May Belle is a perky little blonde with fuzzy black eyebrows, freckles, and bare feet. She lives with her tiny dog in a cottage in the mountains, where she meets Ogre, a furry gray critter (with fuzzy black eyebrows) who seems in need of a friend. In three short chapters, May Belle and Ogre get to know each other, and Ogre becomes more civilized due to May Belle’s no-nonsense guidance. First Ogre gets a bath, a pink bow, and pink toenail polish; then he learns to bake a blueberry pie; and finally he craves the warmth of a home and friends and moves in with May Belle and her dog. The easy-to-read text is interspersed with lots of sound-effect words in all caps, along with several short songs that May Belle sings, set in a different typeface in curving lines. Winborn’s whimsical illustrations add clever touches to the overall effort, and her May Belle might be a country cousin of Sendak’s Rosie. (Easy reader. 6-8)
