Kasza (The Wolf's Chicken Stew
) introduces another ravenous creature in this witty twist on a familiar theme. While sharpening his claws to hunt for his breakfast, a not-so-sly fox answers a knock on his door and finds a tasty-looking piglet. "This must be my lucky day!... How often does dinner come knocking on the door?" he exclaims, grabbing both the pig and a roasting pan. But when the quick-thinking, dirty piglet suggests that he would be a better meal if he were clean, the fox prepares him a soothing bath. When the piglet comments that he would provide more meat if he were fatter, the fox dons a chef's hat and serves up spaghetti and freshly baked cookies. And when, nestled in the roasting pan surrounded by vegetables and being placed in the oven, the piglet reflects that he would make a more tender roast if he had a massage, the fox complies. Exhausted from his exertions, the f0x collapses on the floor, leaving the piglet to skip home—with the rest of the cookies—proclaiming, "This must be my lucky day." In a final funny flourish, the last page shows the pig relaxing in front of a fire, reading a directory of other predators (with the fox's name crossed out), wondering whom he will visit next. Kasza's gouache art is as buoyant and comical as her narrative, and she skillfully uses multiple vignettes to convey the fox's arduous preparations. The animals' facial expressions alone could carry this tale. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
