THE TALENT SHOW

The animal band needs a vocalist. When the four beastly friends learn about the Talent Show, they practice day and night. With Croc on piano, Lion on trumpet, Bear on drums and Snake shaking the maracas, they think they have a shot to win. But something is missing; it's Bear who realizes, "If we want to win this thing, / One of us will have to sing." All four try vocals, but none succeed. A little red bird—the same bird whose musical aspirations they mocked just days before—arrives to help the animals, but again they reject him. Shortly after, a very tall and mysterious figure in a trenchcoat impresses the whole quartet. Even the youngest readers will delightedly guess that he's the bird in disguise (on stilts). Heartfelt apologies and a winning performance follow. Hodgkinson's light verse bounces along, and her illustrations are a riot of color; her four predatory instrumentalists look cute and harmless (if initially ungracious). A breezy nudge for the nascent little music maker. (Picture book. 4-6)