Review_CHILDREN’S
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ; NOVEMBER 2, 2015 82
In her sophomore picture book, Bagley explores the
imminent separation of two close friends (reviewed
on this page).
Picture Books
A Beginner’s Guide to Bear Spotting
Michelle Robinson, illus. by David Roberts.
Bloomsbury, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-68119-
026-6
As a junior woodsman heads into bear
country, Robinson’s ( There’s a Lion in My
Cornflakes) narrator—who is highly
unreliable and something of a classic
British scold—tags along. “I don’t think
you’re taking this very seriously,” the
narrator sniffs when the boy cheekily displays his blue teddy bear. “You ought to,
you know.” Soon a black bear and a
brown bear make appearances, looking
exactly as hulking and beady-eyed as
they appear in the boy’s field guide, and
the narrator’s insights become increasingly unhelpful: “With a brown bear, the
best thing to do is play dead. Although
to a black bear, that’s like an invitation to
dinner.” The day is saved—at least
momentarily—when the boy ignores the
narrator in favor of his own plan.
However, the Klassenesque final page
suggests that the boy’s exploring days are
permanently over, striking a grim
closing note. Roberts’s (Happy Birthday,
Madame Chapeau) artwork is exquisitely
inked and textured, and there’s subversive comedy on every page, such as when
the bears strike coquettish come-hither
poses in the pages of the boy’s field
guide. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)
; Before I Leave
Jessixa Bagley. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99
(40p) ISBN 978-1-62672-040-4
Zelda, a tiny hedgehog, is best friends
with Aaron, a much bigger anteater. Now
Zelda is moving, and her mother says that
Aaron “can’t come with us”—although
Zelda makes a valiant effort to pack him.
So in the time they have left, Zelda and
Aaron decide to play together “like
nothing is changing.” Their games are
wonderfully old-fashioned: tetherball,
rowing in a boat, talking to each other via
tin-can telephone. Bagley (Boats for Papa)
lays bare Zelda’s uncertainties in a
remarkably intimate first-person narra-
tive: “I’m scared to go. But you say it will
be okay, and you’ll see me soon. But I’m
not so sure.” While the mood is mostly
melancholy, the subtly textured water-
colors and expressiveness of these two
friends should persuade readers that this
connection won’t fade with distance. More
reassurance comes from the visual playful-
ness Bagley incorporates throughout the
book, starting on the title page, when
readers see the friends fishing from a
bridge: Zelda has a conventional pole and
line, while Aaron uses his very, very long
tongue. Ages 3–7. Agent: Alexandra
Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. (Feb.)
Swap!
Steve Light. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7990-3
A small sailor boy with a knitted cap,
friendly smile, and wooden leg spies a
dejected sea captain whose dilapidated
boat needs an overhaul. Lit with inspiration, the boy swaps a button off the captain’s coat for two teacups, then the teacups for three coils of rope: “Swap!” The
exchanges continue in brief, telegraphic
sentences punctuated by calls of “Swap!”
(a good spot for children to chime in).
Light (Have You Seen My Monster?)
explores the logic of barter as the friends
leverage excess items for things they really
need: “One flag for three anchors. Swap!
Two anchors for nine sails. Swap!” The
boy, the captain, and their acquisitions
appear in color while the finely detailed
backgrounds are left in black and white
(other than the bright blue of the sea).
The boy’s wooden leg is a physical differ-
ence that isn’t remarked upon and doesn’t
hinder him from doing what he likes, and
the fact that it’s the boy who comes up
with the plan is satisfying, too. Light’s
story will leave readers with much to
think about. Ages 3–7. Agent: Linda Pratt,
Wernick & Pratt Agency. (Feb.)
Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book
Britta Teckentrup. Doubleday, $14.99 (32p)
ISBN 978-1-101-93242-1
A apple tree stands bare in the still of
winter, its solitary occupant—an owl—
peering out from a die-cut hole in the
center of its trunk: “Owl sits watching in
his tree.../ No one sees as much as he.” As
the pages turn and the seasons change, the
owl stays put, but other animals appear in
additional die-cuts, creating the sense of
nature reawakening in full force. In
straightforward couplets, Teckentrup (Get
Out of My Bath!) describes how the tree
and its environment transform: “Blossom
falls and leaves are growing,/ A gentle
springtime breeze is blowing./ Squirrels
scamper here and there,/ Playful fox cubs
sniff the air.” Crisp illustrations with
grainy screenprintlike textures shift
between bright blues, reds, yellow, and
greens as day turns to night, leaves fill the
tree, and apples appear in its branches; the
surrounding woodland bustles with bees,
butterflies, and perky daisies. Teckentrup
brings the story full circle, seasonally
speaking, and then some, ending with the
promise of another spring instead of a
cold, quiet winter. A playful yet focused
look at constancy and change within a
specific natural setting. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)
The Magical Fantastical Fridge
Harlan Coben, illus. by Leah Tinari. Dial,
$17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-525-42803-9
A boy named Walden, bored stiff at the
prospect of another weekly dinner with
his extended family, is magically dragged
into one of his own drawings displayed on
the family refrigerator, kicking off an
adventure through two-dimensional,
magnet-held domestic paraphernalia. He
swims through a pair of Coney Island
aquarium tickets, gets zapped as he passes
through the family electric bill, and
escapes back to reality with help from a
pair of scissors in a hair salon coupon.
Adult author Coben’s first picture book
starts like an update on Through the
Looking Glass, but quickly sinks into narrative and visual incoherence, further
marred by literal narration and wordplay
that sounds like a grownup trying hard to
Children’s/ YA
