The Elephants and the Shirtmaker

The Elephants and the Shirtmaker by Liza Charlesworth, illustrated by Doug Jones

A shirtmaker is down on his luck and only has a few scraps of traffic. He leaves it out at night and wakes in the morning to find a shirt fully sewn. He buys more fabric, and each morning finds shirts made. There are some clues as to who did it : hay and peanuts. One day, the elephants are scared of a mouse and wake the shirtmakers. They see the elephants and their ratty shirts. They make nice shirts for them and thank them for their work and let them know they are doing well enough on their own now. It is a fun fairy tale I have not heard often before.

City Moose, Country Moose

City Moose, Country Moose (Let's Learn Readers) by Liza Charlesworth, illustrated by Doug Jones

A moose living in the country invites is movie-star cousin to visit. They try to have fun together, but the city moose does not enjoy country things (like eating grass from a big field.) They decide to go together in the city. The country moose marvels at the opulence of his cousin's life. However, he does not enjoy life in the city. The country moose is happy to go back to the country. It is a simple message of enjoying where you are.

The Ugly Guppy

The Ugly Guppy by Liza Charlesworth and Doug Jones

A guppy is born with the 1000 other eggs. He looks different and doesn't fit in. He visits other fish, and gets more depressed at his differences. He grows legs and then hops out. Another frog lets him know they he is a frog and he is now happy. It is a little wordy for a beginning reader, but not that bad of a book.