What would happen if the dish ran away with the spoon and never came back?
This is the untold tale of their disappearance and Dog, Cat, and Cow's quest to bring them back.

• Winner of the 2004 California Young Reader Medal (Picture Books for Older Readers)
• ALA 2002 Notable Book
• Irma S. and James H. Black Honor Book for 2001
• 2002 Colorado Book Award
• NT Library 100 Books fpr Reading and Sharing
• Child Magazine's "Best Books of 2001"
• Children's Book of the Month Club Selection
• Nest Literary Classics
• Featured on CBS The Early Show with Bryant Gumbel
• nominated for several state book awards including the 2003 Texas Bluebonnet, the  the Nebraska Golden Sower Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, the Maryland Black-eyed Susan Award, the Vermont Red Clover Award, the Colorado Children's Book Award 

* "On their quest, they came to a fork in the road--a fork dressed in a loud, flowered shirt and sunglasses--who notes that he's from the same place setting. This visual pun reflects the many comical plays on words in the text. Brimming with energetic line and movement, the watercolor-and-pencil work includes many amusing details to delight observant children."

                            -- Booklist
                                         *(starred review)