A little cattle egret fears that he will lose his cow if he goes to the beach with the rest of his flock.

Every morning the other egrets leave their cows to fly down to the beach, but the protagonist prefers to stay perched on his cow’s shoulders. His cow’s been around a bit; she’s seen the beach and strange things like ukuleles and toasted marshmallows. She encourages the little egret to fly with his flock, but he’s too jittery, even when she assures him she will be right there in their valley with the other cows, waiting for him. When he does fly up and sees the glorious ocean in the distance, he panics. His cow promises to twitch her ears so he can find her; and the next day, the little egret goes to the beach and finds a shell for his cow. When he returns, all the cows are twitching their ears. He’s frantic, but he finds her. Together, cow and egret agree on different signals over successive days that turn out to be just as unhelpful, but the presents he’s brought her each day suggest a solution. Blackaby’s simple tale of separation anxiety may be a bit wordy, but Brundage’s beautiful, line-and-color illustrations of the expressive, only slightly anthropomorphized duo bring the shine. A good tale to share with little humans who may also have the jitters when faced with new experiences.