COWGIRL KATE AND COCOA

It was only a matter of time before Cocoa would get bored with barn life. When Cowgirl Kate’s parents leave, Cocoa pushes open the door and lets himself into the house. After all, his favorite person lives there, and he wants to be where she is. When his touring breaks a lamp and ruins a wax fruit arrangement, Cowgirl Kate has to employ her best thinking to get her buddy to return to his proper place. Lewin’s signature watercolors will continue to delight young readers, especially when showing Cocoa’s disdain for his former abode and his delight at the riches of the refrigerator: “This is the best stall in the house!” The gentle blues of the barn, with the sunlight coming through the cracks in the walls, draw Kate’s equine friend back, where he realizes there is no place like home, leaving Cowgirl Kate with a new appreciation for her own home and the barn, too. Just right for the new reader who loves horses. (Early reader. 5-8)