"This slyly funny epistolary story begins, 'Dear Grandmother, how are you? I am fine.' Mia, the letter writer, goes on to describe the curious behavior of her cat, Stripe, leading up to the birth of 'five little Stripes.' Wigersma convincingly relates the blunt, minimalist voice of a child correspondent who reports on Stripe's conduct ('Yesterday, Stripe was meowing a lot') and plays up her own role as empathic owner (she makes Stripe a 'special box' for the delivery). But readers will quickly catch on that Mia is a classic unreliable narrator. As Talsma's graceful ink-and-watercolor pictures show, there's another major development unfolding in the household that the heroine fails to mention: Mia's mother is getting ready for a birth of her own. The strongly horizontal, single-plane illustrations build momentum for the two births (both of which occur at home), while also visually demonstrating Mia's unspoken yearnings to be needed and noticed. Talsma creates subtle parallels between pregnant cat and pregnant woman (the tummy support-wrap worn by Mia's mother, for instance, echoes the markings on the cat). At the same time, the colorfully upbeat compositions emotionally anchor the story, reassuring readers that Mia's own gestation-one of the heart-will come out all right. 'By the way,' the girl closes her letter as she confidently cuddles an infant in her lap, 'I also have a new baby brother. Love and kisses, Mia.' Ages 2-8." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)