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 Emma Kate, by Patricia Polacco [$6.99 paper] – That adorable Emma Kate has an imaginary friend. They walk to school together every morning and sit together in class. They sleep over at each other’s houses and do their homework side by side. They even have their tonsils out and eat gallons of pink ice cream together. But a hilarious twist will have readers realizing there’s more to this imaginary friend than meets the eye! Polacco’s artwork is as strong as ever with black & white drawings, making the girl’s red dress a constant focal point.
 Pete & Pickles, by Berkeley Breathed [$17.99 hardcover] – A pig named Pete leads a perfectly predictable and sensible existence until Pickles, the runaway circus elephant, turns it upside-down. Pickles possesses the joie de vivre of Auntie Mame (and the extensive wardrobe to carry it off with élan). She takes Pete swan-diving off Niagara Falls and sledding down the Matterhorn: that both of these activities unfold in places that are a far cry from the actual locales doesn't make them any less exciting to the increasingly game Pete. Breathed (Mars Needs Moms!) writes in that giddy blend of skepticism and romanticism that have made his Pulitzer Prize-winning Bloom County comic strip a must-read-he creates not just a series of funny/tender vignettes but an emotional rollercoaster of a story, complete with a gripping life-or-death climax. Yet it's the digital artwork that's the real grabber. With nods to Hokusai and Hopper, Magritte and film noir, Breathed achieves a dreamy intensity, a sculptural heft that makes these images his most evocative and expansive to date. Ages 3-5.
 The Doll People, by Ann Matthews, Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick [$6.99 paper] – A family of dolls has lived in the same house for 100 years. Feeling restless, Annabelle, the 8-year-old daughter doll, decides to solve a family mystery and discover what happened to her Auntie Sarah who disappeared 45 years ago. Now exploring the world outside the dollhouse for the first time, Annabelle encounters the Funcraft family, another, more modern, family of dolls. Named one the Best Children's Books 2000 by Publishers Weekly.
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