THE THIEVES OF PECK'S POCKET

The innovative creator of Sun's Up (1987) tells an imaginative tale about three animal burglars who plant a ""Captigonia scoundrelis,"" which then becomes a huge vine trapping them in their house; escaping, they choose a new role as gardeners, generous with their copious produce. An attention-grabber written in an amusing, vocabulary-expanding style in which most of the unexpected words are defined by their context; lively, suitably fantastical illustrations.