CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Angelo

David Macaulay

Houghton/Lorraine: 48 pp., $16

Despite his “professional dislike” for birds, an elderly plasterer named Angelo carries home an injured pigeon he comes across while restoring the exterior of a church. An unlikely friendship springs up as he nurses Sylvia back to health. Later, she returns the favor: When he moves a bit more slowly, she sticks around to “coo encouragement,” fanning him with her wings and entertaining him at lunchtime. David Macaulay knows how to get the most humor out of his illustrations, both in the finer details and the broader strokes. (All ages)

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Eloise Takes a Bawth

Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight with

“additional plumbing” by Mart Crowley

Simon & Schuster: 80 pp., $17.95

Ever-irrepressible Eloise absolutely loves taking a bawth, and her devotees will absolutely love seeing her “splawsh, splawsh, splawsh” her way through a delightfully disastrous -- yet ultimately propitious -- time in the tub. “You have to be absolutely careful when you take a bawth in a hotel,” announces the famous Plaza-dweller, who ignores her own advice and turns on all the faucets. A postscript explains that Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight collaborated on this book 40 years ago, and it has been brought to light with the help of playwright Mart Crowley. Since the buoyant art and humorously bubbly text surely rise to the level of its precursors, it’s high time this book appeared, “for Lord’s sake,” as Eloise herself might say. (Ages 5 and older)

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I Love Saturdays Y Domingos

Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Elivia Savadier

Simon & Schuster/Atheneum:

32 pp., $16.95

Through this affectionate and revealing portrait of a bilingual girl’s weekend visits to her two sets of grandparents, Alma Flor Ada (“Where the Flame Trees Bloom”) and Elivia Savadier (“A Bedtime Story”) prove that straddling two worlds can be a blessing rather than a hardship. The left of each spread depicts the narrator spending Saturdays with her paternal grandparents, with whom she speaks English; on the right, she passes los domingos (Sundays) with her Mexican American abuelito and abuelita and converses in Spanish. Each pairing makes for a loving comparison and contrast, enlivened by Savadier’s graceful, warm-toned watercolor spot illustrations. (Ages 4-8)

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The Great Pancake Escape

Paul Many, illustrated by Scott Goto

Walker & Co.: 32 pp., $16.95

After a magician father bungles breakfast, magical hotcakes lead three hungry children on a wild chase in this rhyming tale: “We had no chance to stop them / as they leaped up on their edges, / skittered quickly out the door, / and rolled right past the hedges.” The children spot the flapjacks posing as manhole covers, dog toys and wheels on skates, and, in an apparent nod to Magritte, serving as umbrellas for bowler-hatted citizens. A backward spell summons the pancakes home. (Ages 5-8)

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Counting Stars

David Almond

Delacorte: 206 pp., $16.95

In this evocative collection of autobiographical vignettes, David Almond’s writing exudes the same haunting mood that characterizes his novels (“Skellig,” “Heaven Eyes”). Here, readers can trace connecting threads between his works and childhood experiences as a sensitive, pensive child preoccupied by the mysteries of religion, death and immortality. (Ages 10 and older)

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John Coltrane’s Giant Steps

Chris Raschka

Atheneum/Jackson: 32 pp., $17

This innovative visual deconstruction of one of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane’s most beloved compositions may be Chris Raschka’s (“Mysterious Thelonious”) most ambitious picture book yet. The book does not require previous awareness of the jazz great’s work, however. Raschka’s transparent watercolors layer colors and shapes the way a musician would notes and harmonies. Stunningly simple, the concept provides a compelling introduction to Coltrane’s musical genius. A must for jazz enthusiasts and, for first-timers, a clever introduction to this wildly creative musical genre. (Ages 4-7)

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Once Upon a Farm

Marie Bradby, illustrated by Ted Rand

Scholastic/Orchard: 32 pp., $16.95

With the gentle cadence befitting a simpler time, Marie Bradby harvests a bounty of bucolic imagery for this poetic look at a family farm. A boy relates the challenges and sweet rewards that come with working the land. By book’s end, he sadly shares the information that suburban sprawl means the end of his farm home and way of life. Ted Rand’s (“Sailing Home”) parting illustration of a bulldozer razing tall trees brings home Bradby’s message in a quietly dramatic style. (Ages 4-7)

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Snow Day

Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Hideko Takahashi

Simon & Schuster: 32 pp., $16

“Yawn. / Hug the pillow. / A cozy, curled lump in the quilt. / Mama whispers, ‘Snow day, child.’ / The quilt bursts open. / Is it

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Stand Tall

Joan Bauer

Putnam: 192 pp., $16.99

In her heartfelt and humorous novel “Stand Tall,” Joan Bauer leaves teenage girl protagonists in favor of a middle-grade boy -- as she did also in “Sticks” (1996). But her fans won’t be disappointed. At first, 12-year-old Tree, “six feet, three and a half inches and growing,” only literally “stands tall.” Bolstered by his budding friendship with the outspoken new girl at school, Sophie, and by Grandpa, Tree finds an inner strength that helps him deal with just about anything, including a natural disaster. Bauer’s (“Hope Was Here”) swiftly paced story is a triumphant tale that will resonate with many young readers. (Ages 10 and older)