SANDY, TOSH AND THE MOO COW

Jamaican siblings Sandy and Tosh search for cows.

When Tosh hears a “moo cow” outside his window one morning, he yells for his older sister, Sandy. Clearly the kids have a love of bovines, because when they rush to the window and see “the swish of a brown tail disappearing down the street,” they decide to go after it. With their mother’s (depicted from the waist down as two brown legs in a colorful, sunflower-print dress) blessing, the pair head off for “an early morning adventure.” The loose linework and the way the watercolors bleed over lend the illustrations an almost child-drawn feel. The story morphs into a counting book as the two adventure past various groups of animals in varying numbers. The illustrations excel at conveying emotion: One notable spread depicts an ecstatic Tosh when they encounter moo cows, and another double page spread offers two separate images of half of Tosh’s face—the only difference being the shape and size of his eyes, which perfectly capture his feelings. The children’s adventure ends rather abruptly, which may leave curious readers with questions.

Though the ending lacks closure, this charming story can be used in multiple ways, including as a counting book and as exposure to life in Jamaica for non-Jamaican readers