LOONY LITTLE

Aston adds a pointed environmental message to this inventive variation on the story of Chicken Little. Feeling a drop of water on her head, Loony Little frantically waddles off to tell the Polar Bear Queen that the polar ice cap is melting. Along the way she enlists Dovekie Lovekie, Puffin Muffin, Harey Clarey, and even Foxy Loxy, but then discovers the truth of Sealy Sally’s warning about what polar bears are like when the Queen offhandedly gobbles up Foxy Loxy. The small survivors scuttle southward, in search of someone who might actually care about the ice caps—“Like who?” Loony Little asks, gazing up from the page. Murphy depicts a company of worried-looking creatures crossing wide, icy northern flats beneath greenish skies. Closing with notes about Arctic animals appearing in the tale, and the effects of seemingly small climatic changes, this artfully weaves an issue of contemporary concern into a favorite traditional tale—and makes the frantic messengers rather more than the usual brainless dupes. (Picture book. 6-10)