Mine!

[A] spirited, visually pleasing read-aloud.

This rhyming fable by married team Fleming and Rohmann (Oh, No!) begins with a single, shiny red apple hanging from a tree, ready to fall. Spotting it amid the leaves, several animals each decide--seemingly unbeknownst to others--that it will be "Mine!" Every development occurs with satisfying predictability as the animals' approaches are each described with an appropriate verb ("Along skittered Mouse"), and a following quatrain (" 'An apple, ' squeaked she./ 'Mmm-mmm, how divine./ When it tumbles to the ground, / it'll all be mine!' "). And creatively concocted action verbs follow Mouse, Rabbit, Fox, Deer, and Bear as they await the coming feast (Bear "stompety-flopped/ behind a pile of rocks to wait"). The apple falls, as anticipated, but things don't work out the way the animals expect. In striking stained-paper and relief-printed art that draws and holds viewers' attention, bold black outlines, blue skies, varying perspectives, and the animals' expressive faces create a story that's easy to follow, making the surprise ending all the funnier in this reminder not to count one's apples before they fall--and to share generously when they do. Ages 3-7. Agent (for author and illustrator): Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency. (Aug.)

Humorous. —Shelf Awareness