Three Fun Romps with Great Endings

Construction, written by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock.  This follow-up to Roadwork and Demolition invites audience participation as construction workers and machines noisily team up to create something very cool.  It's fun to periodically ask the children "what are they making?" and hear the answers they offer.  This follows the same formula as the first two books:  each spread shows a machine at work (Lovelock's vibrant illustrations fill the page) and a staccato rhyme captures the sound of the process:  "Hoist the wood.  Hoist the wood.  Chain and hook and strap.  Swing it round, then lower it down.  THONK! CLONK! CLAP!"  The rhymes invite clapping and movement, and kids love shouting the sound effects with you.  I won't spoil the ending's surprise:  but it's one that brings big smiles from all.

Duck in the Fridge, written and illustrated by Jeff Mack.  Mack continues his winning streak with this delightful and silly bedtime story.  A son asks his father why he always reads Mother Goose to him at bedtime, and the bespectacled pa responds "it all started when I found a duck in the fridge."  Say what?  What follows is an outlandishly goofy account of an incident from the father's childhood, perfectly captured in Mack's charming cartoon illustrations.  Ducks overtake the house, and calls to 1-800-DUCK-B-GONE prove fruitless:  they keep sending more animals who end up partying with rather than scaring the pun-spewing fowl, causing more chaos to ensue.  The resourceful lad comes up with the perfect solution to calm down these mischievous critters, and thus the son learns how Mother Goose comes to the bedtime rescue.  A blast!

Hug Machine, written and illustrated by Scott Campbell.  This instantly lovable romp introduces a boy who has declared himself the Hug Machine!  Campbell's delightful deadpan drawings serve as a comical contrast to the first person text.  As the wondrous hugger brags about how no one can resist his hugging and hugs everyone in sight, the rather perplexed expressions of some of the huggees tell a different story:  they look mildly confused by the hug and aren't really hugging back.  I love the absurdity of this book:  the hero hugs everything he sees, and that includes fire hydrants, trees, porcupines (hey you don't know what you're missing when you don't hug porcupines), and even whales.  Pizza fuels this perpetual hugger, but even hug machines tire out.  Does he have energy for one last hug?  A real delight.