A cookbook-wielding fox prepares to cook himself something with the toads that he caught in a pond, but their mother shows up and convinces him to try her recipe (included) for Toad-in-a-Hole, which turns out not to contain a single toad. This story has the cleverness of a folktale but the look of a sloppy version of old-fashioned Disney animation.

Toads are not a breakfast food. You're an elementary school teacher. You hold up this picture book. Exactly half of your students say, "Ewwwww!" Exactly half look delighted. So half the class will be pleased to find out that no toads are eaten in the course of this book. Mamma Toad throws herself in front of the recipe book before Fox can cook anybody. "Wait!" she calls out. "There must be a better recipe." Jack draws each ingredient as it goes into the pan: an egg, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, bread and butter, no toads. Some of your students will want to start cooking before you've finished the book, and fortunately, Mamma Toad's Secret Toad-in-a-Hole Recipe appears at the end of the story. The words "1 toad" are crossed out. A few students will be disappointed by this, but they'll love the pictures of the swarming baby toads getting into food fights and jumping in the honey pot while Fox cooks dinner. And whether they're for or against a toad diet, almost 100 percent of your students will want to hear the book again. When the author suggests that the recipe "can be a favorite in your family, too," many people in the audience will be inclined to believe it. (Picture book. 3-7)

Bailey (Stanley's Little Sister) ventures into scary, gobbling-up territory in the first few pages of this clever story as a carnivorous fox decides that young toads are tastier than old toads ("Ah, here's a good one," Fox says, thumbing through recipes as the toadlets he's caught wait wide-eyed on the counter). Luckily, Mamma Toad shows up promptly to rescue her children and, in a nice bait and switch, suggests Toad-in-a-Hole ("It has toast," she says. "You like toast, right?"). She plays Fox like a pro, fielding every objection. "What about the toads?" he asks. "Try it without," she says. "It doesn't really need toads." Thanks to Bailey's crackerjack dialogue, all Jack (1 Zany Zoo) has to do is supply appropriate pictures, which he does in loose, humorous cartoons that portray the fox in a dapper vest and natty cap, and Mamma with the red hair and elastic lips of Lucille Ball. A recipe for Toad-in-a-Hole is included. Children in foodie households accustomed to discussions of how dishes are prepared will take to this-and they'll probably enjoy Toad-in-a-Hole, too. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)