Earth Tigerlets, as Explained by Professor Xargle

Fresh from his lectures on Earthlets and Earth Hounds, the zany Xargle takes an entertaining look at Earth Tigerlets, otherwise known as cats. This playful alien's view of the friendly felines' antics is full of hilarious misconceptions--Tigerlets attacking ``the wooden monsters that live inside the earthdwelling'' with their ``sharp thorns''; planting ``brown stinkseeds'' (``These stinkseeds never grow''); or singing in the moonlight and waiting for ``Earthlings to applaud them with flying footwear.'' Willis seems to have hit her stride with this third book in the Xargle series: her writing is fresh and fun, the scope of her imagination limitless. In Ross's loose, loopy illustrations these Tigerlets--``in patterned or plain, in a variety of shapes and styles''--are endearing in their eccentricity. Children may miss some of the subtleties in this witty picture book, but parents will delight in explanations. Ages 4-7. (May)