Gaga Mistake Day

Gaga, the glamorous grandmother of this book's young narrator, revels in defying convention throughout a rollicking familial portrait by mother-daughter Susan (Reading with Babies, Toddlers & Twos, for adults) and Emma Straub (Very Good Hats). Cataloging the ways that Gaga turns things upside down when visiting her grandchild each week, the child begins broadly: "She makes lots of mistakes." When grandmother and grandchild walk to the park, "Gaga makes up silly rules, like we can only walk backwards the whole way, or we can only walk on cracks in the sidewalk." When the child, portrayed with light brown skin, teaches pale-skinned Gaga ballet moves, Gaga "does them all wonky." Gaga sometimes annoys the grandchild's parents by being generous with marsh- mallows before dinner, and filling the tub at bath time with mountains of bubbles that have to be mopped up. ("Mistakes are fun, aren't they?" Gaga says.) As the Straubs highlight with panache the importance--and pleasure--of breaking the rules, Love (A Bed of Stars) captures Gaga's Auntie Mame-style dash, spontaneity, and sartorial splendor, and the air of conspi- ratorial delight that she and her grandchild share. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)