THE ADVENTURES OF ISABEL
by Ogden Nash & illustrated by James Marshall
These familiar, hilarious verses concern an enfant so terrible that she eats up the bear that plans to eat her, gives her physician the perfect comeuppance ("She took those pills from the pill concocter /And Isabel calmly cured the doctor"), and triumphs over other "bugaboos," including a bad dream. Marshall matches Nash's deft wit in his usual style: Isabel is a bit cross-eyed but comically assured, the bugaboos are fiercely funny, and there are miscellaneous delightful details to discover. (Picture book. 4-8)