The big mess and other stories

K-Gr 2--In this second outing for Pizzoli's odd couple, messy Earl and tidy Worm spend a day going through the junk pile Earl is throwing away. Worm comes across plenty of salvageable items and returns home at the end of the day to find that she now has a mess of her own to clean up, which makes her happy. The next story sees Earl finding a lucky penny. When the rest of his day casts the penny's luckiness into doubt, chipper Earl understands that his friendship with Worm is his true luck. In the final story, Earl and Worm decide to stay up all night so they can watch the sunrise, but staying awake turns out to be more difficult than they anticipated. Readers will find their expectations joyfully upended at every turn in this charming title. Each line of text is limited to just a few words, making generous use of white space for new readers. Pizzoli's familiar, cheerful cartoon-style complements the gentle humor of the text. VERDICT This new standout early reader series is highly recommended for general purchase.--Rachel Owens

Earl and Worm return--hooray! Once again, odd-couple Earl (a bird) and his neighbor Worm (who's the same size as Earl and thus definitely not his prey) pair up in a trio of stories that are just right for new readers. First, neatnik Worm helps clutter-bug Earl get rid of some items he no longer needs--and ends up acquiring many of those things for herself. The second tale sees the usually affable Earl despairing after a lucky penny he finds seems to bring him bad luck instead of good, until Worm makes everything better. In the final story, Earl goes along with Worm's determined effort to stay up all night to watch the sunrise. Each entry displays thoughtful timing that ramps up the humor--for instance, a comical denouement to "The Lucky Penny" shows bad luck befalling Worm after she resolves Earl's woes. Throughout, Pizzoli's expertise in marrying words and cartoon-style pictures will support new readers' decoding skills while enhancing the storytelling, such as when Earl's stuff spills over the book's gutter onto Worm's otherwise-tidy side. Pizzoli's line drawings are simple yet expressive; Worm's grumpy looks are especially delightful to behold. Another surefire hit in this winsome series.(Early reader. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.