Ten Things I Love About You

Kirk borrows from the comic rhythms of Abbott and Costello (or is it Burns and Allen?) in his funny tribute to friendship. Pig is sitting thoughtfully at his desk when Rabbit stops by to announce that he's making a list of "ten things I love about you." This is all well and good ("Wow, ten!" says Pig), except that Rabbit is a wee bit obsessive about it. Everything Pig says or does becomes fodder for the list, including his growing frustration with Rabbit's relentlessness. "I'm starting to lose my patience!" immediately inspires entry "Number 6%E2%80%94I love Pig because he's not afraid to show his feelings." Kirk (the Library Mouse series) pulls a sweet switcheroo in the final pages of his story%E2%80%94Pig turns out to have list-making ambitions of his own%E2%80%94but not before readers will be chuckling at how two like-minded souls can find themselves at cross-purposes. Kirk's visual style is a departure of sorts: instead of his customary sculptural renderings, his digitally colored drawings, painted on plywood and outlined in scraggly ink, give the proceedings a warm, handcrafted feel. Ages 5%E2%80%938. (Dec.)