Kiss the Cow!

Never. Not a chance. Annalisa wouldn't dream of kissing Luella the cow, even though her mother kisses her every day after singing her a song and milking her. Still, inquisitive Annalisa is awfully interested in milking Luella, and one day she sneaks off and does everything just the way her mother does--all except for the kiss on the nose. The next day, Luella refuses to give any milk. And the day after that is the same. Annalisa's mother and her many brothers and sisters beg the stubborn little girl to relent, but Annalisa says "Never!... Never, never, never." Will the whole family have to live without milk and cheese forever? Or will Annalisa's innate curiosity get the best of her?

Both Phyllis Root and Will Hillenbrand claim to have tried to kiss cows while working on this story, but to no avail. "I was willing," Hillenbrand says, "but the cow wasn't." With red-haired Annalisa's little nose in the air throughout the story, readers will almost hear her cries of "never," and will surely identify with one whose feelings of absolute certainty can occasionally change. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter