IT'S SPRINGTIME IN THE PARK. "ONE DAY I'M GOING TO PLAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES," SAYS LENNY, THROWING THE BASEBALL. "I'LL BE THERE CHEERING FOR YOU," SAYS HIS DAD, CATCHING IT." Lenny likes to read up on baseball. That night he tells his dad about a game that lasted for two days. "IT COULD HAVE GONE ON FOREVER," SAYS LENNY. "I LOVE THAT ABOUT BASEBALL." In the first game, Lenny gets under a hit to the outfield. He runs back and forth, trying to find exactly where it will fall. But the ball drops to the grass right beside him. Lenny is embarrassed to be afraid of the ball. But he keeps studying ab ..read more

SECRET, SECRET AGENT GUY, WORKING FOR THE FBI. His trenchcoat and Fedora hanging on the door, the super sleuth relaxes in his PJ's and with his bullfrog-slippered feet on his desk, perusing the newspaper. But a message comes through on his walkie-talkie from the intrepid chief, ordering him to grab his gear and get on the job. He stows his stuff in his kit, cleverly disguised as a third grade lunchbox--with ropes, grappling hook, and see-in-the-dark glasses. He slips downstairs on silent feet to surveil the security guards. Ah, there they are, busy listening to tunes on Alexa! But his device ..read more

"I HAVE WAITED AND WISHED FOR SUCH A LONG TIME," "FOR A SWEET LITTLE PET WHO WILL TRULY BE MINE." Pippa waved her wand, and with flashes and sparkles a beautiful butterfly appeard. Lulu's magic wand produced a glittery lady-bug. But when Twinkle wished for a pet that could run and play, there was quite a hullabaloo. "BANG!" "CRASH!" "BOOM!" Purple smoke poured out of the fireplace, followed by--a little wiggly green dragon who leaped into her arms! "FIDDLESTICKS," SAID TWINKLE! "I JUST WANTED SOMETHING CUTE AND FLUFFY!" But Fairy Godmother pooh-poohed her complaint and invited all three of ..read more

"BRING IN YOUR PETS!" ENTONES THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES. Kids with all kind of critters have come together for the competition. There's a pretty pig, a hen nesting in her owner's hair, a lovable llama, and a . . . KRAKEN! (GULP!) Never mind that he is BIG! One kid recognizes what he IS. A Kraken is a sea monster from the deepest deeps of the oceans of the world! "A KRAKEN CAN EAT A SHIP!" YELLS THE KID WITH THE LLAMA. His owner defends her pet: "HE'S NOT MEAN! HE IS SHY." The girl tells how she met him beside the sea and how they became friends. But the other exhibitors in the Pet Show are not ..read more

The cows were lounging around in front of the barn, when Interrupting Cow appears and tosses out an old cannard. style="color: #cc0000;"> "KNOCK KNOCK!" Interrupting Cow, giggled, rolling in laughter on the floor, while the clueless cows rack their brains for the meaning of that non sequitur, and an old gray dog appears in the barn door with a smug smile. "NOT FUNNY!" REPLY THE COWS. In a huff the cows vacate the barn. To the surprise of Interrupting Cow, the old dog giggles again, with a winner's chuckle. For parents who've endured those "Guess What?/That's What?" jokes, look who's the on ..read more

Through the mist of the morning a nattily-attired little girl, in blue hairbow and red dress, spies something ahead, partially obscured in the fog. What could it be? IT MAY BE A HOG. Does its head look like a hog's? It does, sort of. Does its tail look like a hog's? What about those ears? Are they the ears of a hog... or a dog? Maybe. I THINK IT'S A HOG DOG! Author Audrey Bea makes good use of all twenty-nine words in this beginning reader book, as her charming little character collects the clues, in Hog Dog (Reading Stars)(Xist Publishing, 2021). The focus is on what the author considers "si ..read more

"IT'S EARLY!" GRUMBLES LITTLE BROTHER." "IT'S SUNNY AND BIRDY" COAXES BIG SISTER." She hustles her sibling into a spring jacket and outside beside the pond, where he complains... "MUCKY!" "IT'S SUNNY AND DUCKY!"... . . . Sister counters, as a proud Mama Duck and a long line of little ducklings strut by. And spring blows through as if on one long breezy day, until suddenly one warm sunny day, the siblings realize it's summer. Little Brother whines! "IT'S MUGGY!" AND BUGGY!" But as Shakespeare says, "Summer's lease hath all too short a stay." As summer races by, the kids have fun, collecting ca ..read more

Little Ruby Bridges was a farm-to-city girl. As a preschooler, she played and helped pick and prepare the food the family grew. But her parents knew she was bright and needed to go to school, so they moved from the farm to New Orleans, and Ruby had a happy year in the Kindergarten class at Lockett Elementary School Kindergarten, which was all black children as the laws of Louisiana required. But in 1954 the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that all public schools must be integrated. That summer all black children were required to take a scholastic test: The test was very hard, on purpose. The ..read more

Zip is a space alien of the greenish persuasion, with a magical antenna which he uses to zap assorted characters when it seems a good idea--and perhaps when it's not. He first zaps up a striped bug-like critter with two antennae. Pleased with himself, Zip then zaps up four birdlike creatures. Perhaps to show off his versatility, he zaps up Chip, a canine-ish character whose job is to applaud Zip, and then a similarly egg-headed baby alien named Bip, who seems to be moved mostly to outrun the margins prepared for his persona. Zip follows toward page right to zap up four odd birds who are so ex ..read more

ONE FINE DAY, WOOD WAS SLEEPING LIKE A LOG. Wood is a short log who pines for only one thing--a nice, long nap. And then along comes this girl with a toy rabbit to interrupt his sleep. "LOOK, PRINCE FLUTTERBUTT! A UNICORN!" "WHERE?" SAYS WOOD. COULD THAT GIRL MEAN HIM? Wood was about to drift back into his nap, when the girl shouts again. "PRINCE FLUTTERBUTT IS STUCK IN QUICKSAND!" The girl is shouting something about a bridge. Wood COULD be a bridge, but. . . WOULD he? It was easier to drift back to sleep! Then the girl starts calling for help for Prince Flutterbutt, who'd been snatched by a ..read more