Lisa Wheeler, Author, Maribel Suarez, Illustrator Little, Brown Books for Young Readers $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-316-61410-8
A loving depiction of a child's first year of life, Te Amo Bebe, Little One by Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Maribel Suarez, incorporates a scattering of Spanish language and Mexican influence. Cheery watercolor scenes of mother and child at the beach,
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Heather Solomon, Harcourt, $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-216754-7
Ol' Bear has a "hankerin'," and only one thing will satiate it: Ugly Pie. By following him on a quest through the forest, with stops at the homes of friendly neighbors who offer up their own traditional pies (no pie-filching Yogi Bear is he),...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Brian Floca, Illustrator , illus. by Brian Floca. Atheneum/Jackson $15.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-86469-8
The holidays just aren't holidays without relatives, and Octavia the reindeer has them in spades: seven unique uncles who come from all corners of the world to join her each Christmas at the North Pole. But this family isn't just swapping...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Zachariah OHora. S&S/Atheneum, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-7595-3
When a bespectacled girl with pigtails asks her parents for a pet, they suggest she take a scientific approach, researching potential animals. The girl’s investigations take her to the farm, zoo, woods, and more, but the results are not encouraging.
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Molly Idle. Atheneum, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4814-9082-5
In a combination of listicle, admonishment, and pep talk, the well-matched Wheeler (Babies Can Sleep Anywhere) and Idle (the Flora books) remind children that they are too long in the tooth, so to speak, to be chomping on others: “Puppies bite and...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ivan Bates, Illustrator , illus. by Ivan Bates. Harcourt $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-202319-5
Wheeler (Uncles and Antlers
, reviewed Sept. 27) introduces Farmer Dale, a neighborly sheepdog hauling a load of hay in the back of his red truck. Along the way, the hero accommodates a hitchhiking, imperious cow. But when he goes on to pick up a...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ivan Bates, Illustrator , illus. by Ivan Bates. Harcourt $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-216408-9
The search is on when Santa's reindeer put out their version of an APB: “Clip-clop, clip-clop, two-by-two./ Santa, Santa! Where are you?” All manner of polar paws (and some fins) get in step and join the hunt on a frigid, frosty...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ivan Bates, Illustrator , illus. by Ivan Bates. Harcourt $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-202318-8
Cleverly mixing suspense and humor, this well-crafted book begins cozily: "In a wee little house,/ In a wee little hole,/ Lived a wee little mouse/ And a wee little mole." The scene abruptly shifts to a "big giant
lair" where a "
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Mark Siegel, Illustrator , illus. by Mark Siegel. Atheneum/Jackson $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-85689-1
In the wordless sequence that opens this swashbuckling comic-strip "operetta," a puppy settles into her theater seat, actors put on makeup and the curtain rises on five singing sailor dogs. A canine chorus, which makes regular appearances,...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Mark Siegel, Illustrator , illus. by Mark Siegel. Atheneum/Jackson $16.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-689-87639-4
It's midnight and all the mischievous spirits that haunt the castle are in a partying mood: “Wizards wiggle!/ Ghostlings giggle!/ Demons do their thing!” As the party progresses, seven knights (whose names include Sir Loin and Sir...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, R. Gregory Christie, Illustrator , illus. by R. Gregory Christie. Harcourt $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-202522-9
With a “clap-clap-clap!” and a “snap-snap-snap,” the catchy rhythm of Wheeler’s (Mammoths on the Move
) cadenced text will instantly grab readers with its up-tempo beat: “Grandpa TOOT-TOOTS./ Granny sings scat./...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Sophie Blackall, S&S/Atheneum, $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4169-2541-5
This collection of Mother Goose parodies by Wheeler (Ugly Pie) and Blackall (Pecan Pie Baby) is as elegant as it is, like Mary, "quite contrary." The no-nonsense Spinster Goose oversees a reform school: "Not painted up pretty,/ it's mottled and gray.
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ponder Goembel, Illustrator , illus. by Ponder Goembel. Atheneum/Jackson $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-84510-9
The team responsible for Sailor Moo
returns with a homespun trickster tale enhanced by sprightly humor and ace draftsmanship. Old Cricket, whom Goembel depicts as a handsome fellow with a shiny black exoskeleton, isn't in the mood to help his...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ponder Goembel, Illustrator , illus. by Ponder Goembel. Atheneum/Jackson $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-84219-1
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of… milk? Yes, the creamy white drink plays a role in this bouncy bovine picture book, in which a cow finds adventure and true love on the high seas. Compelled to follow her dreams, dairy cow Moo leaves behind the farm
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott. Lerner/Carolrhoda, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4677-0212-6
Wheeler and Gott continue to pit dino against dino in athletic competitions; having already covered football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey, they explore different forms of wrestling in this addition to their series. In the first bout, a...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Barry Gott, Illustrator , illus. by Barry Gott. Carolrhoda $16.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-7613-4429-2
Wheeler and Gott already proved they have a winning formula with Dino-Hockey
(2007) and Dino-Soccer
(2009), and there's plenty for dinosaur/sports fanatics to enjoy in this latest installment (the final page hints at a basketball follow-up)....
