THREE ABOUT THURSTON

Milord manages to pack three short riffs on the waggish, self-assured rooster Thurston into this quick picture book. The first has the rooster cooking up a pot of “Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Soup,” wherein Thurston decides to add the sink as well, giving the dish just what it was missing. Next, Thurston boasts the prowess of all roosters, the fact that they can do each and everything better than chickens, until he’s handed an egg. “ ‘Your turn,’ Mirabelle said” Lastly, he cheats at cards—no one ever said Thurston was an angel—in what is decidedly his least savory moment. He flees the table before getting skunked; he may not always win, but he never loses. Sure, Thurston. That last episode ought to spark some interesting discussions between readers and listeners, but that’s Thurston: A rascal and a challenge. The artwork catches Thurston in all his pomposity—watercolors that feel like statements from Thurston’s soapbox—throwing a broad, ironic humor over the proceedings. (Picture book. 3-6)