warmth. Eccentric fourth-grader Billy is
obsessed with the Sunday funnies, which
Joyce (the Guardians of Childhood series)
spoofs lovingly, and he’s thrilled about a
children’s book–writing contest at school
(“Billy’s brain was about to explode!”).
His entry, Billy’s Booger, is included as
an insert, and it’s a dead-on rendition of
grade-school storytelling, complete with
faux manila paper. In it, the small green
product of a sneeze brings Billy such
amazing math superpowers that the president appeals to him for aid: “Can you
help me? I’ve got to know how many
candy bars we need to give to all the kids
of the US of A?” Billy’s shaky grammar
and spelling keep him out of the winner’s
circle, and he’s disconsolate until the
librarian tells him that his book has been
checked out more than any of the winners.
Discovering that his wild imaginings
please his peers sets Billy on the road to a
career in books, and there isn’t a reader
who won’t share his elation. Ages 4–8.
The Crown Affair
Jeanie Franz Ransom, illus. by Stephen
Axelsen. Charlesbridge, $16.95
ISBN 978-1-58089-552-1
When Jack and Jill fell down the hill,
did Jack really lose his crown, or did
someone make off with it? Detective Joe
Dumpty, previously seen in 2009’s What
REALLY Happened to Humpty?, is on
the case in this witty companion book.
Tipped off that a certain other nursery-
rhyme Jack might be responsible for the
crown’s disappearance, Joe sets out to
interrogate suspects, and his noir-flavored
narration is just as much fun this time
around (“Between his bum foot and his
scorched bottom, Jack wouldn’t have been
nimble—or quick—enough to grab the
crown this morn-
ing”). Axelsen’s
illustrations are
packed with
humorous details
and cleverly rei-
magined Mother
Goose characters,
and Ransom’s ref-
erences to “test[ing] positive for magic
beans,” among other gags, will amuse
older readers. Ages 6–9.
The Day the Crayons
Came Home
Drew Daywalt, illus. by Oliver Jeffers.
Philomel, $18.99 ISBN 978-0-399-
17275-5
How do you follow a hit like The
Day the Crayons Quit Stick with what
works, and add a twist: instead of
letters, Duncan receives a stack of
postcards from crayons that have been
misplaced or maligned, or are ready for
adventure. A directionally challenged
neon red crayon tries to get home after
being abandoned at a motel; a trip
through the dryer has left a turquoise
crayon stuck to a sock; and a chunky
toddler crayon can’t abide Duncan’s
baby brother (“Picasso said every child
is an artist, but I dunno”). Once again,
Daywalt and Jeffers create rich emotional lives and personalities for their
colorful cast, and it’s hard to imagine
a reader who won’t be delighted.
Ages 5–8.
Dinosaur vs. Mommy
Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99
ISBN 978-1-4231-6086-1
Shea’s strong-willed red dinosaur is
back, and he’s making his Mommy’s life
utterly chaotic.
Dinosaur does a
cannonball dive
onto Mommy
while she’s
sleeping in,
throws toys
into the toilet
while she
showers (“roar!
trains! Roar!
bunny! roar! flush!”), and reigns victori-
ous over being forced into and out of the
bath, as well as getting into pajamas.
Luckily, when Mommy is too exhausted
to fight back, Dinosaur relents, embracing her in a hug: “Mommy wins!” As
always Dinosaur’s facial expressions can
shift from devious to timid on a dime (in
between moments of attack, he clutches
his stuffed bunny and gazes worriedly at
grocery items). Shea’s buoyant, emotive
artwork and sharp comic timing make
Dinosaur’s fifth story feel as fresh and
funny as his first one. Ages 3–5.
Good Morning to Me!
Lita Judge. S&S/Atheneum, $17.99
ISBN 978-1-4814-0369-6
Beatrix the parrot: threat or menace?
She really is a loving bird; in fact, she’s
constantly telling the other animals in her
cottage home that she loves them. But
she’s so clueless and so loud—and doesn’t
she ever sleep? It’s hard to be her friend
and to keep her out of harm’s way,
although Mouse certainly tries. He’s
assisted by bas-
set hound
Gracie and
hampered by
Kitty, who
believes there’s
an easy (and
tasty) solution
to the Beatrix problem. And that’s the
whole story—just a series of funny, often
wordless misadventures and mishaps fea-
turing a lead character whose energetic,
blissfully obtuse personality is as vivid as
her bright green feathers. But it’s a lovely
book: Judge (Born in the Wild) uses aque-
ous, shimmering blues for her environ-
ments so that the furs, feathers, and mar-
velous expressions of her cast pop. It also
demands, in the best possible way, that
readers slow down and pore over every
picture. It’s easy to imagine the many
warm, giggling interchanges that snug-
gling with this book will inspire.
Ages 4–8.
Hoot Owl,
Master of Disguise
Sean Taylor, illus. by Jean Jullien.
Candlewick, $15.99 ISBN 978-0-
7636-7578-3
Taylor (The World Champion of Staying
Awake) sends up old-fashioned suspense
fiction by contrasting his hero’s puffed-up
ego with his inept plans to capture things
to eat. Newcomer Jullien paints Hoot
Owl as a dumpy egg-cup of a bird—not
the sort you’d expect to deliver this pitch-perfect purple prose: “The terrible silence
of the night spreads everywhere. But I cut
through it like a knife.” Hoot Owl spots
his prey and lets readers in on his nefarious plans: “I am a master of disguise. I
devise a costume.” The animals he’s
after—a rabbit, lamb, and pigeon—all
