THE CHEESE

Asking a question that has no doubt troubled millions of thinking children down through the years—just why should the cheese stand alone?—a rat grabs a napkin and sets off for the big chunk of cheddar that’s fenced off down in the dell. On the way, Rat is intercepted by the Cat, the Dog, the Child and her parents, all of whom realize, upon reflection, that it’s a silly rule from a silly song. Placing at least as many words into the pictures as Palatini puts into her text, Johnson and Fancher craft a rolling rural setting in which snippets of relevant, low-contrast verbiage fill out the greenery, create patterns on the characters’ clothes and are even imprinted on the cheese—which serves as the centerpiece of a general picnic at the end. Verses to “Farmer in the Dell” on the last page, plus an animated reading/interview with the author on the publisher’s website, provide bonuses to this genially subversive outing. (Picture book. 6-8)