Happy Hector is the second installment of Polly Dunbar's Tilly and Friends picture-book series, in which a group of six best friends - Tilly the girl, Hector the pig, Pru the hen, Tumpty the elephant, Doodle the alligator, and Tiptoe the rabbit - "all live together in a little yellow house." Happily ensconced on Tilly's lap, Hector is having a great time, until everyone else tries to join in. Can his friends convince him to rejoin the group, when he goes off in a huff...?

Like its predecessor, Hello, Tilly, Dunbar's minimal text and appealing illustrations make this an ideal selection for the young toddler crowd. There's also more of an actual story to this one, and Hector's dismay at having to share Tilly's attention will ring true for many young reader-listeners. ( )