MRS. ARMITAGE

What could be more appealing than Mrs. Anastasia Armitage, sitting at table opposite her dog Breakspear of a morning, reading Uncle Cosmo’s letter informing her that he’s given her his old car. Tying back her silvery hair and wrapping a lavender scarf about her throat, she and Breakspear immediately lose the car’s hubcaps by driving over a big hole in the road: “bing bong dang boing!” Fenders and bumpers are lost on the way to the junkyard, hood and roof soon after. As the two take off for the blissful countryside, all the doors and the trunk fall off. But then Uncle Cosmo appears on his new motorbike, with his new friends “Gizzy and Lulu, Ferdinando and Smudge.” They outfit Mrs. Armitage—and what’s left of the car—appropriately and all go off to the Crazy Duck Café. Blake does more with squiggly black pen strokes and near-random splotches of color wash than many illustrators could do with much more, and he’s as giggle-inducing as they come. Excellent for read-alouds, and besides, it will remind you to pull out his Captain Najork stories once again. (Picture book. 4-8)