't already seen these popular movies, you can also work that popular parental ploy, "Read the book first and then we'll take in the movie!"