Chilly Milly Moo

Ross makes her children’s book debut with a familiar story about not fitting in, one that’s enlivened by the eccentricities of her artwork and the book’s design. Milly Moo, a cow, can’t make milk (“I’m too hot!” she grumps, frowning in her knit cap and boots), and her place on the farm is in jeopardy. The other cows make suggestions (“The sun helps me make milk”), but they can’t understand why Milly Moo is different. There’s a bit of Lauren Child to Ross’s digital illustrations—full of physical humor and emotive characters—which are mostly from a low, barn floor perspective, just right for a story in which milking cows figures prominently. A cold snap reveals that Milly Moo’s talents lie not in making milk, but in “the coldest, chilliest, frostiest, iceiest... ice cream,” a left-field twist that should draw giggles and help the “be yourself” message go down as smooth as soft serve. Some of the book’s typographical flourishes affect readability—the narration sometimes appears within bricks and floorboards in the cows’ barn—but readers will be won over by Ross’s oddball cast. Ages 3–up. (Oct.)