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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Nanette's Baguette, words and pictures by Mo Willems. Hyperion Books for Children, Hachette. 2016. $18.99 ages 3 and up

"But on the way ...

Nanette sees
Georgette!

And Suzette!

And Bret
(with his clarinet)!"

Who among us would ever doubt Mo Willems' unique ability to get to the heart and soul of a child's struggle for independence? Nanette is sure that she can run a very important errand for her mother. Today's the day that Nanette is tasked with getting the baguette. It is her biggest job yet.

You can bet she is ready for the task at hand. But, there are some distractions along the way. After meeting some dear friends, she also encounters Mr. Barnett and his pet, Antoinette. Oops! Not to be deterred from the task at hand, Nanette is soon on her way. She buys her baguette from Baker Juliette.

There is just one big problem - have you ever handled a warm, aromatic, fresh from the oven baguette? It is just too tempting. Soon, the baguette is eaten and Nanette must return home to tell her mother. What other option does she have? " A jet to Tibet?" Mom knows the allure of a fresh baked baguette, and offers to 'reset' the errand, with a little parental help. Will Mom be as tempted by its deliciousness as Nanette was? I wonder .

The cast of green frogs is sure to set tongues wagging as the story does its level best to make readers laugh out loud. The art created for this terrific book is described as 'composed of photographed handcrafted cardboard-and-paper constructions digitally integrated with photographed illustrations and additions". Now, you can really pore over them to see what you see, and there is a lot there. The endpapers help us see exactly what happened to that first baguette.

You'll need to read this out loud to yourself a few times before you are ready to share it. But, share it you will, and then again and again. Too much fun to read only one time ... your listeners won't allow for that!

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