WHERE'S MY MOMMY?

Animal sounds, a barnyard setting and a search for a missing mommy are the elements that coalesce into this pleasing if not terribly distinguished tale.

Little Kitty wakes up from a nap and discovers that her mother is gone. After a fruitless search in the barn, she encounters a little calf and asks for help. The calf cheerfully instructs, “Listen to me carefully. / I’ll tell you what to do. / Whenever I want my mommy, / I just call MOO, MOO, MOO.” (While the baby animals all speak in rhyme, the rest of the narrative is conveyed in ordinary prose.) Of course Little Kitty summons the mommy cow instead of her own. The pattern continues with piglet, duckling and a colt. In despair, she curls up and begins to cry, “Meow, meow, meow.” As her cries get progressively louder, Julian provides a full bleed spread in warm hues featuring kitty’s mommy looking out from a wagon. “Quick as a wink, she came running.” The conclusion is more than a bit pat: “Little Kitty never forgot how to call her mommy again.” This sweet story will most likely appeal to toddlers and young preschoolers. With ample opportunities to join in on the animal calls, this is an easy choice for storytime or sharing one-on-one, but it is hardly the only farm/animal-noise book on the shelf.

Decent but not extraordinary.