Just a Special Thanksgiving

Mayer’s bestselling Little Critter is celebrating his 40th anniversary in 2015, and he’s causing some good-natured mischief as Thanksgiving approaches. The text is as straightforward as it gets, but it works well enough as a foil to the humor in Mayer’s images: when Little Critter, who is dressed in a turkey costume, forgets his lines during a school play, a classmate whispers, “Just say, ‘Gobble gobble.’ ” Later, Little Critter disrupts the local Thanksgiving parade and makes a mess at the grocery store, and while Mayer’s emphasis is mainly on mischief, he sneaks in a “worthy” ending as Little Critter’s family participates in a Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate at the community center. A sheet of stickers is included. Ages 4–7. (Sept.)