Ups and Downs with Oink and Pearl

Oink and Pearl return in three fresh I Can Read vignettes, wielding their own funny brand of sibling love. Oink can't quite remember why the day is special until he realizes that it's Pearl's birthday. He tries to concoct a super-fizz sodawith liberal doses of baking sodaand almost chokes Pearl, first with the drink, and then with laughter. Oink sends away boxtops for a promising sounding Monster Munch magic movie camera, and Pearl is snidely skeptical. But when the camera arrives, Pearl feels sadly left out as her friends join Oink for a movie. Finally, Oink fears Pearl may be on a neighborhood witch's dinner menu (""Oink sniffed the air./`Oh no!' he cried. `Onions!/ Pearl stew!' ''), and rushes to the rescue, only to be rescued himself by Pearl. The give-and-take earnestness of brother and sister is quite genuine; Chorao's gleeful pictures give these stories both humor and heart. (48)