David McPhail, Author . Abrams $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-8324-3
McPhail (When Sheep Sleep
) returns to themes of friendship and cooperation in this serene picture book, which is divided into four vignettes. Budgie, an overalls-clad bear, and Boo, a bunny in a vest and pants, share a cozy cottage and are able...
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David McPhail, Abrams, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-8415-8
McPhail's characteristically gentle earth-toned ink and watercolor pictures steer this quaint story about "a very round raccoon," who waddles like a duck, and his best friend, who is a duck. Images of Waddles and Emily in their pond-side
environs...
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David McPhail. Charlesbridge, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58089-356-5
After a lengthy sabbatical, expressive Pig Pig is back, and he has some reservations about joining his aunt and uncle on a road trip. But despite a bout of carsickness and a few minor disappointments, the trip is fun: Pig Pig marvels at the world's...
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David McPhail. Holiday House, $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-2424-5
The shaggy haired boy that McPhail introduced in Boy, Bird, and Dog (who also resembles characters from the author/illustrator’s other books) is sick in bed in this addition to the I Like to Read series. The boy’s mother tends to him, while his pet...
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David McPhail. Abrams Appleseed, $8.95 (22p) ISBN 978-1-4197-0386-7
McPhail gives readers an intimate view of the friendship between a small boy and his stuffed (but very active) bear. No adults appear—the only other character is a bluebird that pops up occasionally. McPhail’s prose is stripped to the bare...
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David McPhail. Little, Brown, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-29787-5
When Baby Bear asks Mother Bear to sing to him, she promises that she will—later—which leads into a contemplative conversation of what promises mean. As the bears make their way through a forest and meadow on their way back to their den, Mother Bear
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David McPhail. Little, Brown, $16.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-316-38750-7
Baby Bear, first seen in 2017’s I Promise, makes a series of discoveries in this cheery collection of four stories. McPhail’s characteristically unadorned and finely lined ink-and-watercolor illustrations showcase Baby Bear’s verdant woodland home...
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David McPhail. Holiday House, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-3063-5
With understated, almost reportorial watercolors and prose, McPhail (Bad Dog) offers a marvelous portrait of the artist as a very, very young man. “What a pretty flower!” says Andrew’s mother when presented with one of the first drawings Andrew...
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David McPhail. Charlesbridge, $6.95 (14p) ISBN 978-1-58089-597-2
McPhail’s picture book hero Pig Pig is back—as a baby. As his mother pushes him around in his stroller, she introduces words for things they see. When she singles out a cat, “Duba” is Baby Pig Pig’s response. “Snake,” she says, pointing at one (from
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David McPhail. Charlesbridge, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58089-358-9
When a lion escapes from the zoo, Pig Pig’s mother finds out from the newspaper. Pig Pig learns about the lion when it climbs through his window and plops onto his bed. The escapee chases Pig Pig through the house (letting McPhail give a comedic...
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David McPhail. Holt, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9057-4
The continuity of family and nature and the power of a single voice resonate in McPhail’s (The Abandoned Lighthouse) thoughtful fable. Riding in a covered wagon, a man arrives in the wilderness “to start a new life.” He chops down trees to create...
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David McPhail. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-59643-526-1
McPhail’s familiar shaggy-haired toddlers and friendly animals lend themselves to this grouping of more than 60 Mother Goose rhymes. The verses flow naturally into one another. For “Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,” a bear baker prepares to put a cake (marked
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David McPhail. Abrams Appleseed, $8.95 (22p) ISBN 978-1-4197-1337-8
McPhail follows Ben Loves Bear and Bella Loves Bunny with another tender and thoroughly comforting story of friendship between a child and a (sentient) stuffed animal. Penguin awakens Peter one night—snow is falling, and there’s clearly only one...
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David McPhail. Holt, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9170-0
In this tranquil portrait of Peter Rabbit creator Potter, McPhail (Bunny's First Spring) imagines her life as a budding artist growing up in London with her mother, father, and brother. As a child, Potter painted pictures of her family pets,...
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David McPhail. Abrams Appleseed, $8.95 (20p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2127-4
Fourth in a series of books that includes Ben Loves Bear and Peter Loves Penguin, this placid story follows a brown-skinned girl and her doting toy owl through a day. McPhail’s soft paintings evoke an early-autumn setting, and while “Owl has...
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David McPhail. Holiday House, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-3649-1
In this amiable story, McPhail (Bad Dog) introduces two sisters, Krissie and Kait, who recount life with their rambunctious pet: a cat named Crash, whose resemblance to a cuddly stuffed toy belies his irrepressible energy and penchant for mischief....
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David McPhail. Abrams Appleseed, $8.95 (20p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2577-7
A raccoon family stars in this tenderhearted companion to Ben Loves Bear, Bella Loves Bunny, and other board books. As Walter and his mother put together a blueberry pie, he asks her variations on the title’s question. Mama supplies several answers—W
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David McPhail. Holiday House, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4106-8
A growing rabbit lists the many things that it has outgrown, including a crib, shirt, shoes, and tricycle (“I am too big for my tricycle”). But getting bigger simply means finding new things to grow into, the rabbit learns: “I am just right for my...
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David McPhail. Holiday House, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5072-5
Jolted awake by a thunderstorm, a frightened child is soothed by each member of their extended Black family in this centering picture book. After the child wakes and two pets leap off the bed, “my mother comes in to comfort me” and “my father...
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