THE INSIDE TREE

Mr. Potter lives a cozy life in his little house, enjoying tea by the fire and looking out at a fine tree in his yard, underneath which his dog sleeps. One night, he notices his dog looking in through the window and decides to bring him inside. The generous gesture has ramifications, though: Now the tree outside seems lonely without the dog. Uprooting the tree, Potter plants it within the house, directly through the floorboards, and in no time the tree’s growth necessitates a hole through the roof. When it inevitably starts to rain, the cherubic and portly Potter decides to move into the barn, allowing the tree to flourish outside once its growth precipitates the collapse of the existing house walls. The absurdity of this story flows neatly; even though Potter does not seem to understand his foolishness, in both text and illustrations the dog provides a healthy skepticism. Parkins’s deep, dark acrylics on canvas detail all the comforts of home. Potter’s noodlehead behavior will have kids anticipating and groaning throughout. (Picture book. 4-7)