Dozens of Doughnuts

LouAnn, a stout black bear, is frying doughnuts for one last pre-hibernation meal, and she's looking forward to eating them all by herself. But it's not to be. "One dozen doughnuts, hot from the pan, / Toasty, and tasty, and ALL for--/DING-DONG!" Sturdy, thumping verse by Finison, making her picture book debut, chronicles the constant interruptions of a stream of hungry callers: Woodrow the woodchuck, Clyde the raccoon, Topsy the opossum, and more. LouAnn obligingly returns to the kitchen, but the doughnuts (iced in luridly appealing shades of crimson, blue, and lavender) keep getting eaten, and her temperature keeps rising: "She's ready to sleep through the snow, ice, and sleet./ But winter is near, and there's NOTHING to eat!" LouAnn's hangry ursine roar lets her guests know they've overstepped. Farley (Secret Tree Fort) gives LouAnn a comically outsize snout, a tiny ruffled apron, and ears that droop and twitch fetchingly. The combination of delicious treats and tantalizing delay keeps the tension high, and the cooperative kitchen antics of LouAnn's guests as they attempt to redress their wrongs ("Chip measures./ Chomp mixes./ Mouffette checks the heat") deliver as much satisfaction as the new doughnuts themselves. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary. Illustrator's agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary. (July)