Why the Leopard has Spots — Katherine Mead

K-Gr 2This story bears very little resemblance to the original tale. Momu, a leopard cub, is very messy. His parents are always rubbing and scrubbing him and the house after he tracks in mud, gumberry juice, or food. No matter how hard Momu tries, he can't be neat. Wanting to do something nice for his parents, he paints the house brown. In so doing, he gets paint all over himself and can't wash it out. His mother and father then decide they want spots too, and paint themselves. Momu then paints all of the other leopards. While the writing style is adequate, the story itself is pointless. It is a sanitized, muddled version of a well-known, vibrant tale. It is so different from Kipling's story that it should not be labeled a retelling. The colorful illustrations, depicting bouncy, rounded animals, are enjoyable, but they're wasted on this shell of a story.Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA