Petal and Poppy

K-Gr 2—In this first book in the new series, Clough introduces readers to best friends Petal and Poppy. Petal is a worrier who loves to play the tuba, while Poppy is always up for an adventure. One sunny day while Petal is practicing her tuba, Poppy decides to escape the loud noise and go scuba diving. Petal sees Poppy leaving, and begins to worry about all of the bad things that could happen to Poppy in the ocean, so she asks if she can go too. Unfortunately, Petal is too scared to scuba dive, so she sits in the boat worrying and practicing her tuba while Poppy explores the ocean. Although Petal is scared, she doesn't hesitate to jump in to look for Poppy when she begins to worry about her friend's safety. Clough uses several multi-syllable words that emerging readers may find challenging. An additional purchase for beginning reader collections.—Joy Poynor, Rogers Public Library, AR