THE LITTLE PUDDLE

Behavior modeling for the almost potty-trained, with some decidedly odd developments between its padded covers.

Pip has so much fun playing at his friend Posy’s house that he “forgot he needed to pee.” No problem: With a soothing, “It’s OK, Pip,” and, “Everyone has accidents sometimes,” Posy mops up the puddle and then leads him to her dresser, from which he selects a fetching sundress to wear in place of his pants. In cartoon illustrations as simple as the one-or-two-sentence-per-spread text, Scheffler portrays the pair—one a bunny, the other probably a mouse—playing happily in a succession of adult-free indoor settings that are heavily strewn with toys and popeyed, bemused-looking dolls. Readers, too, may be a bit bemused when Pip not only takes his next pee sitting down (on a training potty), but then joins Posy in the sudsy tub that she’s drawn and prepared.

A cozy “playdate.” (Picture book. 3-5)