TOSCA'S SURPRISE
by Matthew Sturgis & illustrated by Anne Mortimer
In a follow-up to Tosca's Christmas (1989), the plump cat searches everywhere—drawer, hedge, shed—for a quiet spot, at last finding one just right for her kittens. The predictable story makes an adequate vehicle for miniaturist Mortimer's exquisitely detailed glimpses of an English house and garden. The cats are not as lively as Ivory's (above), but wonderfully soft; Mortimer's expressive, perfectly rendered cats' eyes are unsurpassed. Sure appeal. (Picture book. 3-8)