Ooko

PreS-Gr 1—This picture book debut stars a fox who has it all: a stick, a leaf, a rock—everything except a friend. Ooko searches in the forest to no avail. When he notices a pet dog and hears a brown-skinned mother warning her daughter, Debbie, to be aware of the fox, he thinks: "I want a Debbie too!" Ooko then imitates the attributes he believes will make him appealing as he observes other "Debbies" playing with their "foxes." He sports spots to look like a Dalmatian, cotton candy to look like a poodle, etc. The cumulative effect is amusing. A nearsighted white woman with an enormous gray bun and very hairy legs mistakes Ooko for her "Ruthie," and for a short time both are happy, until a bath and itchy sweater lead to misery. Ultimately, a chance encounter with a friendly raccoon helps the protagonist realize "I don't need to look like the other foxes to find a friend" and "to each their own." Grammatical considerations aside, these messages and the desire to have a friend are certainly ideas to which young listeners can relate. The compositions are rendered in an autumnal palette with gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil.