A PORC IN NEW YORK

Sacre bleu! With Monsieur Monmouton the farmer and his faithful dog Cabot again in hot pursuit, the barnyard crew that enjoyed A Spree in Paree (2004) hie off to the Big Apple. Effectively concealing themselves from Monmouton, but not from readers, in Stock’s splashy, crowded, jewel-toned watercolors, the animals shop at Blooming Dells, enjoy (and even become) art at MOOMA, take a trip around Manhattan on the Oval Line and settle down at last for an evening of jazz at the Kool Kat Klub. There, they find Monmouton waiting for them, his head and attitude already turned by a pretty waitress. And hardly has Cabot patiently herded all aboard the plane and back to France than a perfumed postcard arrives, announcing an imminent visit in return. Ooh la la! Non–New Yorkers may not recognize all the locales—but the thrill of the chase and general bumptiousness of the menagerie will easily carry any young armchair tourists along for the ride. (Picture book. 6-8)