HE CAME WITH THE COUCH

Sophie’s family needs a new couch and finally finds one at Larry’s 24 Hour Rummage. However, a strange figure comes with it: The “thing” has a blue head and feet, a shock of purple hair and a tuberous yellow nose. Although Sophie wants to keep him, her parents say “No,” except they can’t budge him. The doctor says it’s an acute case of “upholsterosis” and he needs to get out more. So off they all go, couch in tow, to the Grand Canyon, the beach and Washington, D.C., but he never leaves the couch, until back home, when Sophie falls out of a tree, he tosses the couch out the window to break her fall. The wacky illustrations are a vehicle for the brief text that relies on the textured oil-paint-and-pen-on-linen artwork to educe the silliness, exaggerate the quirkiness and add goofy details like the couch sitting at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. Sophie looks to be more boy than girl, though her name is the one clue. This shaggy-dog story about a “couch potato” might amuse some, but overall, this is more of a dud spud. (Picture book. 5-7)