Encore! Encore!

The clever-quipping feathered hero of the Caldecott Honor book Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! now stars in a pair of original board books (with the bus driver as well as the duckling from The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog in supporting roles): The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! and The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! by Mo Willems. In the first, Pigeon introduces various modes of transport including a bus ("Can't you just see me driving one?"), airplane ("Sure beats flapping!") and hot dog—"Hey, what's the big idea? A hot dog doesn't 'go'!" to which the duckling provides his own wry reply. In the second, the bus driver prompts Pigeon to demonstrate various emotions. (Hyperion, $6.99 each 12p ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. ISBN 0-7868-3651-2; 0-7868-3650-4; May)

The second board book in the Petit Connoisseur series, Fashion by Karen Salmansohn, illus. by Brian Stauffer, once again combines pith and wit. The "spring collection" spread, for instance, shows a polka-dotted Dachshund toy on wheels that gets its length from a slinky-like torso, while "catwalk" shows two chic felines touting a willowy red scarf and pea-green purse atop the points of a picket fence. Likely more for fashionistas than their offspring, but such fun. (Tricycle, $6.95 16p all ages ISBN 1-58246-105-8; Apr.)

A Crash Course for Molly by Eva Eriksson, trans. by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard, brings back the winsome piglet who starred in Molly Goes Shopping, about which PW wrote, "Eriksson gracefully examines everyday life through a believable, unabashedly kid-centric lens." Molly has just learned to ride her bike, but after she runs into a pole and a canine driving instructor, the pooch decides to give her a few tips. (R&S [FSG, dist.], $16 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 91-29-66156-0; May)

The lovable cub from Fix-it, Emma's Pet and Emma's Vacation puts her dolls through their paces—eating breakfast, teaching them their ABCs, visiting the doctor—and finally cuddling up with her father in the hammock, in Emma in Charge by David McPhail. (Dutton, $12.99 24p ages 3-up ISBN 0-525-47411-0; June)

In a starred review, PW said of Chato's Kitchen by Gary Soto, illus. by Susan Guevara, "Soto commands a poet's gift for defining characters quickly, densely and, in this case, with hilariously choice words; here he is paired with Guevara's wickedly funny, urban paints." In the third outing, Chato Goes Cruisin', the feline hero wins a cruise for two and takes Novio Boy along—only to discover that the other guests are dogs! (Putnam, $16.99 32p ages 4-up ISBN 0-399-23974-X; May)

"Patricia Polacco mines the theme of children nourished by unexpected friendship, tosses in a little light horror and comes up with over-the-top hilarity," wrote PW about The Graves Family. Now the wacky clan heads for their annual foray into nature in The Graves Family Goes Camping. They pack up their Venus flytrap, the "family spiders and bats," and head off to Bleakmire, situated under "threatening skies [on] a large murky lake." What could be better for family togetherness? (Philomel, $16.99 48p ages 5-up ISBN 0-399-24369-0; May)

Sweet Briar Goes to Camp by Karma Wilson, illus. by LeUyen Pham, may be a more recognizable outdoor experience for readers. The badger star of Sweet Briar Goes to School is a newcomer at Camp Clover Leaf but makes friends easily, unlike Petal the porcupine, whose prickly anatomy keeps others at a distance—until the heroine reaches out to Petal and others follow suit. (Dial, $16.99 32p ages 4-up ISBN 0-8037-2971-5; May)

G. Brian Karas, who narrated Atlantic from the ocean's perspective, now explores an even vaster topic in the idealistic profile On Earth. Spaceship Earth, pictured in limpid blues and greens, takes readers on "a giant ride in space,/ spinning like a merry-go-round." Pictures of children in rural fields alternate with abstract depictions of the planet rotating and orbiting around the sun, as the text explains that "by the time we get back to where we started, we're one year older." Karas distills profound concepts into pared-down sentences and impressionistic mixed-media illustrations. (Putnam, $16.99 32p ages 5-up ISBN 0-399-24025-X; May)

Erin Dealey and Hanako Wakiyama, whose Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox featured a sick storybook figure, imagine a shepherdess with concerned parents and a case of insomnia in Little Bo Peep Can't Get to Sleep. Bo Peep can't count sheep because hers have run off, frightened by Little Boy Blue (Peep's younger brother) blowing his horn. Wakiyama's high-contrast shadows, tilted perspectives and an eerie pale-yellow halo around Peep create a Hitchcockian sensation of late-night delirium. (S&S/Atheneum, $15.95 40p ages 3-7 ISBN 0-689-84099-3; Mar.)

And a popular Scandinavian series starring preschooler Alfie Atkins makes its Atlantic crossing with a pair of titles: Good Night, Alfie Atkins and Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins, both by Gunilla Gergström, trans. by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard. The first introduces the hero at age four, when he is "sometimes cranky, and sometimes nice. Tonight he is cranky," and acts out stall tactics familiar to children on both sides of the ocean ("Read me a story!"; "We forgot to brush my teeth," etc.)—until Daddy falls asleep on the living room floor. In the second, Alfie, now five, borrows Daddy's tool box and builds himself a helicopter—but has he trapped himself inside? (R&S [FSG, dist.], $15 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 91-29-66154-4; May)

Return Engagements

Favorite characters and series continue this spring. Fans of Hiccup the Seasick Viking and his later adventures in How to Train Your Dragon (called a "riotous farce" by PW) will welcome How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell. This paper-over-board caper finds the Hairy Hooligan tribe in search of the long-lost treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly; crude b&w drawings double the pleasure. (Little, Brown, $10.99 224p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-316-15598-5; May)The Search for Belle Prater by Ruth White, sequel to the Newbery Honor book Belle Prater's Boy, will likely be a hit with fans, as the author introduces a new girl in town who claims to have second sight. The search for Woodrow's mother, who disappeared a year earlier, stalls until a midnight phone call traced to a nearby town convinces the boy that his mother is in Bluefield. Those hoping for a happy ending for Woodrow will not be disappointed. (FSG, $16 176p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-374-30853-5; Apr.)

