Big city dwellers Herman and Rosie enjoy their urban lives, but each is also a little lonely. Although they have similar interests and live on the same block, they pass on the crowded streets without ever making contact. When they undergo simultaneous rough patches (Herman loses his sales job, Rosie's weekly gig singing at a jazz club comes to an end), both are bogged down by the blues. But a beautiful day snaps them out of their respective funks, and by evening a shared appreciation of a "groovy little jazz number" brings the two together at last. Herman's a sweater vest-wearing crocodile and Rosie is a deer with a love of toffee, but together the unlikely duo star in a quintessential love story of destiny in which young readers can enjoy their parallel paths and predict the inevitable outcome. (Ages 4-7)

Once upon a time in a very busy city, on a very busy street, in two very small apartments, lived...

Herman and Rosie.

Herman liked playing the oboe, the smell of hot dogs in the winter, and watching films about the ocean.

Rosie liked pancakes, listening to old jazz records, and watching films about the ocean.

They both loved the groovy rhythm of the city, but sometimes the bustling crowds and constant motion left them lonely, until one night ...

A Neal Porter Book