I have kids' books on the brain....and I may have a few suggestions.....so, herewith, an update on Joshua's library: *There's a wonderful essay about James Marshall's technique at the back of "The Collected George and Martha." The writer discusses Marshall's way of subtracting, subtracting, subtracting, so that the reader is required to make inferences and guesses. Marshall became *more* adept at subtracting (and the text became sparer) as he went along. The writer also discusses Marshall's gift for surprise; the best of the stories don't seem schematic, in any way. For example, in "The French Lesson," it's genuinely bracing (to me, at least) when Martha says, "I knew you were going to do that." And, in another story, when snakes pop up out a cake box, I'm actually caught off guard. (And don't get me started on the twists in "The Misunderstanding" ....) It's said that Marshall was an heir of Tomi Unge...