“Tonight Maisy is putting on a show with her friends. She is very excited.” Her legions of fans will be, too. The clear, declarative and enthusiastically ingenuous text follows the troupe of animals through rehearsal, costuming and set decoration, simple movable elements providing just the right amount of jazz. Maisy tap-dances, Charley the croc does a cartwheel (“Ready, set, flip!”), Tallulah, quite fabulously, pirouettes around a mirror. The final big reveal is just that: Readers pull aside a curtain to reveal a pop-out tableau of all the characters in foil-accented costume onstage and ready to perform. Big and simple enough to dazzle a group of toddlers, it will also work well in a lap and should hold up to enough repeated readings to satisfy most little ones until they are ready to move on. (Pop-up. 2-4)
