Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph

Jack Gantos. Farrar Straus Giroux, $15 (48pp) ISBN 978-0-374-36356-7

Several stars of early readers return for more adventures. Let loose at the carnival, the star of Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos, illus. by Nicole Rubel, tries to outplay Cousin Percy and impress Sarah, his owner. The hero resorts to cheating, but, by the end of this Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader, he repents, returns his ill-gotten booty and wins a prize the right way. (Mar.)

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