Polka Dots for Poppy

It's back-to-school shopping time, and most of the girls in this all-sister family are finding what they want. For Ava, it's princess-y gear; for Isabelle, the exact purple dress she dreamed of; and for Charlie Ann, a must-have cowboy vest. Little Poppy, however (who, truth to tell, is probably still too young for school), is out of luck: nothing has her beloved polka dots%E2%80%94a real problem considering that her entire vocabulary seems to consist of the words "polka dots." As Poppy sleeps, her sisters add dots to all her clothes so that in the morning, Poppy (and Mama, who admirably keeps her cool) discovers that even Poppy's sandals are, as the color-coded typography reports, covered "with red and red-orange and blue-green and green-blue Polka Dots!" Although slighter than Schwartz's previous works, there are real pleasures to be had in her plainspoken, knowing, and always empathic text ("Good night, fashion plates" says Mama as she turns out the lights on the girls) and pictures that gracefully and subtly portray a family determined to make sure that each member gets her due. Ages 4%E2%80%938. (July)