Feeling bored, Little Baa Baa pranks Quirky Turkey, convincing him that a pile of (presumably) sheep droppings are actually "smarty tablets" and basking in deadpan satisfaction when the gullible--yet now, indeed, wiser--bird gobbles them up. The two pencil-drawn animals in a brown-gray wash converse in speech bubbles, their expressive faces supporting a goofy cumulative text. The timeless poop humor has wide appeal.

PreS-Gr 2 In this somewhat dark tale, a bored sheep convinces an unsuspecting and gullible turkey to try smarty tablets. Baa Baa Sheep repeatedly states that the smarty tablets (pellets of poop) are free today for turkeys. Turkey is excited by this prospect and is tricked into tasting them, even though they don't look or smell appetizing. Turkey eats the smarty tablets, only to realize they were in fact poop. The illustrations are simple and cartoonlike, with soft and muted neutrals. The spare text consists of word bubbles, and although they correspond with the overall theme of the story, readers may find them distracting, as they are spaced too closely together. The narrative is comical, but the humor is at the expense of duping the other character. VERDICT Perhaps useful as a cautionary tale (it comes with a "Warning! Contains Mischief" label) to spark discussions about making foolish choices, but otherwise an additional purchase for most libraries. Megan McGinnis, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY