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Olivia Forms a Band

Olivia must be the Harry Potter of the younger-than-preschool set. Every new book comes out - this is the fourth in the series - and all the related commercial tie-ins, and yet the quality of the story never suffers! This latest book is perfect Olivia. If you don't know her, you'll love her, and if you are familiar with her antics, you'll adore the latest set of them. There are moments in the story - usually the little, side, almost-irrelevant-to-the-plot moments - where the combination of the writing and the illustrations are so droll that you will literally laugh out loud. Olivia is the porcine reincarnation of almost every toddler I know, and the thoughts that she gives voice to will teach you how to laugh through the petty struggles of your day with a little one. In this book, she finds her mother's fireworks plans sadly lacking in musical accompaniment and promptly forms a one-pig band to remedy the situation. The story - which is a bit long for the youngest readers -- has a fine, summer night feel to it when you read about picnics and fireworks shows, but really this is a charmer for any old night of the year.

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