TUCKER TOOK IT!

An omnivorous goat stirs up trouble. Tucker loves corn more than anything. But with the corn not ready, what is hungry Tucker to do? He sets his appetite loose on Mrs. Zook’s farm, stealing the straw hat from the head of Sadie the horse and snatching a watermelon, even as a trio of pigs argue over the best time to eat it. The cow’s hay, Mrs. Zook’s sundress and a freshly baked pie also fall victim to Tucker’s quick trotters. Everyone on the farm is “Tuckered out!” Mrs. Zook takes the matter firmly in hand. When she confronts Tucker, he gives her (and the reader) a big surprise, one that brings all the animals back together again in harmony: He’s used his pilfered goods to make a scarecrow, whose watermelon head sports the horse’s hat and who holds up the pie in one “hand.” The broad strokes of Van Patter’s tale of mild mischief are matched by his digital illustrations, in which bright colors within dark outlines cover a spectrum of farm figures. But with farm books abounding, this small adventure, which suffers from some significant logical flaws—why give the crows a pie?—is a marginal purchase. (Picture book. 3-5)