It's surprisingly difficult to produce a book that offers bunnies in pink dresses as well as a high degree of visual sophistication, but Pignataro (Mama, How Long Will You Love Me?
) succeeds. Her delicately penned and tinted spreads are crowded with tiny cupcakes, horse-drawn teacup carriages, walnut-shell boats and libraries built into trees. Princess and Fairy receive an invitation to the queen's birthday party (the minuscule note can be removed from an equally tiny envelope), and they put together a list of treasures to bring. Full-page spreads trace their paths through Three Wishes Market, Gold Penny Lane and other whimsical locales as they find each of the items required. (A small “Can you find?” emblem in the center of each spread directs readers to search for the objects themselves.) The bunnies arrive at the palace spattered with mud, the closest the sunny story comes to a dark moment, but they are immediately put at ease. “ '...never mind your dirty dresses./ Your smiles,' says the Fairy Queen,/ 'Are the prettiest things I've ever seen!' ” Sure to sit on the top of the favorites pile. Ages 4–7. (Sept.)
