Annie and the Wild Animals

Our daughter has enjoyed this book since she was less than a year old. It has wonderful, expressive pictures of animals that come out of the woods to feast on the muffins that Annie puts out. Annie hopes to find an animal to replace her cat that went missing during a snow storm, but none of them is friendly and cuddly as her cat was.Meanwhile, in the band of graphics around the margin of each page, we see the missing cat, and other animals that are yet to appear in the story. This is an amazing way to show things that may be happening even when we don't "see" them. It gives plenty for the person reading to point out and discuss, or the story may be breezed through when it's one of several that a child wants to hear.Several story lines are wrapped together in this relatively short book -- the disappearance of Annie's cat and her search for a replacement, the strange behaviour of her cat and its final explanation, the succession of wild beasts that come out of the woods to eat corn muffins (!), and through it all, winter's slow thaw and the eventual arrival of spring. None of it is overplayed; it all just fits together naturally.

In Annie, as in The Mitten and others, Jan Brett tells a fun children's tale while gently showing how a children's actions affect the world around them. Just as the boy in The Mitten winds up scaring all of the animals that then crawl into the mitten, Annie's actions also have wide repercussions.Annie has a cat. One day she notices the cat does not want to play, but tries to hide in odd places. Annie keeps finding the cat so the cat tries the outdoors. This makes Annie lonely as she wants to have a pet around the house. She bakes corn muffins to leave outside in the snow to attract a new pet. But Annie gets more than she bargained for as first a giant moose and then a bobcat shows up. Annie makes more muffins and more animals show up.But eventually the corn meal runs out at the same time as the warm Spring winds begin to blow. Without any muffins, the animals leave and the cat is free to come back. By following the illustrations in the borders, we know what the cat has been up to and what prevented its return.The only downside of this book (at least in my daughter's eyes) is that there is no mention whatsoever of a parent. Are we to believe that Annie is living at the edge of the woods all by herself? But still, it is a beautiful book and a fun story. A must read for fans of Jan Brett's other books.

This book tells the story of some valuable lessons that Annie learned about animals. One day, her cat started acting strange. Then it went away. Annie was lonely, so she tried to find herself another pet by attracting wild animals with corn cakes. Indeed, a veritable menagerie of wild animals was soon hanging around her door, including a moose, a wild cat, and a bear. But none of these animals were friendly like Annie?s cat, and soon the corn meal gave out so she couldn?t make any more corn cakes. Just then the cat appeared again, followed by some new kittens. Animal loving children may be fascinated with Annie?s tale, although some may be a little frightened by the press of wild animals at her door. The illustrations by Brett, as always are intricate and very attractive. The book has about 375 words.

The story is sweet and as with all Jan Brett books, the illustrations are second-to-none. My son and daughter love this book, and so do their parents!

I LOVE THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN JAN BRETTS BOOKS. ANY ONE WHO HAS SEEN HER BOOKS KNOWS WHAT I MEAN. THERE IS SO MUCH FOR THE CHILD TO LOOK AT. STORY LINES ARE ALSO VERY CUTE.