Cold Turkey

Don’t wait until it’s freezing to share Turkey’s tongue-testing tale of wordplay and kindness.

In this bouncy rhyming fare by Schwartz and Call, a turkey bundles up against 10-degree winter chill before heading outside, but upon walking around the farmyard, he notices that his friends are even colder than he is. Sheep's shoulders "sh-sh-shook" as she tells Turkey, "I can't baa-lieve this storm's so baad./ I need a warmer nook." Turkey offers each friend one of his winter accessories--an alliterative description subsequently appending every farm animal ("SHIVERING SHEEP")--so that he ends up wobbling home, "cold and bare, / in just his birthday suit!" But his pals quickly repay the earlier generosity by building a campfire they can all enjoy. Otis's broadly comic mixed media art, rendered in pencil, scanned textures, and digital paint, is the real draw: the frosty weather feels tangible, and the animal cast is terrifically expressive, especially when Cow places Turkey's turtleneck over her udders. A fun barnyard take on a classic concept. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)