Kara LaReau, illus. by Scott Magoon. Roaring Brook/Porter, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59643-484-4
With his homonymic name, Otto might be forgiven for loving autos "above all places and things (and even most people)." More than his one-track racetrack mind, Otto's flaw is his self-centeredness. In his rush to his race car–festooned bedroom, he...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Scott Magoon. Roaring Brook/Porter, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-59643-483-7
Lonesome porcupine Mr. Prickles, unpopular among the other woodland creatures, finds a kindred spirit in his spiny neighbor, Miss Pointypants. LaReau and Magoon (previously teamed up on Otto: The Boy Who Loved Cars) depict Mr. Prickles as “hard to...
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Kara LaReau, Author, Jim Ishikawa, Illustrator , illus. by Jim Ishikawa. Little, Brown/Tingley $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-316-60703-2
The mother and father in La Reau's (Rocko and Spanky Go to a Party
) story may be made of snow (yes, they both have carrots for noses), but they face a quandary familiar to any pair of flesh-and-blood parents: their baby "could not, would...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Lorelay Bove. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-5733-5
Two doe-eyed siblings are the table-manners authorities in this fun role-reversal story, first in the Disney Artist Showcase series. Bove’s vintage-flavored cartoons show the children’s buffoonish Father knocking over the salad dressing, slurping...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Matt Myers. Candlewick, $14.99 (64p) ISBN 978-0-7636-7636-0
Louie and Ralphie Ratso are determined to be as tough as their truck-driver father, but the rats’ efforts go hilariously awry in this funny, thoughtful, and smart chapter book. In episodic escapades, they steal a classmate’s hat, make a new student...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Jen Hill. Amulet, $14.95 (176p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2136-6
Kale and Jaundice Bland, twin sisters who live in the town of Dullsville, are quite content with their lives darning socks, eating plain oatmeal, and reading the dictionary for fun. They aren’t even concerned about their parents, who left to run an...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Brian Won. Cartwheel, $8.99 (20p) ISBN 978-1-338-10559-9
In this padded board book, friendly monster children wind down for the night with predictable bedtime routines. In Won’s warm art, a vampire child with bat wings hangs upside down (“Good night, dear vampire./ Take one final sip./ Please brush your...
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Kara LaReau, Author, Scott Magoon, Illustrator , illus. by Scott Magoon. Harcourt $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-205082-5
With his murky green skin and fierce underbite, Ugly Fish rules the aquarium. "He liked gliding in... and out... of his driftwood tunnel. He liked eating his special briny flakes." But he hates to share. Each time a potential friend is...
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Kara LaReau, Author, Jenna Lareau, Illustrator , illus. by Jenna LaReau. Harcourt $15 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-216624-3
Rocko and Spanky Socko (twin sock monkeys, naturally) really know how to party. And it's a good thing, as they are invited to "a party at Shelly's House" in this kicky debut picture book by a sister-sister team. Upon receiving an...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Vincent X. Kirsch. HarperCollins, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-296565-3
Ezra “adds dazzle to everything he does,” LaReau writes, as Kirsch’s crisp multimedia cartoons show Ezra bringing a glitter-festooned, over-the-top joie de vivre to home and school. Everyone seems to love it—except new girl Jane, whose bright...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Matthew Cordell. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9743-3
LaReau’s absorbing problem-solving tale offers a funny look at grown-ups stymied by a very small human. Baby Clown cries all the time, and loudly. Boffo and Frieda Clown, his harassed parents, are stuck; nothing they try works. “WAAAAH!!!” spreads...
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Kara LaReau, illus. by Ryan Andrews. Candlewick, $15.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-5362-0106-2
In this spooky series launch, friends Mellie and Danny find a scraggly cat after Danny, an aspiring filmmaker scouting for a horror movie location, drags Mellie to the YummCo Foods factory’s eerie grounds. Smitten with the skinny cat, which has...
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