cover image Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency

Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency

Sam Lloyd, . . Holt, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-8819-9

Lloyd (Mr. Pusskins ) gets in touch with her inner Richard Scarry for a book that’s busy-as-a-bee chipper. Doctor Meow, a female kitty, is chief of staff at Kiss-It-Better Hospital—and talk about a health-care crisis: “There are temperatures to take, heartbeats to listen to, baby bunnies to feed, and look at Monkey—what’s he got stuck on his head this time?” Despite all the demands, the animals clearly know they’re in good hands with Doctor Meow and her trusty ambulance driver, Woof (whose vehicle gives readers a chance to chime in with “Wee-ooo, wee-ooo”). In fact, the good doctor is even able to heal the social fabric after Tom Cat falls out of a tree (the titular emergency) in pursuit of Mr. Bird. The big, slightly retro pop-off-the-page cartooning makes the book ideal for sharing with a group; the pictures welcome readers with open arms, but pack a surprising dramatic punch, too. The happy prognosis: more titles set in Lloyd’s Whoops-a-Daisy World are in the works. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)