A charmingly simple rhyming concept book from the team behind Rain Talk (1990) about opposite qualities that all culminate in one lovable creature. ""Ice cream is cold,"" ""Slippers are warm,"" and ""Shorts are short,"" but ""what's soft and hard and warm and cold and wet and dry and long and short and light and dark all at the same time?"" The answer is a puppy whose nails are hard, ""His nose is wet and cold . . . And he's soft and warm and dry."" It's a grand surprise, and the illustrations of an affectionate brownskinned brother and little sister add another dimension of gentleness and comfort. Rhyme, riddle, and art--this is a winner on all counts.