Good Morning to Me!

Beatrix the parrot: threat or menace? She really is a loving bird; in fact, she’s constantly telling the other animals in her cottage home that she loves them. But she’s so clueless and so loud—and doesn’t she ever sleep? It’s hard to be her friend and to keep her out of harm’s way, although Mouse certainly tries. He’s assisted by basset hound Gracie and hampered by Kitty, who believes there’s an easy (and tasty) solution to the Beatrix problem. And that’s the whole story—just a series of funny, often wordless misadventures and mishaps featuring a lead character whose energetic, blissfully obtuse personality is as vivid as her bright green feathers. But it’s a lovely book: Judge (Born in the Wild) uses aqueous, shimmering blues for her environments so that the furs, feathers, and marvelous expressions of her cast pop. It also demands, in the best possible way, that readers slow down and pore over every picture. It’s easy to imagine the many warm, giggling interchanges that snuggling with this book will inspire. Ages 4–8. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (May)