Using the glorious color and bold technique she employed so successfully in Eating the Alphabet (1989), Ehlert depicts ten familiar birds, providing drama in the form of a hungry (but belled) cat whose quest (unsuccessful except for the tokens mentioned in the title) is briefly described in verse. Though stylized, the life-size representations of the birds should serve well for identification, as will the colorful, labeled flora that also appear. Verbal approximations of birdsongs are included; illustrated notes on food, range, habitat, and song are appended. Unusual, useful, attractive, and fun.
