Big new titles perfect for the littles.
Summer is officially here! That means the days are longer, the nights are balmier, and the to-do lists are (hopefully) less insidious. In the spirit of lazy summertime fun, here are three new titles to keep the kids entertained the old-fashioned way. Go ahead and share all of them at bedtime — nobody’s getting up early for the school bus tomorrow morning!
Hugo by Atinuke (author) and Birgitta Sif (illustrator) (Candlewick). “My name is Hugo. I am a park warden. I look after the park, and I look after the people who live around it. It is my job.” True, it’s an unusual job for a Paris-dwelling, hat-wearing pigeon, but Hugo is an unusual bird! But what shall he do about the sweet young girl, Aimée, who’s too shy to come out and play? Can Hugo convince her to join the other children at the park?
On the Day the Horse Got Out by Audrey Helen Weber (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). “On the day the horse got out, the bells all rang, the birds flew south, the spider wove a giant web, and the roses cried out from their bed…” What sort of barnyard adventures will the elusive equine get into? Bold, splashy illustrations and creative, rhythmic language make finding out its own adventure!
Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature by Nathan W. Pyle (HarperFestival). Who is this bizarre, fluffy being the confused aliens see before them, and what is it doing? “Then the creature starts to climb the group-soft-seat with its deathblades! We try to do that, but we do not have deathblades!” Of course they don’t. They’re mere space dwellers, while the inscrutable, sharp-clawed critter scratching, purring, and napping in front of them is a much higher lifeform…
