Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book
Beverly Billingsly is terrified. She can't eat--not even chocolate cake.  She can't sleep. What could be so horrific for the youngster? Her library bookDinosaurs of the Cretaceous Period--checked out using her very-first-ever  library card--is overdue! Her friends aren't much help: Sheila tells Beverly she  will probably owe about a thousand dollars in fines, and Carlton proclaims, "My  mother's friend's cousin's brother was late with a library book, and he went to  jail." Even in her dreams, a green triceratops warns, "Return me,  Beverleeeeeee!" Needless to say, Beverly is quite relieved when the hip new  librarian Mrs. Del Rubio dismisses her two-day-late book with a smile and gentle  note of caution.William Steig (Sylvester and the  Magic Pebble) meets Lucy Cousins (of Maisy fame) in Alexander Stadler's  completely charming picture-book tribute to libraries and the joy of reading.  Early readers will relate to Beverly's voracious enjoyment of her chosen book as  well as her overblown, stomach ache-inducing fears about the consequences of it  being overdue. (Her gushed confession to her concerned mother goes as follows:  "I have to return the book, and the dinosaur is mad at me, and Mrs. Del Rubio is  going to take all my money, and I don't want to go to jail!")The simple illustrations are expressive and winning--with fabulous  characterizations of the not-so-helpful Carlton, hilarious depictions of  imagined jail scenarios, and small-but-wonderful details like the book's due  date, April 7, printed in red all over Beverly's pajamas during the "nightmare  sequence." A fine addition to any young booklover's shelf.  (Ages 3 to 7)--Karin Snelson--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.