LUNCH WITH AUNT AUGUSTA

Poor Jemima! As the youngest ring-tailed lemur, she trails her two brothers on their way through the jungle canopy to visit their aunt; worse, after gorging on the delicious fruits at Aunt Augusta's splendid table, she falls even farther behind on the way home, slips, and tumbles to the jungle floor. There, she is discovered by terrifying-looking bats. ""Please don't eat me,"" Jemima begs, but these are friendly fruit bats; rigging a leaf sling, they carry her safely home, where she is justly scolded for overeating and her brothers get into trouble for abandoning their little sister. Jungle lore, sibling universals, and some nice whimsical details (e.g., the lemurs' chief rule of etiquette--they must hold their tails straight aloft while eating)--all make for a charming story, much enhanced by the author's outstanding watercolors, which bring the treetop world beguilingly to life. The lemurs' striped tails make an intriguing visual accent, while the sequence with the bats is pleasantly dark and dramatic. Well wrought, with a satisfying story.