Wagner and Pearl return in three episodes taking place on April Fools' Day. In the first, Wagner is duped by one joke after another. In the second, he tries to learn to dance in gym class but ends up dejected, sitting on the sidelines while Pearl struts her stuff. In the third, he creates a prank to get the last laugh on his classmates. Alley's expressive ink-and-watercolor illustrations portray Wagner's shifting emotions with clarity and finesse. McMullen shows clearly why many children have mixed feelings about April Fools' Day. A brightly illustrated book in the Pearl and Wagner beginning-reader series.

Everybody seems clued in that it's April Fools' Day except mouse Wagner. The challenges that result are presented in three satisfying chapters. Though he's a little slow on the uptake, Wagner manages to get the last laugh. McMullan's easy-reader text has a reliable partner in Alley's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations that add a gentle pastel wash to the sometimes-painful schoolyard jockeying.

K-Gr 2 As the school year comes to a close, Pearl, a rabbit, and Wagner, a mouse, are thinking ahead and curious about Ms. Bean, who will be their teacher in the fall. While walking down the hall, Pearl peers inside Ms. Bean's classroom, and it is quiettoo quiet. Her imagination runs wild as she conjures up horrible things that youngsters might be forced to do in Ms. Bean's class, frightening herself and the others when she tells them. When the teacher and her current class visit with Pearl and Wagner's, bringing snacks from their garden, the children have an opportunity to ask questions. Soon their worries are alleviated. (No, they will not be made to count backward from 100 by sevens.) The pen-and-ink, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations feature characters' emotions that are easy to interpret, and they will draw readers in. Children who worry about what the next school year might hold for them will find this book reassuring. Janene Corbin, Rosebank Elementary School, Nashville, TN