Busy Betty

PreS-Gr 1–Bespectacled Betty, a spunky character in Witherspoon’s own image, is a whirlwind of activity. After introducing herself and talking at length about how endlessly busy she is, Betty decides to give her smelly dog a bath because her friend Mae is coming over. Drawing on a memory of watching the groomers do it, she gathers a garden hose, an inflatable pool, and some bubbles, making an enormous mess in the process, just in time for brown-haired Mae to arrive for their play date. Luckily for Betty, Mae’s pragmatic focus turns Betty’s mistakes into the neighborhood dog-washing business. Yan’s illustrations feature appealing cartoonish characters with oversized heads and large eyes, complementing the ebullient text that’s interspersed with many idiosyncratic expressions involving biscuits. Witherspoon’s willingness to make herself the fall girl in this tale helps put it over; despite the statement that “being busy is a great way to be,” Betty’s own frenzied activities cannot succeed without Mae’s idea or calmer demeanor. This is a fun and high-spirited story for the fans of “Fancy Nancy,” “Pinkalicious,” or “Freckleface Strawberry.”