Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau

Beaty and Roberts have become picture-book superstars for their ongoing series about brilliantly ambitious youngsters—Rosie Revere, Iggy Peck, Ada Twist, and, coming soon, Sofia Valdez. And for good reason: Beaty's witty rhymes read as well as any this side of Seuss, and they are matched for inventive detail by Roberts's illustrations. One of their collaborations has been unfairly neglected, though, perhaps because it features a grown-up. But the rhymes are just as sprightly and the illustrations—perhaps because the clothes-besotted Roberts, like Mme Chapeau herself, was once a milliner—are top-notch. If your young reader can't wait for Sofia in September, bring Madame Chapeau home. (Ages 2 to 6)