HOW TO GET MARRIED--BY ME, THE BRIDE

With comical insouciance, a self-appointed bridal expert discourses on all things matrimonial. From courtship through the reception, a diminutive bride-to-be offers advice on a plethora of wedding minutiae. Moving along at a jaunty pace, tongue-in-cheek dialogue strives to accommodate all eventualities. A litany of spousal choices ranging from a favored flower to your best friend is bound to tickle funny bones. Kernels of wisdom are freely scattered throughout the tale. As the narrator sagely observes, regarding potential bridegrooms, “If you marry a noisy shouting person, he will give you a headache.” This sprightly tale offers readers a hilarious and mostly on-target child’s-eye perception of what are the really important parts of weddings. Heap’s acrylic-and-crayon illustrations reflect the playfulness of the tale. Her sketches of the child bride-to-be blithely orchestrating her big day with her friends, who happily throw themselves into the playacting, are an integral component of the story’s joie de vivre. Aspiring brides and starry-eyed flower girls alike will be enchanted. (Picture book. 4-8)