HAPPY FACE SAD FACE

A collection of opposite pairings is presented through the facial expressions of a relatively diverse group of tots.

In five vignettes, each told in two double-page spreads, a youngster demonstrates a pair of opposites, such as “quiet” and “loud,” “asleep” and “awake.” A child with brown skin and two buoyant Afro-puff pigtails bouncing on a trampoline is paired with clever text that is metered out line by line over the next four pages: “Up face / Down face // Jumping all around face!” Some of the jokes are more for the grown-ups (“Nana needs a break face”), but little ones will appreciate the lively rhymes and the easy-to-read facial expressions. The antics end with all the families from the subsequent pages watching a marching band together; the text reads, “A big, happy crowd face!” The final lines, which read, “And my favorite face… // Your face!” are accompanied by a round, Mylar mirror embedded into the recto of the back cover. The companion book, Little Face Big Face, uses various animal visages to provide another primer on opposites. In both offerings, Cotter employs a vivacious mix of bright hues and highly saturated darker tones in his illustrations, likely pencil and watercolor.

Upbeat, zippy fun.