THE CATSPRING SOMERSAULT FLYING ONE-HANDED FLIP-FLOP
by SuAnn Kiser & illustrated by Peter Catalanotto
Willy's been practicing something ``truly amazing,'' but no one will stop working long enough to watch—two sisters are baking bread; a brother is feeding the babies; three more sisters are helping Mama peg out clothes; other sibs help Papa with the livestock—and all of them want Willy to help them. By dinner time, she's so put out that she laments, ``If I ran away, none of you would even know I was gone.'' At that, everyone chimes in with an affectionate tale about how she'd be missed—and, now that she's got their attention, Willy does her stunt, right in the dining room. Set on a tidy, old-time farm, this likable sample of life in a very large family is beautifully illustrated in evanescent watercolor; Catalanotto catches the action of the ``catspring somersault'' in cinematic repetitions across the spreads, and explores the subtleties of Willy's feelings from a dreamy title-page take of her considering a frog to her breathless triumph at the end. (Picture book. 4-8)