Iris Yipp, co-owner of The Magic Tree Bookshop in Oak Park, Ill., celebrates two customer-pleasing fall offerings.

Here are two new illustrated books that we’re excited about. They definitely bring out the smiles.

The Boss Baby is my favorite funny, but oh-so-true, baby shower gift book. Two-time Caldecott Honor winner Marla Frazee prepares parents for life after the baby arrives. Here, the new baby puts “Mom and Dad on a round-the-clock schedule with no time off.” There's no mistaking who is boss when baby arrives. The boss is pictured in a black onesie with a white color and tie. We see the weary parents attending "lots of meetings, many in

the middle of the night." Pair this up with Mem Fox’s and Helen Oxenbury's Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and you've got the perfect new baby gift.

In How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills, a very patient yellow bird is the teacher to a playful but reticent dog named Rocket. How does she lure Rocket to her “class?” She reads a story out loud and Rocket just has to know how the story ends. After learning “all of the wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet,” Rocket learns how to spell all kinds of magical words like “the sound of the wind.” And there are so many books to read over and over again with all those words. What a great introduction to learning and reading!