Followers of the six-foot, 266-pound Henrietta, the famous Hoboken chicken, will welcome her back heartily in The Artsy Smartsy Club, by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Jill Pinkwater. Once the property of Arthur Bobowicz, the feathered friend is now in the care of Nick (from Looking for Bobowicz), who leaves Hoboken with his two pals to take art classes in New York City—and of course, they bring their beaked buddy along. (HarperCollins, $15.99 176p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-06-053557-1; May)

Jane Cutler brings back the clan from Family Dinner in Common Sense and Fowls, illus. by Lynne Barasch. Rachel's beloved Great-uncle Benson is back, and when "two of the neighborhood's most unusual people," Mrs. Krnc, who loves pigeons (and whose name is all consonants), and Mr. Gioia, who hates the mess they leave behind (and whose name is mostly vowels, thus creating the wordplay of the title), the girl and her great-uncle search for a peaceful solution even as they find the humor in the situation. (FSG, $16 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-374-32262-7; Apr.)

Perseus by Geraldine McCaughrean, the second in a planned four-volume Heroes series, retells the classic myth as the hero seeks to murder the snake-haired Medusa and spare his mother from an ill-fated marriage. PW called Odysseus, the series' launch title, "a vivid and accessible retelling." (Cricket, $15.95 128p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-8126-2735-0; May)

The third in the paper-over-board Danger Boy series begun with Ancient Fire (which PW called an "inventively twisted time travel tale"), Trail of Bones by Mark London Williams, picks up when Eli Sands and his friends, Clyne and Thea crash-land in 19th-century America. Thea and Eli find themselves at the start of the Lewis and Clark expedition while Thea is mistaken for an escaped slave. (Candlewick, $9.99 320p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-7636-2154-4; May)

PW called The Shamer's Daughter a "multidimensional fantasy with a satisfying conclusion." Now The Shamer's Signet, the second of the Shamer Chronicles by Lene Kaaberbol, follows Dina as she is kidnapped and compelled to use her gift (to see a person's dark secrets) in order to trap innocent people. (Holt, $16.95 320p ages 11-up ISBN 0-8050-7542-9; May)

The heroine of Alice I Think (about which PW said, "the author's dark wit virtually glitters on every page") is back in Alice Macleod, Realist at Last by Susan Juby. "If I hadn't decided to become a screenwriter recently I doubt I could cope with all the things going on in my life right now," writes the now 16-year-old, referring to her boyfriend's trip to Scotland, her mother's environmental protests landing the woman in jail, and her father's unemployment. (HarperTempest, $15.99 320p ages 12-up ISBN 0-06-051549-X; May)

Outcast by Lynne Ewing, the third installment in her paper-over-board Sons of the Dark series, focuses on Kyle, a modern-day teen from L.A. who rooms with Berto, shape-shifting Obie from the launch title, Barbarian, and Samuel, the American frontiersman from Escape. All of them seek refuge in the present from the shadow world of Nefandus, but are the other three turning on Kyle? And why does he feel as if he's being stalked by his past? (Hyperion/Volo, $9.99 288p ages 12-up ISBN 0-7868-1813-1; Apr.)

Continuing what PW called "a romantic royal tale of intrigue in the tradition of King Arthur," which began with The Seer and the Sword, The Light of the Oracle by Victoria Hanley centers on 15-year-old Bryn. This stonecutter's daughter finds that she has certain talents that threaten evildoers who would put the Temple of the Oracle in peril—and she predicts the demise of Lord Morlen, last seen in The Healer's Keep. (Random/Fickling, $15.95 320p ages 12-up ISBN 0-385-75086-2; May)

In a starred review, PW called The Book of the Lion by Michael Cadnum "a majestic novel—part mystery, part history" chronicling the Crusades under King Richard. The Dragon Throne completes the trilogy starring Edmund and Hubert, and follows the two while they achieve knighthood—just as Prince John attempts a coup to overthrow his brother, Richard. (Viking, $16.99 224p ages 12-up ISBN 0-670-03631-5; May)

The Hall Family Chronicles begun with the Newbery Honor book The Fledgling continues with The Mysterious Circus by Jane Langton. Prince Krishna (the man behind The Diamond in the Window and who gave Edward, last seen in The Time Bike, the title gift) takes something out of his treasure chest (that "trumpet[s], like animals in a jungle far away") and sends the mysterious gift to the Halls via his nephew. Meanwhile, a plan is afoot to build an amusement park in quiet Concord, Mass., in the Mill Brook meadow—right across from the Halls. Readers won't be surprised that Edward, Eleanor and Georgie prevail, but how they do it makes for a vastly entertaining read. (HarperCollins, $15.99 224p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-06-009486-9; May)