Cowgirl Rosie and Her Five Baby Bison

On his first trip out of the corral, Gulbis rustles up a rootin'-tootin' debut. Cowgirl Rosie dotes on her pets, a quintet of baby bison whose shenanigans around the ranch keep her ""plumb worn out."" Alas, on a trip into town to visit Sheriff Joe, the critters begin disappearing one by one, until all have vanished (""Oh, calamity!""). The sheriff suggests they ""saddle up and hit the trail before it gets dark,"" and soon the pair encounter Snakey Jake, with a sack of flour flung on his back. Demanding to see the sack's contents, Rosie finds five white baby bison (""But these aren't my babies"") and promptly bursts into tears. The waterworks wash away the flour, of course, revealing the missing pets, and when the varmint Jake tries to vamoose, Rosie snags him with her lasso. Gulbis shoehorns a wagonload of Western lingo into his text, while his watercolors, rendered in a sunny Southwestern palette, further underscore the setting. He strikes a playful tone throughout, from the scene where Snakey Jake slyly pilfers the bison from their unsuspecting owner to the celebratory cactus pie baked by Sheriff Joe, and plucky Rosie herself packs plenty of appeal. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)