Me Too!: Two Small Stories about Small Animals

As in The Adventures of Snowwoman, Arnold once again takes two stories by Vladimir Suteev (whom she describes as ""a kind of Russian Walt Disney"") as her inspiration and produces a book that packs a visual wallop. In the title story, a newly hatched chick proves she can copy everything her duckling friend does--except swim. The other, ""Three Little Kittens,"" is a pure visual romp: a trio of felines pursues various prey through a canister of flour, a dirty pipe and a pond, with predictable consequences to their fur coats. A fearlessness dominates Arnold's work--her roughly hewn black outlines and bold colors bristle with electricity, her characters radiate a fierce and restless intensity, and the typography swoops and shouts. When taken together, these elements create movement and simulate the feeling of animation. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)