K-Gr 2-The Spanielsons, first introduced in The Octopus (HarperCollins, 2005), are back, and Barney is still down with chicken pox. Grandma thinks that the best treatment is cocoa and plenty of time to rest, but Grandpa has other ideas. "What he needs is another one of my famous anti-itch chicken pox stories." Instead of washing the windows, a task Grandma gives him, he sneaks up a ladder to tell his grandpup a ridiculous story-one in which he was a fire chief and answered the call to save Mrs. Piggerman's life. By the end of the tale, Barney's itches are getting better. One seldom sees a beginning reader with such strong characters and an equally appealing plot-Cazet has created both, added hilarious illustrations, and made a neat little package for all to enjoy.-Anne Knickerbocker, formerly at Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

The second of "Grandpa Spanielson's Chicken Pox Stories" matches the first, Octopus (January 2005), for rib-tickling, comfy charm. Young Barney, speckled with chicken pox, rests uncomfortably in bed until Grandpa, sent outside by Grandma to wash windows, climbs a ladder to Barney's room and regales the pup with a distracting tale from his supposed days as Fire Chief. This one's about the time he and the crew rescued broad-beamed Mrs. Piggerman from her freezer after her snout stuck to an icy box of chocolates. Hysterical. Fledgling readers will happily sit down with the floppy-eared patient to hear Grandpa's sly embedded yarn—finished off to cozy perfection with a cup of hot cocoa brought in at the end by Grandma. While no one wishes Barney's chicken pox to last forever, readers will certainly want Grandpa's tales to keep on making them laugh even if they have to become Grandpa's head-cold stories. (Easy reader. 5-7)

Grandpa Spanielson's second "famous anti-itch chicken pox" story goes straight for slapstick, recounting the time Grandpa rescued Mrs. Piggerman, who was stuck in the refrigerator with her snout frozen to a box of chocolate. Conversation balloons carry part of the plot, adding a measure of sophistication for beginning readers but also directing their attention to illustrations that mirror the action.