With perfect pitch and hilariously deadpan delivery, Schwartz follows a two- (or so) year-old through an ordinary, completely wonderful day. Henry shares an apartment house with “one baby, two little girls, three big boys,” a set of triplets his age, plus a bird, two cats, and a assortment of parents, sitters, and relatives—all of whom matter-of-factly go about the business of getting up, dressing, going out, coming in, playing, napping, eating, and, at day’s end, getting ready for bed. Schwartz’s plainspoken text and delicately drawn urban scenes are not only rich in the sorts of details and routines that make up a young child’s world, but include more nuanced interactions that will engage parental readers too: “ ‘Look at Peter’s lovely underpants,’ Henry’s mother says. ‘Henry wears underpants sooner or later,’ Henry says.” A sensitive observer in top form, Schwartz has created a treasure of a tale that captures marvels in everyday life. (Picture book. 5-7)
