Harriet Gets Carried Away

Fancy and whimsy continue in the last spread: party guest Olivia attends in a wolf suit, accompanied by a pack of real (nonscary) wolves, all clearly getting carried away.

Dress-up-loving Harriet wears costumes everywhere; in one early scene, Sima (Not Quite Narwhal) shows her in the dentist's chair, opening her mouth wide while inside an equally toothy dinosaur outfit. Dressed as a penguin, Harriet--who has dark skin, curly hair, and two fathers--heads to the grocery store with her dads before her birthday party, where she discovers a group of actual penguins replenishing their supply of bagged ice. Before she knows it, Harriet is aloft with them in their hot-air balloon, headed back to their polar home. Readers who fear that Harriet will be marooned or miss her birthday party will relax as an orca and a flock of pigeons help bring her back to the store, and the party goes off without a hitch. Harriet is a resourceful city child, the kind of girl who has no problem negotiating with an orca (she trades her red bow tie for a lift). The narrator's offhand, unruffled voice ("So Harriet called in a favor from some friends she knew") makes Harriet's intrepid adventure a delightful readaloud. Ages 4-8. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Mar.)

A young girl in a penguin costume sets off to pick out some birthday hats and gets a little carried away. Harriet lives in the big city with her two dads. She absolutely loves costumes and wears them whenever she can, not just to costume parties or for Halloween. On the day of her birthday party, Harriet puts on her special errand-running Penguin costume, and she and her dads head to the store to pick up party supplies. But when she encounters a group of real penguins Harriet gets a little carried away, and before she realizes her mistake she's on a hot air balloon heading to Antarctica. Harriet is determined to get home for her party, and after a few failed escape attempts she does find her way back to her dads in time to pick out party hats. The language is silly and sweet, and the digital illustrations are filled with tiny details and soothing pastels. Harriet's numerous costumes are cute, and the pages are populated by a diverse group of children and adults. VERDICT Children will enjoy this clever and affectionate tale with an exuberant young protagonist. Probably best enjoyed one-on-one as readers will love watching Harriet bring magic and imagination to the world around her.—Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library