Read Me a Story, Stella

After a four-year hiatus, Gay’s redheaded heroine returns in a subdued summer adventure. As in previous installments, younger brother Sam has plenty of questions for his sister, and Stella has answers at the ready. “Do you think a wolf could blow Fred’s doghouse down?” Sam asks after they build a cozy, ramshackle structure. “A tornado couldn’t blow this house down,” Stella replies. The story is somewhat episodic, with no real emotional highs or lows, as the siblings visit a pond, fly a kite, spend time in a garden, and look at the clouds; along the way, Stella’s ample supply of books informs their conversations. Ages 2–5. (Aug.)