Ruby’s Sleepover

Ruby’s vibrant imagination is just as active in this companion to Ruby’s School Walk (2010), which finds the girl camping in the yard with her friend Mai. Satisfying rhymes describe imaginary visitors as darkness falls: “ ‘Did you see that shadow?’/ Mai trembles in fright./ I whisper, ‘A dragon is/ coming tonight.’ ” Latimer’s bold acrylics playfully experiment with shadow, light, and scale: a giant’s feet step along a towering beanstalk, while, in another scene, silhouetted pirates’ creep toward the girls’ glowing tent. A cozy depiction of the fun in being (just a little bit) scared. Ages 3–7. (May)