My Special One and Only

Three years after her introduction to readers in Bridget Fidget and the Most Perfect Pet, the perpetual motion machine that is Bridget Fidget is back and searching for her lost “one and only,” a nautically themed stuffed toy named Captain Cat. Bridget’s toy goes missing when she is taken to Dinglebang’s Universe of Toys to spend the gold coin left under her pillow by the tooth fairy. Captain Cat is eventually restored to his owner, but not before Bridget makes her way, cyclonelike, through the store with the help of her friend Billy and his new mini–sports car, the Superzoom 500. Berger’s boldly inked cartooning overflows with energy and visual jokes (captions like “Yikes! Now look!” and onomatopoeic phrases like “Kaboof!” are common); he’s at his best when a spread is packed with action. The same goes for Bridget: when she’s not in motion or has a reflective moment—such as when she winds up in a window display and has some “quiet time” (read: throws a tantrum)—the story’s pacing flags. Ages 5–8. (Aug.)