The Bookstore Valentine (Penguin Young Readers, L3)
Kindergarten-Grade 3-The Black Cat Bookstore and Cobweb the cat are back, this time with the feline in the role of matchmaker for the kind and portly owner, Mr. Brown (who has the most fabulous neckties). Valentine's Day is near and the bookstore is jumping (titles like My Boo-tiful Ghost and Spooktacular Love Stories fly off the shelves). Prim Miss Button, sporting a jaunty ghost pin, is hired to help out. She's perfect for the job in every way: she likes ghosts, books about ghosts, cheese, cats- and Mr. Brown (and he likes her, too), so Cobweb and the bookstore's rambunctious mice team up to bring the shy duo together. Fans of The Bookstore Ghost (1998) and The Bookstore Burglar (2001, both Dutton) are already wise to the antics of the mischievous mice who are responsible for "haunting" the bookstore. New readers will enjoy making this discovery as they spy the critters slyly nudging books off shelves. LaRochelle (who did not illustrate the previous two "Bookstore" titles) adds just the right note of whimsy to the four short chapters of simple text with bright, cheerful, cleverly detailed cartoon drawings. A winsome addition to beginning-reader collections.Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NYCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.