BRIAN BANANA DUCK SUNSHINE YELLOW

In this color-themed import from Australia, a lad sporting a tied-on duck’s bill and a yellow cap describes the pleasures of going to (and getting lost in) the supermarket with his “Na-na,” who calls him “Banana,” taking a walk with his “Grumpy” and flying off in search of a giant yellow duck. “I like being yellow,” he concludes happily, taking the form of a daisy on the final page. Like Brian, both the irregularly shaped, simply drawn pictures and the wandering lines of hand-lettered–looking narrative slip effortlessly from reality to fantasy and back, creating a playful world large enough to let young imaginations roam freely. The hues aren’t quite as vibrant as Chris Raschka’s, but the sensibility is as authentically childlike. (Picture book. 5-7)