It’s a Sign! (Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!)

The Pumphrey brothers (Somewhere in the Bayou) join this series with an all-dialogue early reader that cleverly builds on a concept while tapping into readers’ passion for categorization. Foam-stamped, digitally finished illustrations, set against minimalist backgrounds, introduce four critters of varying size and color (their dialogue balloons are similarly color-coded), who each have pointy ears, long noses, saucer eyes, and bushy, spotted tails (the number of spots correspond to the order in which they’re introduced). Bright orange One is the club’s instigator, but though One can make paper hats, the animal can’t write the sign needed to announce the group’s existence. Red Two, who knows “EVERY letter” individually, makes a sign that reads a (“It is a letter AND a word”). Yellow Kat can seemingly write any three-letter word that rhymes with its name, and so makes a sign that reads “HAT.” And finally, purple-hued Four makes a sign that reads “CLUB.” So what should the crew be named? “A HAT CLUB” certainly seems logical, but One’s creativity goes someplace far funnier. Welcoming and unabashedly appreciative of each other’s talents—and new readers’ needs—the critters model the kind of club that anyone would be happy to join. Ages 5–8. (May)