LET'S GO SHOPPING, NED TIME FOR BED, NED

Two everyday experiences with bright illustrations and very simple texts, suitable for either the youngest lap-sitters or preprimer readers. Off with Dad and the huge family dog (Fred) to buy a sweater, Ned is involved in a whirlwind of activity, first helping to retrieve groceries for the lady he and Fred have inadvertently knocked down, then hopping along to shop for a sweater in spite of the irrepressible Fred, who gets to keep the sweater he enthusiastically stretches. It's Mom who chases the elusive Ned at bedtime--up a tree, into the doghouse, then into a wild, wet bath before a contented good-night hug. It's rare to find such simple texts actually using real speech patterns as well as making playfully poetic use of the repetitions and rhyming words so educational to beginning readers--and so charming to beginning talkers. Denton's splashy illustrations swirl with activity in a cheerful blend of wide-eyed innocence and mischievous good humor. This should provoke chuckles from small listeners--and their parents.