2021-03-08 Publishers Weekly

WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 53

Review_CHILDREN’S

Freda tries
placing a freshly
baked cookie in
a jar, then an
unmelted ice
pop, before
branching out
to more conse-
quential fare.
Caldecott Hon-
oree Brosgol (Leave Me Alone!) pursues
this comic conceit right to its sinister
edge, moving from laughs into thought-
provoking images: in one, Freda stands
on a ladder and “took the stars while she
was at it.” Freda’s experience of grief and
yearning as she remembers her late grand-
father, a blueberry jam fan, gives the story
an additional layer of meaning. Spreads
combine vibrant color and sure, polished
lines while portraying a compassionate
intergenerational relationship between
two Black family members. With poi-
gnant force, Brosgol’s delicious fable
conveys the lesson that some things must
be savored in the moment. Includes a
blueberry jam recipe. Ages 4–8. Author’s
agency: Hansen Literary. (May)

Toasty
Sarah Hwang. Holiday House/Ferguson,
$17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4707-7
Toasty, a piece of bread with arms, legs,
and a face, so enjoys watching the hounds
frolic outside his window that he longs to
join their species. Though he can muster
an impressive bark, all of his other attempts
to turn canine fall far short: he’s easily
intimidated by a cat, and he turns soggy
when rolling in a puddle. But Toasty is
dogged, even though his plan to hang
with the pooches in the park is headed for
disaster. And here’s where Hwang’s story
takes an unexpected turn: when Toasty
escapes from the hungry dogs by hiding
in a picnic sandwich, he meets a young
hound enthusiast with allergies for whom,
with a couple of barks, Toasty becomes the
toast of the dog park. Newcomer Hwang’s
quirky plot has the meandering joy of a
small child’s storytelling logic, while
acrylic paint, colored-pencil, and digital
pictures give the triumphant Toasty a
sketchbook immediacy as he engages in
doggy doings. Ages 4–6. Agent: Shadra
Strickland, Painted Words. (May)

The Museum of Everything

Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, $17.99 (40p)

ISBN 978-0-06-298630-6

“When the world gets too big and too

loud and too busy,” the narrating child

says, “I like to look at little bits of it, one at

a time.” Considering objects one by one

and putting them “in a quiet place” is also

what museums do, a resemblance that the

child notices: “Maybe it would be called

The Museum of Things I Wonder About.

Because I have a lot of those.” In three-

dimensional illustrations that resemble the

low-tech, at-home diorama-style museum

a child might make—photographed rooms

constructed of cut paper with props assem-

bled from all kinds of materials—Perkins

(Wintercake) molds islands big and small, a

roomful of skirts that look like bushes in

blossom (“Everyone can try them on, and

twirl”), a collection of shadows, and more.

Ideas are developed with particular rich-

ness: after cataloging common shadows,

the child considers other kinds, as when a

sun-warm leaf leaves a leaf-size space in the

snow: “a shadow of melting.” After this

excursion through their own thoughts, the

white child feels ready to return to the

noisy world. Distinctive and heartfelt, the

museum is observed with a poet’s eye and

an inventor’s spirit. Ages 4–8. (May)

I’m on It! (Elephant & Piggie

Like Reading!)

Andrea Tsurumi and Mo Willems. Hyperion,

$9.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-368-06696-9

Prepositions pile up to dizzying heights

in this early reader extravaganza by

Tsurumi (Sharko and Hippo), part of Mo

Willems’s Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!

series. The contest between Frog and Goat,

drafted in clean, sure lines, begins as a

friendly game. Goat perches theatrically on

a stump: “I’m ON it!” Frog, in an adjacent

pond, shows interest, finger to frog lips,

then leaps onto a rock: “I’m on it, too!”

Soon, Goat is posing on the stump with a

watering can while wearing an old tire,

hula hoop–style (“I’m on it and beside it

AND inside it!”). Frog, whose pond pro-

duces more challenging objects to work

with (a beaver, a crate of swimming toys),

shows signs of anxiety. Goat poses with

two potted sunflowers (“I’m on it and

BETWEEN these!”), while Frog works

with two fat, angry-looking fish (“I’m on

it... and between these, too!?”). Readers

can identify the prepositions and work out

how they apply to the growing pile of

props, but the story’s also about how to

exit gracefully from a situation that’s get-

ting out of control. High energy, punchy

sentences, and focused action put this tale

right on top. Ages 5–8. (May)

A Pizza with Everything on It

Kyle Scheele, illus. by Andy J. Pizza. Chronicle,

$17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-79720-281-5

What do pizzas and cosmology have

in common? A lot, according to this

appealing treatise by Scheele (We Put a

Man on the Moon, for adults) and Pizza

(Dream Machine). Dad, the pale-skinned

owner-chef of Papa Za’s, has agreed to

make his peach-skinned kid, who nar-

rates, “a pizza with everything on it.” But

the child isn’t satisfied with the usual

ingredients, and as Dad becomes an avid

co-conspirator, gouache, pencil, and

digital collage art plays along, mixing

the stylings of kids’ artwork with the

giddy, gravity-defying excess of vintage

“Terry Nichols raises big questions in a

story that stirs, enchants, and amuses—

sometimes all at once.”

Uma Krishnaswami,

author of Book Uncle and Me

978-1-951122-12-6

$12.95 / 260 pgs

kinkajoupress.com

Ordinary Packrat,

Extraordinary Adventure

Hopelessly lost, a timid packrat

befriends quirky critters, outwits

predators, and remembers her special

powers as she discovers the meaning of

family and home.

“An entertaining animal adventure.”

Kirkus