WHERE ARE YOU, BLUE KANGAROO?

Clark’s blue kangaroo (I Love You, Blue Kangaroo, 1999) returns in a tale of forgetfulness that makes one of the two friends a little anxious. Blue Kangaroo, a stuffed toy, is Lily’s best chum. They go everywhere together—to the park, on the bus, to the zoo—and since these places are so exciting, Lily’s attention is sometimes, well, distracted. But Blue Kangaroo waits patiently for Lily to find him. Until the evening comes that Lily mentions their trip to the seashore the next day. This gives Blue Kangaroo a case of the jimjams—“He thought about the seaside and he worried and worried,” as you might too if Lily, sweet as she is, was your protector. After Lily falls asleep, Blue Kangaroo takes action. Come the morning and Blue Kangaroo is nowhere to be found. The house is torn apart, the yard is combed, and Lily is in tears, when finally Blue Kangaroo is found in her bathrobe pocket. A light clicks on in Lily’s noggin and she fashions her own pouch, to ferry Blue Kangaroo around securely in a most appropriate conveyance. Lily learns the hard way to pay attention to those near and dear to her, but readers will experience the moral of the story very gently, set as it is to comforting words. Clark’s crisp artwork is softened by pastel shades and filled with the details of a little girl’s life, giving children a chance to search for Blue Kangaroo, too. (Picture book. 2-5)