THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

Gorbachev’s congenial Goat and Pig return in a pleasing story showing the lengths one friend will go to ensure the comfort of another. In savory watercolors and pen-and-ink, readers find Goat rising for a new day and looking forward to dinner that night with his friend and neighbor, Pig. When Goat looks out the window, he sees Pig weeping uncontrollably in his kitchen. Goat is smitten with concern: Could Pig have hurt himself or had his flowerbed trashed; did someone snitch his newly baked pie; did he scorch his favorite shirt while ironing? It’s Goat to the rescue. He rounds up mops and games and new shirts, bakes a new pie, cuts fresh flowers from his garden, generally covers all possible contingencies only to learn when he arrives at Pig’s door that the tears are as easy to explain as cutting an onion. Tender, but also full of energetic concern, Gorbachev’s story will keep young readers in suspense, right up to the slice of the knife. (Picture book. 3-5)