WHEN A RHINO HAS TO WAIT

Rhinos can be so impatient!

While the other young animals are content to sit calmly in the bus on the way to their outing, the restless rhino disrupts everyone. Racing into the water park, the rhino recklessly rams the others, spoiling their day. Now the trip must be canceled, so everyone gets back on the bus and departs—without Rhino, who must await their return. Noting that waiting can be hard on us all, the unseen narrator offers this “tickle of a truth”: “A wait is what you make it.” You can make it into a game, a chance to daydream, or a countdown. You can “find calm in churn of chaos” or squeeze “what you can out of each stretch of time.” Accompanying illustrations put positive spins on waits, like the moment before a roller coaster descends (“It can be exhilarating”). Even the most excruciating intervals can be “a chance to learn, to breathe,” and “to be a good friend”—like Rhino, now back on the bus with the other animals, who have stopped the bus. (Turns out that wait wasn’t all that long.) Goofily stylized, colorful illustrations depict the animals as close in size and cartoonishly expressive, while the upbeat text makes waiting look like fun.

Makes a tough part of life feel manageable.