for reading aloud. Poppleton pig and his friend Cherry Sue, the llama, are featured in three short autumnal episodes. In the first, several groups of geese with rhyming names stop for cookies, leaving Poppleton babbling incoherently; in the second, Poppleton is dismayed when the local tailor dubs him too portly to fit into a winter coat; and, in the third, he incurs the ire of the chefs at the annual Lions Club pancake breakfast by trying to order plain pancakes for Cherry Sue. Calm, level-headed Cherry Sue provides solutions in each case: a nap, a Big and Tall Pigs mail-order catalog, and a change of order, respectively, all of which prompts her porky companion to allow that she's a perfect friend. Poppleton and Cherry Sue bear a passing resemblance to James Marshall's George and Martha. Teague's illustrations, done in soft lines and restrained colors, aren't as minimalist as Marshall's, but Poppleton's dot-eyed face is just as eloquently expressive. There's no mischief to add spark to the central relationship--but readers will enjoy the droll humor and sweetly steady friendship. (Reviewed October 15, 1999)

Poppleton feeds three flocks of migrating geese and gets tuckered out; buys a new coat with his friend Cherry Sue's help after a discouraging encounter with the local tailor; and invites Cherry Sue to the Lion's Club pancake breakfast where the lion cooks become irate when he orders plain pancakes. Poppleton fans may not get the more subtle points of Rylant's story, but Teague's expressive, energetic illustrations will please.

This latest in an early-reading series from Rylant, featuring the everyday adventures of Poppleton the pig, is as wry and supple as other entries, with the added charm of familiarity. In three stories, Poppleton's pal Cherry Sue serves as a safety net to the pig's minor misadventures. The first is a bit of nonsense involving geese flying south; Poppleton invites them in for cookies, but chatting and serving so many geese exhausts him so that he can only utter gibberish when he drops by Cherry Sue's, and succumbs to a nap. When Poppleton seeks a new winter coat, Zacko the ferret haberdasher insults the pig for his rotundity. Cherry Sue, reminding Poppleton that Zacko is a ferret, after all, with a radically different perspective on big and small, gives her friend a catalog for big and tall pigs. Lastly, Cherry Sue saves Poppleton's bacon at the Lion's Club pancake breakfast. If the prose invites a merry, humorous reading, Teague, hitting the illustrator's equivalent of a perfect stride, provides wonderful scenes that conduct beginning readers through the story. (Picture book. 2-7)

Gr 1-3 Three more easy-to-read stories starring the lovable pig and his friends. The text never exceeds six lines per page, and Rylant employs plenty of repetition and rhyming words to recount Poppleton's adventures. In the first story, he invites two southbound Canada geese in for cookies. As soon as they leave, five more land and come in for a treat. As soon as they are gone, eight more arrive, leaving their genial host exhausted. Next, Poppleton shops for a winter coat, and in the third selection, he and Cherry Sue attend the Lion's Club's annual Pancake Breakfast (prepared by lions, of course). Teague's whimsical watercolors are full of humorous touches and seasonal details. A perfect package for beginning readers that will be read and shared throughout the year. Olga R. Barnes, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.