ASK ME by Bernard Waber. Illustrated by Suzy Lee.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2015. 32p. ISBN 978-054773394-4 hc. $16.99  PreS - Gr.2   E PIC

Waber, award winning author of LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE and IRA SLEEPS OVER, actually died in 2013, leaving this tender story of a young girl and her father as they walk through their neighborhood. The girl talks the whole time, observing the animals and insects along the way.  She plays word games with her father who asks if she likes ice cream cones, to which she replies, "No, I love, love, love ice cream cones."  The conversation is realistic and a good language model for emerging readers.  Suzy Lee's illustrations look like colored pencil drawings; textured and subtle. She made an impact with a beautiful cover design and a full page spread of father and daughter taking a rest in a pile of fallen leaves.  This is a great read-aloud book for children.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI