The Most Perfect Spot

Diane Goode's pictorial style is unique in that it draws on imagery and fashions from the early part of the last century (i.e. 1910-20), but it's presented in a way that seems fresh and inviting. The Most Perfect Spot is a charming tale in which a little boy invites his mother out for a picnic lunch and a day in the park, only to have his plans upset by a string of dramatic incidents - a flock of ducks takes off at the moment Jack and his mom are getting into a boat for a row out into the lake, causing them both to plunge into the water, a group of dogs runs through the area, upsetting everything, the rain comes pouring down just as they settle down for lunch, etc. There's a nice sideline involving a little stray puppy who follows them home too. The park in the story is a big old-fashioned one (like Central Park) with a majestic gateway arch and lots of big trees, and the street where Jack and his mother live in a small upstairs apartment is a pleasing urban landscape with walk-up flats, shops, and lots of human activity. The pictures and amusing storyline make this book a joy to read. In Goode's Tiger Trouble, Jack returns, this time with a friendly pet tiger (!) named Lily that lives with him in his apartment. When a fusty, fussy older man named Mr. Mud buys the building in which Jack resides, said new owner's first demand is that Jack get rid of the tiger because Mr. Mud "hates cats". But when tiger Lily catches a burglar trying to burgle Mr. Mud's apartment, the old man has a change of heart - as does his like-minded dog, Fifi, who previously supported Mr. Mud in his cat-hating ways. Once again, the great illustrations and simple, quirky storyline had us hooked. We'll be looking out for more of Diane Goode's work in the future!

The Three Little Rigs

The Three Little Rigs is a modern, and somewhat faithful, take on the classic tale of the Three Little Pigs. Penned and illustrated by David Gordon, it substitutes three little trucks for the porcine characters of the original story. The basic plot is the same as in the original, but instead of the wolf, there's a "big, bad wrecking ball", and instead of houses of straw, sticks, and bricks, there are "garages" made of wood, stone and steel. Kids who like trucks and all manner of machinery will dig the industrial settings, and many will delight in figuring out the various correspondences between the original tale and this updated version (even down to the one-letter difference in the title, which was noted by our four-year-old, who has a recent obsession with all the letters of the alphabet). All in all, this is an imaginative rendering of the age-old story, and we've been interspersing it with readings of the classic version now and then too.

Angus and the Cat

Originally published in the 1930s and recently reissued, Marjorie Flack's Angus and the Cat is a great story about a cute and curious scottie dog named Angus who is outwitted by a sly cat that comes to live in the house. The illustrations (nice color and crisp black & white) are wonderful, and the jaunty text will keep almost any child - toddler, preschooler, whatever - engaged. Don't think for a minute that the 1930s-era story might somehow be outdated, because it absolutely isn't. It's written in a timeless style with a unique sense of humor that both children and adults will find appealing. What's more, there are others we've read in the series that are equally good - Angus Lost, in which the insatiably curious scottie sneaks out of the house through an open door and has an unexpected adventure that has him later appreciating the true benefits of home, and Angus and the Ducks, in which he finally gets to find out what lurks on the other side of the massive hedge that borders his yard, only to find himself scurrying once again back to the safety and security of the little spot under the couch at home. All three have been reissued in inexpensive paperback editions with the original artwork, so you can't go wrong.