Missy’s Super Duper Royal Deluxe: Picture Day

With a big dose of personal style, a girl named Melissa Abigail Rose (“But everyone calls her ‘Missy’ ”) helps kick off the Branches line of illustrated early chapter books. Missy is the sort of girl who likes dressing up her cat as much as she enjoys dressing herself, and her disaster zone of a bedroom is an early indication that she’s ruled by her id. She’s especially excited about school picture day, and she tests no fewer than a dozen outfits before settling on one that includes a plaid skirt, “super duper fuzzy hat” with earflaps, glow-in-the-dark ring, and pink cowboy boots. Missy’s mother, however, has a more traditional blouse-and-suspendered-skirt combo in mind, putting Missy in a foul mood until a solution presents itself, thanks to a classmate who’s as introverted as Missy is outgoing. Nees’s full-color cartoons appear throughout, keeping up with Missy’s energy and the bustle and activity of an elementary-school classroom. Three more Missy titles will follow later in the year, and four additional Branches series from David Lubar, Andrew Joyner, and others launch simultaneously. Ages 5–7. (May)