Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau

An inspired milliner named Madame Chapeau stars in this eminently stylish tale from the duo behind Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer. While Madame Chapeau can match people to hats with effortless aplomb, she is lonely and dines alone%E2%80%94even on her birthday. When a crow steals her birthday bonnet ("Someone quite special once made that for me," she declares, giving chase), Parisians of all stripes offer her the hats off their heads, yet none is quite right. Finally, a girl gives her a colorful knit cap with yellow earflaps and green pom-poms%E2%80%94just the spunky accessory to lift Madame Chapeau out of her funk: "They feasted on gateau and sorbet with fruit/ and danced through the night at Chez Snooty-Patoot./ Then Madame Chapeau wore her birthday hat home./ And never again did she dine all alone." Entirely in step with the buoyancy of Beaty's rhymes, Roberts revels in filling the streets of Paris with multiculturally modish figures wearing couture ensembles, topped off (quite literally) by gloriously elaborate headpieces. Ages 4%E2%80%938. Author's agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Illustrator's agent: Artist Partners of London. (Sept.)