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40 pp.
| Sterling
| May, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4549-1580-9$14.95
(4)
K-3
Monkey enjoys living alone in the jungle until a tiny, adorable mouse wielding flowers and bite-sized jam sandwiches arrives and follows him everywhere. Monkey grows frustrated as each attempt to ditch the Little One (readable as a younger sibling stand-in) fails, but after he finally drives the mouse away he reconsiders. A predictable story line is offset by airy, expressive illustrations.
24 pp.
| Eerdmans
| August, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8028-5414-8$16.00
(4)
K-3
While the animals in Miss Catnip's class are making birthday cards for the principal, dog Stan notes that "his letters came out back to front and upside down." There's canned coping-manual plotting (after Stan admits to his problem, he gets help from Miss Catnip), but there's also assiduous art, in which weather and background color help articulate Stan's fraught feelings.
32 pp.
| Whitman
| March, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8075-7455-3$16.99
(3)
K-3
Florence dreams of becoming a piggy pop star in this story about stick-to-it-iveness and believing in yourself. Unlike her confident singing sisters, Florence is shy; she sings in secret. But when stage fright sidelines her siblings during a competition, Florence musters her courage, takes the stage, and wins. Saturated with blues and yellows, the illustrations enhance the text with fillips of humor.
32 pp.
| Whitman
| October, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8075-4786-1$16.99
(4)
K-3
Tommy destroys his classmate Lucy's art. After she finally comes clean to her mother, Lucy's teacher is informed, and Tommy the bull and Lucy the lamb end up being friends. The problem-solving process is overly simplified, but the story may comfort kids in similar situations. Accomplished illustrations, featuring a sweet, rainbow-sweatered protagonist, elevate the book above its problem-story premise.