Belgian artist Goffin (OH!, 1991) brings his spare graphic style to an almost wordless book, with an amusing play on the theme of matching a child to the right parent. Here, an appealing toylike person and his tiny dog carry an egg that's bigger than he is to one animal after another—turtle, fish, platypus; each says, simply, ``No.'' Finally, a bird lifts the top from the egg, disclosing a book within—this book, in fact—and our hero is last seen reading it, the huge animals looking over his shoulder. Like the girl on the salt box that pictures a girl on a salt box, the outcome has an intriguing logic, while the simply drawn figures and serene color engage attention with imaginatively surreal effects—a giant duck's head protruding from a small window; the little person, egg in hand, perched on a stepladder to converse with a snake in a tree. A quiet book with a unique, offbeat charm. (Picture book. 2-6) Read full book review >

The Belgian artist responsible for 1991's Oh!—a collection of visual surprises—applies his soft color pencils and clean, open style to an exchange of boastful allegations between two near-identical little men on a boat that looks like a toy (they look a lot like Lenski's Mr. Small). ``I am taller,'' brags one, standing on a chair. ``But I am more terrifying,'' claims the other, donning a giant, toothy wolf head. So it goes through a series of childishly vain assertions (which also slyly echo adult posturing)—until the boat comes to grief on a rock and the two set off into the sunset on the back of the big duck who's been observing them with benign amusement all along. The art's quintessentially simple and beautifully designed, yet whimsical enough to lighten the message. Unusually attractive. (Picture book. 4-8) Read full book review >

Crisply drawn illustrations fold out for a series of visual surprises, with a new item in each as the basis of the next transformation: as the first right-hand page unfolds, a pointing hand grasps the tail of a cheery alligator balancing a cup on his nose; on the next spread the cup opens to become a ship; the tail of the fish by the ship becomes the tail of a bird. Amusingly playful use of easily read images and bold, handsome design. (Picture book. 2-7) Read full book review >