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott. Lerner/Carolrhoda, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4677-0213-3
Wheeler and Gott appear to be in zero danger of running out of athletic competitions for dinosaurs to go head to head in (not to mention crest to spike). In this seventh book, Gott’s chunky, angular dinos catch waves on short and long boards, ride...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott. Lerner/Carolrhoda, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7613-6394-1
The sporty dinosaurs that have played soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball in previous outings take on football on “Mega Bowl Sunday.” With eager dinosaur fans in the stadium bleachers, the herbivorous Redscales battle the meat-eating Snackers...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott, Carolrhoda, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7613-6393-4
The fourth book in Wheeler and Gott's picture-book series that mashes up the athletic with the extinct brings readers courtside as the carnivorous Meat face off against the herbivorous Grassclippers. This duo has a good thing going, and they don't...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott. Carolrhoda, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5124-0315-2
“Dino-Christmastime is here,” and the dinos are taking part in all sorts of seasonal activities. They play in the snow, ice skate, and hang decorations around their city. Wheeler writes in cheery, rhyming couplets that introduce the dinosaurs by...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Barry Gott, Illustrator Carolrhoda Books $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8225-6191-0
Meat-Eaters and Veggiesaurs face off in this lighthearted but slim tale starring a sizeable roster of hockey-playing dinosaurs. Wheeler (Mammoths on the Move) presents a quick-fire play-by-play using exclamation point-studded rhymed couplets, albeit
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Janie Bynum, Illustrator , illus. by Janie Bynum. Little, Brown $15.99 (22p) ISBN 978-0-316-00090-1
In this follow-up to Porcupining
, Cushion (the porcupine) still loves Barb (the hedgehog), but trouble is brewing in the relationship. Barb loves to dance, but "Cushion's rumba was rumpled, his waltz wobbled, and his tango was totally...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Janie Bynum, Illustrator , illus. by Janie Bynum. Little, Brown/Tingley $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-316-98912-1
A porcupine in a petting zoo? The concept sounds absurd, but Wheeler (Turk and Runt) and Bynum (Altoona Baboona) succeed in creating an appealing if clueless lonely porcupine who's looking for love in all the wrong places. "All the other...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Kurt Cyrus, Illustrator Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-204700-9
Cyrus's (Avalanche Annie) spectacular scratchboard-and-watercolor illustrations steal the show in this rhyming salute to the giants of the Ice Age-so much so that he makes the perky rhymes feel almost superfluous. Wheeler (Wool Gathering) has...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Kurt Cyrus, Illustrator , illus. by Kurt Cyrus. Harcourt $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-202676-9
Romance on the range is inevitable after a tornado destroys a fence and a cowgirl's eight cows mix with a cowboy's matching herd. But the neighbors don't take to each other right quick. Sue Waddle, who rides a palomino and twirls a mean...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Chris Van Dusen. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-236640-5
Cuddly, carefully painted monsters of every stripe are comforted by reliable nighttime rituals in this frisky but soothing bedtime story. “When Bigfoot goes to bed each night,/ he hugs his wooby extra tight/ and leaves on just a little light./ Even...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Frank Ansley, Illustrator , illus. by Frank Ansley. Atheneum/Jackson $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-84369-3
This waggish collection of poems about an unorthodox family get-together brims with enough visual and verbal fun to appeal to both parents and children alike. The felicitous combination of whimsical watercolors and quick-witted text features a...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Frank Ansley, Illustrator , illus. by Frank Ansley. Atheneum/Jackson $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-84761-5
Wheeler and Ansley return to the comical family dynamics they related so successfully in Wool Gathering
for this turkey tale set on Wishbone Farm. While Turk's parents cluck with pride over him, little brother Runt sees Turk's assets as...
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Lisa Wheeler, Author, Ruth Abbey, Author, Frank Ansley, Illustrator , illus. by Frank Ansley. Atheneum/Jackson $14.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-689-84951-0
Wheeler (Sailor MooPorcupining) brings her quirky sense of humor and wordplay to these Fitch & Chip titles, first in a planned series of easy readers. In New Pig in Town, Chip, the new pig, and Fitch, a lone wolf, build an unlikely friendship in
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Dial, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-4134-8
Gently told and exquisitely illustrated, this holiday jewel centers on Hannah Greyweather, a poor woman who lives in a “ramshackle cabin” and finds a boot in the snow. Her wishes—for the boot’s mate, mittens, and a fancy house—are magically granted.
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Lisk Feng. Appleseed, $14.99 (24p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2826-6
A father figure with long, exaggerated arms and his daughter, dressed in an orange A-line dress, meander through a springtime landscape. Using allusions to nature, Wheeler writes lyrically about what a hug can be. On one spread, cocoons of varying...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Chris Van Dusen. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-236642-9
When a blue-horned monster girl (first introduced in the co-creator’s Even Monsters Need to Sleep) is reluctant to go to school, her father reminds her that every monster—even famous ones—attends classes. Van Dusen’s vivid, action-filled art shows...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Loren Long. Dial, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-984814-33-3
Employing the refrain “someone has to build the dream,” Wheeler highlights the often-underappreciated physical labor that goes into making just about anything: houses, bridges, fountains, wind turbines, amusement parks—even books. While architects,...
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Molly Idle. Atheneum, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5344-2559-0
In this follow-up to People Don’t Bite People, Wheeler and Idle tackle a topic that encompasses a host of ideas: generosity, cooperation, empathy, individual agency, self-control, and, above all, a sense of shared humanity: “People share with people.
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Lisa Wheeler, illus. by Barry Gott. Carolrhoda, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5124-0318-3
In the latest installment of the Dino-Holidays series, a jaunty rhyme scheme (“Out back, little cousins play:/ Ping-pong, tag, and lawn croquet./ Raptor helps them fly a kite./ They’re building up an appetite!”) and bright digital
illustrations...
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