(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith. Auctions make Aunt Lou tick, but she has a bidding nemesis, Miss Logsdon. When Aunt Lou's niece settles on an old straw hat, she enters the bidding war and becomes the first to out-bid the dueling ladies. Smith's red-faced bidders, dapper auctioneer, and tabletops with old china, antlers, and a stuffed groundhog perfectly animate the humor in this country event.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop. A young boy wonders about his neighbor, Melville Murrell, who talks to birds and wants to fly. Murrell builds a flying contraption, and the boy is astounded when it lifts off the ground. This fictionalized glimpse of an actual pre-Wright-brothers invention is illustrated with expressive acrylic paintings. Repetition of the titular phrase becomes tedious, but the book is interesting for its unfamiliar subject. An author's note offers additional background.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington. It looks like Farmer Puckett won't be able to haul the town's Fourth of July fireworks to the fairground this year, because his new mule, Jake Johnson, sat down and won't get up. Illustrated with bright, blocky caricatures, this spirited tall tale features down-home storytelling and colorful characters, including Mrs. Puckett, whose idea to light a fire under that "fool mule" has spectacularly unintended results.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann