A Kiss for Lily

Originally published in Israel in 1991, this brief tale centers on a cheerful giraffe whose height enables her to munch on the tasty treetop leaves, peer down at the friendly folks passing by and talk to her bird pals. "Usually Lily is very happy to be tall." But after she sees Michael, the boy who lives across the street from her park home, receive a kiss from his father, Lily decides she wants a kiss too. But her wish is not easily granted. A dog and cat try, but can't reach Lily's cheek, and a bird's sharp beak doesn't deliver the soft kiss Lily seeks. Abulafia's pen-and-ink and watercolor wash paintings make the most of the compact square pages, using soft borders to emphasize Lily's long neck—even extending it beyond the page's borders. When Michael visits the park, he valiantly attempts to fulfill Lily's wish, climbing upon a chair, then a chair atop a table and so on, until he finally hits on the obvious solution—climbing a tree. Some pleasant repetition ("But Lily was so tall. She was soooooo tall. She was so very, very, very tall that he couldn't reach her cheek") offsets the rather simplistic narrative, and Abulafia's sunny artwork underscores the tried-and-true winning theme. Ages 9-12. (Apr.)