ANT AND HONEY BEE

In this single-episode, upper-level easy reader, a pair of cohabiting insects get creative for a costume party, and even more so when things gang agley. Weary of their well-used pilgrim costumes, Ant mulls alternatives, then settles on a matched washer/dryer made from big cardboard boxes. The plan starts to go wrong as soon as the two stumble outside; not only can they barely see or walk, but no one on the way recognizes what they’re supposed to be—“Dancing computers. Very clever!” Then it starts to rain. Karas places his stick-limbed, dot-eyed mites in comfy domestic settings, adding oversized grass but not much else for background detail. By the time Ant and Bee arrive at the party, they’re dressed in soggy blobs—but rise to the occasion: “ ‘She’s a—BEEHIVE!’ said Ant. Honey Bee smiled. ‘And she’s an ANTHILL!’ ” Not quite Frog and Toad, but the two do show the same sort of contrasting temperaments, and young readers will enjoy seeing them land on their feet in the end. Look for further episodes. (Easy reader. 6-8)