I Want to Go Home

On the first day in her new home Marta is struck by a terrible thought: What if the residents of her old house put ``yucky'' wallpaper up in ``her'' room? Drawing on such nuances of emotion, McLerran ( Roxaboxen ; The Mountain That Loved a Bird ) puts a fresh face on a familiar theme. To ease Marta's transition, her mother brings home a cat named Sammy , who is also in need of a new place to live. The frightened animal flees to an unknown corner of the house, and Marta's attempts to coax it out of hiding eventually convince both child and animal of their new home's value. Kastner's expressive, warmly realistic oil paintings are visually engaging: she offers a variety of perspectives to illustrate the search for Sammy, affording readers glimpses of the cat's whereabouts unknown to Marta. Details such as the handsome quilt from Marta's bed accentuate the book's reassuring theme. Ages 4-up. (May)