Lisa Prend L'avion

When Lisa goes on a plane trip by herself for the first time, her flight from Paris to New York is extremely eventful. She sits next to a "blue lady" (she's wearing a blue dress) who ends up moving after Lisa squirms a bit too much. Before she can nap for very long on her newly empty stretch of seats, food arrives on a tray. And if that weren't thrilling enough, a movie (Cowboys Forever) comes on, and in the attempt to see over the seats (Lisa is a small dog), she knocks over her orange juice glass. This sets off a whole new chain of events, as "the airplane lady" gives her a bath in the bathroom sink and she gets a special tour of the cockpit (where the pilots tell the newly soaped dog she smells nice). By the time she gets back to her seat, she's in America, "all clean." Granted, this is a simple story. Its charm lies in Anne Gutman's funny, loving details and in Georg Hallensleben's ever irresistible paintings of small moments: the spattered orange paint as her juice goes everywhere, the very cute sink bath, etc. This is the perfect book for any youngster who's about to go on a plane ride, or anyone else, for that matter. Luckily for us, this, and its companion Gaspard on Vacation mark the start of what promises to be a delightful series. Highly recommended! (Ages 2 to 6) --Karin Snelson