TUESDAY

On Tuesday, just as the full moon is rising, the lily pads take off—each topped by a serene, personable frog.

This extraordinary flock startles some dozing birds and blunders into a line full of sheets before joining a woman drowzing by her TV; with dawn approaching, the frogs set out for home but don't quite make it before their magic carpets fall to earth, leaving them to hop back to the pond and the passing humans to marvel at the unusual debris in the road. This is a nearly wordless book (and its few words only add confusion: if the frogs' adventure is linked to the full moon, next Tuesday won't duplicate the magic as suggested). The illustrations are grand—the fey events are depicted with beguiling realism, the plump frogs washed in luminous moonlight, drifting silently on their eerie escapade. Wiesner varies his double spreads with occasional insets and frames, and provides plenty of intriguing visual details to ponder.

Nifty! (Picture book. 3+)