Party with Penguins: Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima

HARRIET LOVED COSTUMES!

It's not just that she's sometimes of a mind to climb in a costume for Halloween, or for a fun dress-up play date with a friend, or a special birthday bash.

HARRIET WORE COSTUMES ALL THE TIME.

That's right. Harriet dresses like a dragon for an appointment in the dentist's chair. At the park she's a fairy queen with a dark side, black bat wings.

But today is party day, and Harriet dons her all-purpose costume to run to the corner grocery for snacks. Disguised and decked out in a penguin suit with a red bowtie, she's just realized she forgot the party hats when she finds herself swept up by a passel of penguins--the real kind! Does Harriet need a permit for a penguin parade?

The press of penguins sweeps Harriet along. What about her party hats?

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" SHE QUERIES.

Will Harriet be forced to march as an incognito penguin back to Antarctica? Not if she can hail a ride with a passing orca, in Jessie Sima's Harriet Gets Carried Away (Simon and Schuster, 2018). All's well that ends well, with an elaborate alfresco affair on the rooftop. But is that her friend Olivia in a wolf suit, followed by a pack of little howling wolves? Despite which diva has the, er, wildest costume, it's the party of the season with Harriet in charge, and with the help of the illustrations of clever cartoon drawings of Jessie Sima, it's a party no one will want to miss. Publishers Weeklycalls "Harriet's intrepid adventure a delightful readaloud."

Making the Sale: Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima

There was once a house that was an apparent drag on the real estate market--never rented or bought.

WHY? (Could it be the black cat that always sat on the FOR SALE sign?)

"I THINK"... SAID THE HOUSE... "I MIGHT BE HAUNTED."

"IF I AM ON MY BEST BEHAVIOR, NO ONE WILL NOTICE."

But all the spooky signs were there. The house tried to stand quietly and appear habitable, but everything was dusty and draped with spiderwebs. The stairs squeeked and the door hinges creaked. Dead tree branches scratched ominously at the windows. The timbers groaned. Drafty passages moaned. The black cat shredded the curtains and the raven croaked in the tree outside.

But the house had to admit that it liked its familiar noises.

"I'LL JUST HAVE TO FIND PEOPLE WHO LIKE THAT I'M SPOOKY. . . . "A FAMILY WHO WILL HELP THIS HAUNTED HOUSE BECOME A HAPPY HOME."

And when a family of wispy ghosts discover the listing, they and their spooky domicile live hauntingly together ever after, in author-illustrator Jessie Sima's latest, Hardly Haunted (Simon and Schuster, 2021).

It's a happy Halloween habitat for youngsters who like their spooky season stories on the droll side, in which there are different strokes for different spooks--who prefer to be happily haunted and hauntingly happy. Says Publisher's Weekly, "... a lovely twist on finding one’s place in the world, told with a light touch and plenty of ominous onomatopoeia.

Another hit by Jessie Sima which also celebrates the out-of-the-ordinary in her best-selling Not Quite Narwhal. (See my review here:)

Belonging: Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

Kelp was born deep in the ocean.

He knew that he was different from the other narwhals.

His tusk wasn't as long as everyone else's. He had different tastes in food--and he wasn't a very good swimmer.

Little Kelp tries to keep up with all the others, but the little narwhals are streamlined and have strong tail flukes that speed them through the water. But his friends are kind enough to swim slowly so that he can play with them and sometimes even give him a lift on their tailfins.

Life was good...

That is, until he was swept away by a strong current.

He found himself at the surface, closer to land than he'd every been before.

And on the shore he finds another world, where he finds that with a little practice, his four little legs go quite fast over the ground. Others with legs--from a crab to a frog--welcome him. Still they don't quite look like him.

And then he sees something both strange and familiar....

LAND NARWHALS!

Kelp finds himself welcomed by a herd of creatures who look just like him. They have four legs and small horns on their heads. They seem to know what he is immediately.

"Of course you aren't a narwhal," the unicorns told him.

"I am a unicorn!" Kelp said with wonder.

Kelp is happy, but he also misses his good friends in the sea, in Jessie Sima's story of living in two worlds, Not Quite Narwhal (Simon and Schuster, 2017), and in this tale combining real and fantasy animals, there's a happy ending for our little traveler in a mutual game of beach ball volleyball between teams from the land and the sea. Kelp is amazed to learn that his narwhal pals knew what he was all along, and he looks forward to spending some time in both worlds.

Sima's is a hopeful, upbeat story of peaceful coexistence with lively dialog and engaging aqua-hued illustrations which are both comic and charming. Says Kirkus Reviews, "As seen in Sima's soft, digital illustrations, Kelp is adorable, and she evokes both undersea and aboveground environments. The message is an appealing one that could speak to many family situations relating to multiple identities."

Looking for Love: Love, Z by Jessie Sima

A little robot named Z goes out one day hunting for adventure and finds a message in a bottle. All that is still legible on the letter are two words.

LOVE,
BEATRICE

Little Z doesn't have a clue what "love" means and who or what "Beatrice" might be, but they sound important. At bedtime he asks his family of rusty robots, as they sweetly tuck him in to bed with a story and a clanky kiss. They can only say...

DOES NOT COMPUTE

But Z cannot leave the question unanswered. Setting out on a quest, he spots a sturdy sailboat with a kitty for a captain.

"Hello, I am looking for Beatrice. I am looking for what love is, and she will have the answer."

But as they sail on, nobody has a clue.

"What's a Beatrice?"

But everyone has a different definition of what love is. The crow says its sharing delicious food--even if you want it for yourself. Kids playing in the park all have their own ideas. One says it's butterflies. One says it's a million puppies, and another thinks of snowflakes on his tongue.

All of these don't really compute for Z either. Beatrice must be the only one who knows. He has to find her. Z and Kitty Captain sail on until, weary, they spot a small island with a cozy house. They disembark and knock at the friendly-looking blue door. A woman opens it.

"Hello. I'm Beatrice," she says.

She brings Z and Kitty in beside the fire and Z explains the object of their mission. Beatrice says she has to think about that query, so she does, while she offers fresh baked cookies, plays a game of checkers with Z, and they dance to her old Victrola. At last she explains.

"You'll know it when you feel it,"

Z is unsure what to make of her answer, but as he prepares to power down, there's a sudden knock at Beatrice's door.

It's Z's whole family of old rusty robots who've been searching for him, bringing his favorite bedtime story, his night-light, and good-night kisses from all, and at last Z has a feeling that does compute, in Jessie Sima's Love, Z Simon and Schuster, 2018).  A sweet story in which Z goes looking for love in all the right places, Sima's soft and simple illustrations extend the storytelling, right down to Z and the rusty robots shoving off for home, leaving Kitty and his flotsam bottle, tagged "Love, Z" with Beatrice. Sima's other books include Not Quite Narwhal, smf Harriet Gets Carried Away (read reviews here).