Who's Sick Today? - Softcover

LYNNE CHERRY has devoted her life to sharing her concern about environmental issues with others. Her important children's books also include The Armadillo from Amarillo and two tales from the Amazon rain forest: The Great Kapok Tree and The Shaman's Apprentice. She lives in Washington, D.C.

PreSchool-K A familiar experience for children at school, looking around the classroom to see who is absent, is turned into a whimsical roll call of childhood ailments. In this case, symptoms are related to different, unlikely animals: ``Beavers with fevers. . .a chimp with a limp. . .stoats with sore throats.'' On each double page, Cherry pictures a patient, either in a cheerful bedroom, a doctor's office, or a bright hospital room. Attentive mom and dad animals and the doctor, a wise-looking stork with a gray fringe of hair and tiny spectacles, are nearby. The minimal text may produce some giggles, but the real charm lies in the softly shaded, carefully detailed pictures. Plump pillows, draped covers, and favorite toys make beds comfortable havens. Best of all are the accurately textured animalsbristly, furry, feathery, almost inviting a touch. At the end is a reassuring return to class of a former patient``a porcupine who's feeling fine.'' This encouraging message and the witty joining of everyday aches and pains with exotic creatures will make this a popular choice for the picture book set. Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.