cover image THE CABBAGE SOUP SOLUTION

THE CABBAGE SOUP SOLUTION

Erika Oller, . . Dutton, $15.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-525-47005-2

A reclusive farmer named Elsie can't seem to stop a mystery marauder from decimating her famous cabbage patch. After she fails at keeping sentry, Elsie's formidable cats, Fluff and Gordo, take on the role of enforcers, catch a gang of rabbits in the act and compel them to return all their booty to Elsie's doorstep. When Elsie spots them, she invites them in for soup; they join the household and help her cultivate cabbages of renown. "Her life was no longer so simple, and she liked it that way." In her first book as both writer and illustrator, greeting-card artist Oller (Dogs, Dogs, Dogs! ) makes wonderful use of her visual signature: rotund, soulful characters who seem to materialize from clouds and puffs of watercolor. While there's deliberate humor in the plodding movements of Elsie and the squat imperiousness of Fluff and Gordo, Oller communicates that their considerable girths contain immense reserves of feeling and purpose. Her storytelling, however, lacks the same control. The text, while not long, contains extraneous phrases and seems to wander to its rather pat conclusion. Ages 4-up. (Feb.)