This fifth storybook about Poppleton, a genial pig, contains three min-tales set in a well-manicured country town populated by a cast of equally genial animal friends of our hero. In the first vignette, Poppleton spring cleans and, inevitably, ends up with more superfluous possessions than he had at the outset. In the second, he decides to buy a bicycle but is overwhelmed by all the choices available in our prosperous consumer society. The final tale, about Poppleton's sleeping out in a tent on a lovely spring night, is the drollest of the lot. The collaboration between author Rylant and illustrator Teague is seamless, and their lightness of spirit is reminiscent of the late Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books at their best. While not strictly speaking easy readers, text and pictures are so closely knit that graphic clues will help children to decipher unfamiliar words. This paean to the trials and pleasures of everyday life will please Poppleton afficionados, old and new.--