A self-obsessed protagonist makes narcissism absolutely ribbiting in Truman Toad and the Quest for the Perfect Hug, Oren Lavie and Anke Kuhl’s gaily cantankerous picture book (reviewed on page 108).
PICTURE BOOKS Can You Grow a Striped Banana? Jill Santopolo, illus. by Momoko Abe.
to you.” Ages 2–5. Author’s agent: Miriam Altshuler, DeFiore & Co. Illustrator’s agent: Carol Ann Wood, Eunice McMullen. (Apr.) Capy Capy Capybara Charise Mericle Harper. Union Square, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4549-5838-3 The internet’s favorite chill chonk stars in this graphically crisp, enthusiasm- powered picture book. “Capy/ Capy/ Capybara/ Little beauty,/ such a cutie!// Yay for Capybara!” extols Harper ( I Am a Good Friend ), gushing over everything from the large rodent’s “tippy-tappy toes” to its eating habits before setting a tidy plot in motion. When the hot sun sends Capybara splashing into the river, soaking a long-legged, orange-beaked bird, the wet avian extracts a “nose to beak” promise: “No more splashing/ for a week.” But during a bubbly underwater dive, in which the rodent’s potato-like form seems gracefully suspended in aqua space, Capybara spots a gator closing in on Bird. The event neces- sitates a second giant splash, one that breaks the promise but saves the day, earning Bird’s gratitude and a new vow of “Friends forever.” The artwork’s clean profiles and shifts between landscape spreads and vignettes build
momentum and comedy, while cooing narration makes a fluttery counter- point to the protagonist’s unflappable calm. It’s a cuddle-worthy romp about caring under pressure that should have readers cheering, “Yay for Capybara!” Ages 3–5. (Apr.) Gunnar the Viking’s Great Pizza Adventure Diego Vaisberg. Duopress, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4642-3363-0 A dissatisfied Viking trades battle axe for pizza oven in a stylish picture book from Vaisberg ( Dino, a Pet Unlike Any Other ) about finding one’s true calling—one pie at a time. Pale-skinned Gunnar the Conquerer is known as “one of the boldest and bravest of Vikings”; in his horned helmet and red tunic, the warrior tackles hordes all on his own. But years of warfare have left Gunnar feeling empty, and when he stumbles, Goldilocks-like, into an empty cabin where an unfamiliar dish—pizza—is cooking over the fire, he develops a foodie’s obsession with finding “the correct amount of flour and water, the perfect combination of ingredi- ents, and the right temperature to bake it.” In a limited palette of coral, mint, and plum, geometric inflections and screen-printing textures lend a
Rocky Pond, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-5938-5885-1
Imagining scenarios in which an adult acknowledges that they can’t do the impossible, Santopolo, making her picture book debut, and Abe ( The Pet Potato ) spin the admission into a silly-sweet expression of love. Steadily rhythmic lines and digitally finished pencil, pen, and charcoal illustrations follow a caregiver and child, both portrayed with light brown skin, navigating highly specific inadequa- cies. “I can’t bathe a brontosaurus,” the narrator intones near a dino-filled tub, or “speak in squeak or meow” at a glamorous feline premiere. Nor can they “drink fresh chocolate milk/ from a tiny chocolate cow” at a diner where diminutive bovines carry glasses across the counter. Alongside lilting rhymes, the art’s simple shapes and warm colors play with a child’s dawning awareness that adults aren’t all-powerful. Still, the narrator reveals a significant trick up their sleeve: after dipping into some craft supplies, the adult presents the child with a paint- striped banana, suggesting that where there’s a will—and a bit of imagination— there’s always a way “to show my love
Reviews
Patrick Ness revisits the world of his Chaos Walking series in the gripping YA trilogy opener Piper at the Gates of Dusk . Page 111 A teen faces pressure to uphold tradition in When You’re Brave Enough , Rebecca Bendheim’s radiant middle grade debut. Page 109
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