Cress Watercress: A beautifully illustrated anthropomorphic animal adventure for ages 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, from the author of the novel Wicked; themes of friendship, family and loss

A beautifully illustrated woodland tale with a classic sensibility and modern flair, from the author of the novel Wicked, which inspired the hit musical. Gregory Maguire turns his trademark wit and wisdom to an animal adventure about growing up, moving on and finding community. When Papa doesn't return from a nocturnal honey-gathering expedition, Cress holds out hope, but her mother assumes the worst. It’s a dangerous world for rabbits, after all. Mama moves what’s left of the Watercress family to the basement unit of the Broken Arms, a run-down apartment oak with a suspect owl landlord, a nosy mouse superintendent, a rowdy family of squirrels and a pair of songbirds who broadcast everyone’s business. Can a dead tree full of annoying neighbours, and no Papa, ever be home? In the timeless spirit of E. B. White and The Wind in the Willows – yet thoroughly of its time – this read-aloud and read-alone gem for animal lovers of all ages features an unforgettable cast that leaps off the page in black-and-white illustrations by David Litchfield.