NO BOWS!

She’s freethinking and opinionated and about five years old. She’s Duke’s delectable little girl who is not about to accept just anything put before her. No piano . . . Drums. No vanilla . . . Tutti-frutti. No night-light . . . Stars. The text is quick and rolling, with a sharp pace that is tempered by the quality of the illustrations. Rendered in handsome, burnished colors that nonetheless have an element of dazzle to them, and with the young knows-what-she-wants emotions writ large in her body language, Mattheson’s artwork squarely hits the dismissiveness and the high-stepping brio of each choice. The book is destined to be a high-volume read-aloud, and much fun can be had trying to guess what the girl will choose once she has spurned the puppy, the crayons and the sandbox, since her answers are given on the next page. As for the bedtime hugs, will she sniff at them? Go on and guess. (Picture book. 2-5)