This lovely, accomplished and wryly humorous debut picture book reminds readers not to believe everything they hear.

Four animals make their way to the lake, hoping they'll be lucky enough to catch some fish for dinner. To their dismay they arrive at the pier at the same time and each one worries that the others will wreck their day-the stork thinks he's got bad luck now that the black cat has crossed his path, the cat worries that the raccoon will steal all his fish, the raccoon fears getting too close to the frog and his warts, and the frog hopes the stork doesn't deliver any babies on the already too-crowded pier. But as this gentle, funny and thoroughly satisfying picture book makes clear, it's a mistake to judge others too quickly.