THERE'S A PONY IN MY APARTMENT!

A city kid’s wildest dream—and Mom’s worst nightmare—arrives courtesy of one very generous, very misguided uncle.

When Uncle Dave ships Maxine Louise a pony, the young protagonist launches a campaign of relentless, gleefully unhinged logic to convince exasperated Mom to let the animal stay. Harney mines this absurd premise for pure comedic gold: Maxine Louise earnestly declares that “the apartment is the pony’s natural habitat” and that ponies love watching late-night news (they “do so enjoy being up-to-date on current events”). Relying on loose, energetic linework with bold, saturated palette shifts, Harney's illustrations match the text beat for beat. The compositions are dynamic and inventive, with speech bubbles used as both text and visual architecture—teal for Mom’s rising panic, golden yellow for Maxine Louise’s sunny scheming—seamlessly mirroring the emotional temperature of each spread, sometimes swallowing entire pages. One standout spread depicts the pony gazing out from the bathtub, shower cap perched on its head, surrounded by cascading pink bubbles while Mom recoils in the doorway—a masterclass in comic timing and visual chaos. Maxine Louise and Mom are richly expressive foils: one all scribble-haired exuberance, the other wild with disbelief. The final twist—Mom’s revenge gift delivered to Uncle Dave—lands with perfect comedic timing. Uncle Dave, Mom, and Maxine Louise all have light brown skin.

An irresistible romp powered by kid logic at its most gloriously stubborn.