THE CABBAGE SOUP SOLUTION

Elsie lives a simple life on a small farm where she grows many vegetables, but growing cabbages is what she does best. Everyday she loads them onto her truck to sell to the greengrocer—until one morning, when she finds half her cabbages gone. She sits up all night to guard them; instead she falls asleep and catches a cold. That’s when Fluff and Gordo, her two cats, take action. When Elsie gets up to make cabbage soup to soothe her throat, she finds all the ingredients on her doorstep. As the soup simmers, the cabbage-eating culprits—rabbits, of course—pile up outside her window and she invites them in for soup. When Elsie plants more cabbages, the cats make sure the rabbits help this time (even adding a little fertilizer). The charming soft-toned and -shaped watercolors enhance this subtle twist on a familiar plot. Adults may recognize the plump cats and Elsie’s images from her greeting cards. A clever story about cultivation, in more ways than one. (Picture book. 4-7)