Buddy and Earl and the Great Big Baby

In their third outing, Buddy the dog and Earl the hedgehog contend with a new arrival when a friend comes to visit with her baby. After the toddler wreaks havoc in the house, they are less than impressed: “Babies are not small and adorable,” wails Earl. “They are large and horrible!” But when the baby escapes its “cage” (playpen), Earl’s disdain turns to concern. Older siblings who are intimately familiar with baby-related chaos will be in stitches over Earl’s imagined worst-case scenarios (“The baby could be in Meredith’s room trying to swim across a swamp full of poisonous snakes!”) as the animals race to save a day that doesn’t actually need saving. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)