THE FIRST DAY OF MAY

This wordless Portuguese import celebrates the joy of being outdoors from a distinctly childlike perspective.

In sets of square panels that read like comics, cartoon images featuring thick outlines and limited solid colors introduce a community. We see playground equipment, children at windows, and various trees, all setting the stage for a youngster with pink skin and a black bob to discover that the weather has turned sunny and to head outdoors. But first, shoes! And off the starry-eyed child goes. The landscape alternately fills one large square per page, then several small squares, all conveying a fluidity between reality and perception. The wind picks up, and the child flies through the air, past mountains and birds and over a river, first soaring, then floating like a leaf, finally settling near a clump of forest. On the ground, the child discovers flora and fauna large and small (sometimes distortedly so). The little one enjoys nature with a quirky physicality and soon tumbles down to rest, whereupon a pink-skinned hand reaches into the panel with a steaming mug and a pat on the head. Moreira’s deceptively simple art is expressive, relying less on detail than on shape, line, and movement to evoke the fantastical experience of a beautiful day outside.

A quirky and buoyant romp through spring.