PERCY GETS UPSET

Murphy’s I See I Learn series continues with two new titles aimed at teaching kids valuable emotional and social skills. Percy’s day is not going well. He can’t find his other shoe, doesn’t want to leave his playdate and doesn’t feel like eating at dinnertime or sleeping at bedtime. Vocabulary words for Percy's feelings (frustrated, grumpy) are set in bold type, while body language speaks to them. His parents encourage him to calm down, stop and think, take a deep breath, talk about it and count to ten. Backmatter includes a visual summary of feelings and ways to deal with them and “A Closer Look,” which poses questions to readers to help them analyze their own feelings and behaviors. Also coming out in February 2011 is Camille’s Team. Camille’s favorite beach activity is building a sand fort. As three friends arrive, they decide to each build their own forts, too. But progress is slow working separately. When they decide to team up and cooperate, other beachgoers stop and take notice of the result. Murphy explicates the steps to good cooperation with insets and diagrams and includes some thought-provoking follow-up questions. The simple, brightly colored illustrations keep the focus on the facial expressions and body language of his anthropomorphized cast of characters. Two more solid entries to a useful, if not particularly artful series. (Picture book. 3-5)