CLEVER BEATRICE AND THE BEST LITTLE PONY

Having bested a giant in her first outing, Beatrice returns to do battle with a tiny elf. Morning after morning, Beatrice finds her beloved pony thirsty, muddy, and covered in burrs. Puzzled, her mother suggests she consult the new bread maker, who is also an expert in all things not easily explained. Surmising that it’s a lutin, a strong elf in French-Canadian tradition, Monsieur Le Pain uses his “great big brain” to think about an answer for Beatrice. While she watches him work, she comes up with her own clever solution—his footprints in the flour around the table suggest flouring the stable floor to find out if it really is a tiny lutin. Three times she visits and each time, she leaves with a trick she thinks of herself. Finally, it comes time to get rid of the pesky elf, and Beatrice does the capturing. She’s not only clever this time around, she’s also brave, doing whatever it takes to save her pony. Willey’s telling is superb, and Solomon’s watercolor illustrations are full of rich, warm color, evoking the village life of yesteryear. A must for any folk collection. (Picture book. 4-9)