A Good Day
Henkes's latest combines the thick black line of his Caldecott Medal&ndash;winningKitten's First Full Moonwith the vivid palette of his mouse books to showcase a soothing story about turning lemons into lemonade. Four animals&mdash;a sun-yellow bird, a white terrier, an orange fox and a brown squirrel&mdash;face small disappointments that threaten to ruin their moods. The bird loses a prized tail feather, the dog tangles his leash around the fence, the fox has lost sight of his mother, and a meaty acorn plummets out of squirrel's grasp. But before even a hint of gloom can settle over an otherwise sunny day, Henkes briskly reverses gears and reveals these momentary losses&mdash;of self, freedom, love and food&mdash;as gains. The skillful circularity of this simple tale is capped by a nameless barefoot girl who finds the bird's "perfect yellow feather" and jauntily tucks it behind one ear. "Mama! What a good day!" she cries, running into the house in a wide angle shot that shows each of the story's other creatures at home in her front yard. A perfectly pleasing parable for the lap-reading crowd, who will find reassurance in the way each animal conquers an obstacle and finds his or her reward. All ages.(Mar.)Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.