There will be no lemonade stand for Rufus this summer, he's going to have a story stand. He'll need pencils, paper, markers, a table and chair, a banner that spells "S-T-O-R-I-E-S"--and a red bow tie. Once he sets up, friends start to come by. Millie and Walter agree to bring him a special shell from the beach in exchange for a story, so Rufus writes "Orange Is the Best Color," illustrated with a fishy underwater scene, with lots of orange, captured in colored pencils. Rufus asks his friend Sandy for a black kitten in exchange for a story, and that swap inspires "The Wallet and the Cat," about a boy who finds a wallet containing $5 million and spends $1 million of it on a cat. One can only hope this fresh, winning tribute to the value of storytelling inspires a rash of Rufus-style story stands across the globe!
Chuck Groenink's endearing illustrations, in gouache, acrylics and pencils, weave Rufus's simple stories into the main narrative in dozens of clever ways to make a colorful, creative tapestry indeed. --Karin Snelson, children's editor, Shelf Awareness