by Bob Walsh

Independent Dames

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Illustrated by Matt Faulkner

Simon & Schuster. $16.99. Ages 6-10.

The subtitle of this book, “What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution,” says it all. Finally receiving some “equal time” and recognition, these tough-as-nails females played as important a role in the fight for independence as their male counterparts did, and it is only right that they be recognized.

You’ll read about brave young women like 16-year-old Sybil Ludington, who rode 40 miles through a stormy night to spread the news of a British attack, and Deborah Samson, who cut her hair, dressed as a man,  and was wounded twice while fighting with the Continental Army.

Other valiant women include poet Phillis Wheatley, spies Kate Berry and Mom Rinker, gunsmith Elizabeth Hager, and Oneida tribe member Polly Cooper. The book  also includes a section that lists even more women and debunks a few myths, such as tales about Molly Pitcher, who did not actually exist.

Utterly Otterly Day

by Mary Casanova

Illustrated by Ard Hoyt

Simon & Schuster. $16.99. Ages 3-6.

You’ll be surprised to see just how much trouble a cute little otter can get himself into in just 24 hours. Both his mother and father admonish Little Otter to be careful and stay close when he goes outside the family den to play.

Does he listen? Of course not! He’s a big otter now, or so he thinks. Little Otter believes he can take care of himself and go wherever he wants. What follows is a day of adventure as Little Otter wander farther and farther from home and his parents.

After a series of very “close calls,” Little Otter scurries home and is ready to admit perhaps it’s a good idea to heed Mom and Dad’s advice!

Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency

by Sam Lloyd

Henry Holt. $14.95. Ages 3-6.

In the first in a new series of children’s books, pre-schoolers are introduced to the friendly Whoops-a-Daisy World inhabited by Tom Cat and Doctor Meow.

In this initial outing, poor Tom Cat falls out of an apple tree and hurts his leg, and Doctor Meow and the Kiss-it-Better Hospital staff come to his rescue. With Woof at the wheel of the ambulance, Doctor Meow is off to Tom’s house.

Once they get the injured cat back to the hospital and put a cast  on his leg, Tom Cat’s friends stop by to say hello and write their names on his cast. This picture book would be the perfect gift for a youngster who might be nervous about an upcoming hospital stay or one who has recently experienced an injury necessitating a cast.

Big Brown Bat

by Rick

Chrustowski

Henry Holt. $16.95. Ages 4-8.

Have fun zipping through the evening sky with this exploration of a bat’s life. Mama bat has just had a baby and you’ll get to see how the  little creature grows, learns to fly  and then to hunt before he’s ready     for the long winter ahead when he’ll be hibernating.