Underpants Dance

PreS-Gr 1—Lily McBloom has brand-new, pink, lacy underpants. She can't help but dance around to show them off, and she loves it when others laugh at her antics. However, big sister Marigold is not impressed, and she tells Lily that the Underpants Dance is no longer acceptable for a girl who is growing up. Deciding to investigate, Lily finds several examples of grown-ups dancing in their underpants, but Marigold discounts each case. When Lily is given plain pants to wear over her lovely underpants, she finds a way to overcome her disappointment. Lily is a cheerful and resourceful character who simply devises new plans to continue frolicking around in her underpants upon being thwarted. Avril, illustrator of recent "Amelia Bedelia" books, offers similar images for this title. Her gouache paint-on-paper technique, with black ink outlines, makes each figure colorful and expressive, with plenty of action on each spread. An appealing cover, a heavy emphasis on the color pink, and Lily's fun-loving attitude add up to a solid picture book purchase that will be popular.—Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA