JAKE’S BEST THUMB

Jake’s left thumb is his best thumb, wrinkled from sucking, “a prince among thumbs,” according to Jake’s uncle. He’s gotten very good at doing everything he needs to with only his other thumb: Why stop sucking it? But when he starts kindergarten, bully Cliff teases him mercilessly, until the day Jake discovers that a scrap of blankie has fallen out of Cliff’s pocket.…The text, although lengthy, displays endless warmth and compassion for Jake and his thumb, but it’s Muñoz’s fluid ink-and-watercolor paintings that make this stand out, investing even minor characters with enormous personality. A terrific twist that combines two well-worn plots in one successful tale. (Picture book. 4-8)