MISSING!

A pair of feverish imaginations work their respective owners into swivets in this gently amusing story of crossed signals. Each day little Daisy goes to school. Her cat Lupin whiles away the hours until her return by doing cat things, then goes to meet her at the corner at the usual time. When Daisy goes on vacation, she forgets to mention it to Lupine. Next thing you know, each thinks the other has gone missing. “Perhaps a big dog has chased Daisy away!” thinks Lupin. “What if a lion has chased Lupin away! Or a shark! Oh no!” cries Daisy. Each escalates the possible scenarios: Stolen by a witch? Turned into a frog? Carried off by a great bird? Lost? All alone? Found—gasp—a new home? Daisy lays down a trail of kitty nibbles and when Lupin shuffles home, he follows them to his bed, where Daisy is fast asleep. Like a good mother, she wraps Lupin in her arms, then administers a scolding: “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” What young mind hasn’t thought the worst when a routine is unexpectedly broken? Langley buffers the effects on readers by running both Daisy and Lupin's fearful fantasies in parallel on the same page or on opposing sides of two-page spreads. And his warm-hearted illustrations make the whole episode a spoonful of sweet medicine. (Picture book. 3-5)