Tony Baloney
Tony Baloney is a macaroni penguin� begins this odd duck of a picture book, and he likes fish tacos and Little Green Walrus Guys. If that doesn�t make a whole lot of sense to you, well, buckle up. In the world of Tony Baloney�the troublesome middle child in a family of penguins�nonsense and exaggeration are par for the course. When they play, Tony�s big sister always gets to be the Boss of the World, while Tony always has to be the kitty. (No, this doesn�t make sense, but kids� play worlds rarely do) Frustration leads to acting out, and soon Tony is commiserating with his stuffed animal Dandelion inside their cardboard box hideout: �After Tony Baloney has been in the hidey-space for maybe a year, or twenty minutes, he feels a teensy bit lonely, and Dandelion feels a teensy bit like apologizing.� Ryan fills the story with memorably random details (what�s up with everyone�s obsession with Parmesan cheese?), and Fotheringham�s digitally rendered illustrations give things a Crayola-bright pizzazz. Totally goofy, but totally fun. Preschool-Grade 1. --Daniel Kraus