Lucy, a tutu- and ribbon-adorned young bear, is instantly besotted with a human boy she finds in the forest. After naming him Squeaker (the only sound he makes) and bringing him home, she begs her mother to keep him, and Mom relents on the condition that Lucy take full responsibility for his care. The two have a ball playing together until Lucy confronts some of the less-appealing aspects of pet ownership, such as potty training and dealing with destroyed furniture. When Squeaker suddenly disappears, Lucy follows his trail, discovers that he has returned to his natural habitat of house and human family, and comes to understand, as countless children have, that not all critters are cut out for domestication. (A final spread shows that Lucy hasn't given up on her enthusiasm by any stretch, though.) Brown's distinctive multimedia art, featuring text in colored blocks and characters' asides printed in word balloons, has a playful, old-time style that matches the woodsy setting and the enjoyable story's upbeat tone.--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist

IT is generally agreed that humor is subjective. Looking across the recent crop of picture books that specialize in gently absurd comedy, one can imagine grown-ups wondering if kids will get the joke. But that would underestimate even very young children's ability, to appreciate the incongruous, the nonsensical, the flat-out eccentric. "A Sick Day for Amos McGee," by Philip C. Stead, is a case in point. It delightfully takes its loony scenario for granted. We meet Amos, a stooped-shouldered older gentleman dressed in a moss-green threepiece suit, getting ready for his day as a zookeeper. With a sweet smile, Amos goes about his daily chores. He plays chess with the delicately shaded pink elephant, lets a tortoise win races and sits with one of the penguins, who is very shy. One day when Amos comes down with a cold, the animals travel to his home to care for their caregiver. Observant readers will notice tiny surprises hidden in plain sight: a red balloon, a tiny mouse and a sparrow popping up here and there in the story. Erin E. Stead, the illustrator, overlays her pencil sketches with gentle tones of pink, peach, blue and green, and bright red spots that belie the deceptive ordinariness of the text. With his new book, "How Rocket Learned to Read," Tad Hills ("Duck & Goose") brings a sweet but not saccharine touch to a common struggle of childhood. Rocket is a fuzzy spotted dog who loves to chase leaves, chew sticks, sniff around the neighborhood and nap. One day a small yellow bird disturbs him. "'Aha! My first student! Wonderful!' she sang. Rocket was confused. 'Student? I'm not a -' 'But if I am your teacher,' the bird interrupted, 'then you must be my student.' Rocket found it hard to argue with this bird." She tempts him by reading aloud the story of an unlucky dog named Buster who lost his favorite bone - and thus begins Rocket's growing desire to read for himself. We know that birds aren't teachers and that dogs don't read, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the process of Rocket's learning how to write his letters, practicing the "wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet" and sounding out the G and many Rs in Mr. Barker the dog's growl: "GRRRRRRRRR!" What child hasn't brought home a wild creature and asked - "Can I keep it?" - only to hear the parent say that this frog, spider or chipmunk would make a terrible pet. In "Children Make Terrible Pets," Peter Brown turns the classic picture book imagery of animals who act like people (or "people in animal suits," as it's said in the field) on its head with Lucy, an over-the-top feminine bear cub who finds a boy and wants to keep him as a pet. "Oh! My! Gosh! You are the cutest critter in the whole forest!" she says when she discovers him. And since his language sounds to her like "squeak," she names him Squeaker. Joyfully animated illustrations depict Lucy in a pink tutu and Squeaker as a typical boy in a striped shirt and sneakers. The way each page is framed in a faux wood finish gives the pictures the look of a vintage television console. Although Lucy finds that her human pet is a lot of fun to play and nap with, he is also a bit of a handful, ruining the furniture and refusing to potty train in a tray of kitty litter. In the end, we can all agree, children do make terrible pets. But the winner of the Most Absurd Picture Book of the Year Award, if there were one, would have to go to "A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea," written by Michael Ian Black and drawn by Kevin Hawkes. The joke is in the comically drawn-out contrast between the cute marching pigs of our imagination and the realistically sticky, glistening-nosed, frowning hogs. BLACK'S deadpan narration sets the tone. A pig parade is a terrible idea. The book states dryly that it might seem like a lot of fun - you might imagine sharp majorette uniforms, rousing marching-band music and fantastic floats. You would be wrong. The text notes that pigs don't march - they shuffle. Pigs don't enjoy military music, either; they prefer sad country ballads. And the only floats pigs like are the ones with root beer. Kids never say when telling a favorite joke, "Stop me if you've heard this one before." If they laughed at it once, it is 14 times as funny on the 14th telling. And, yes, the stories here are all ones that can be read again and again. They never get old. Lisa Von Drasek, the children's librarian at Bank Street College of Education, blogs about children's books for EarlyWord.com.

PreS-Gr 2-Animation, music, and perfect narration turn Peter Brown's delightful tale (Little, Brown, 2010) into a funnier and even more charming story. One day, Lucy Bear finds the most adorable little boy in the forest and names him Squeaker because of the noises he makes. She persuades her mother to let her keep him, even though she's warned that "Children make terrible pets. Things go well at first and Lucy and Squeaker do everything together. However, true to Mother Bear's words, Squeaker soon misbehaves, wrecks furniture, and refuses to use a litter box. When the little boy disappears, Lucy tracks him down and discovers that he has a home and family, and doesn't seem like a pet at all. Songs and musical accompaniment perfectly reflect the mood. The delightful characters cavort across the screen, and when trouble ensues discordant piano crashes reinforce Lucy's bad mood. The camera zooms and pans sections of pages that are fully animated, yet remain true to Brown's original pencil, construction paper, and digital illustrations. Narrator Emily Eiden's voice perfectly reflects Lucy-a bear in a pink tutu and hair bow. With distinct and appropriate voices for each character, her enthusiasm and expression are captivating and infectious. The story ends with a goofy song and an interview with Peter Brown in which he explains his inspiration for the story and how the characters evolved. Terrific animation, wonderful narration, and exuberant music make this a new classic, and a favorite to be watched again and again. Producers Paul Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard won the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video for this superb production.-MaryAnn Karre, Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson Elementary Schools, Binghamton, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this tongue-in-cheek role reversal, a girlish bear named Lucy makes a pet of a small boy. She declares him "the cutest critter in the whole forest" and begs her mother, "Can I keep him, please?" Her mother, unbearishly seated in a comfy chair and reading a book, delivers the title's sound advice, but allows Lucy to keep the boy. Brown (The Curious Garden) mimes the escalating challenges of animal care. The boy, who Lucy names Squeaker, "because he makes funny sounds," throws tantrums and will not use a litter box. Lucy is relieved when Squeaker escapes home, where his family enjoys a backyard picnic as though he had not been absent. Even though Brown's humans wear clothes and live in a house, they are basically squirrels: they all say "squeak" from the bears' POV, while the bears act like flummoxed babysitters: Lucy walks upright in a tutu, her mother wears a skirt and pearls, and their dialogue appears in prim construction-paper voice bubbles. Framed in wood-grain borders, the action takes place in an artificial outdoors and parodies those who are pushovers for exotic specimens. Ages 3-6. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Bear cub Lucy finds a human boy in the bushes. She makes the boy--called Squeaker--her pet, and all goes well...until it doesn't (he trashes the house, won't use his litter box, etc.). While this is a comedy and nearly every deadpan, mixed-media illustration will elicit grins, readers will surely be moved when Squeaker leaves the cub for a more suitable home. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.