EXTREME BABYMOUSE

Babymouse + snowboard = many faceplants on the way to wisdom and cupcakes.

In her 17th outing, Babymouse’s yearning to join the latest craze at school actually results in a trip to Snowy Mountain—not to the plush resort itself, but to the cobwebby cabin of a family friend: “Where’s the hot tub?” ”I think you’ll be lucky to have hot water, Babymouse.” “Typical.” It’s a long day on the training slope (“What did you learn on your first day of snowboarding, Babymouse?” “The true meaning of pain”). A timely recollection of her instructor’s cautionary “go at your own pace and always listen to your inner voice” keeps her out of deadly Half-Pipe Alley despite a sneering classmate’s dare, leaving her enjoying a snack at the resort as the aforementioned tormentor wipes out big time. Presented in the customary mix of thick-lined drawings with pink highlights, easy-to-read dialogue in balloons and occasional interjections from the outside, the tale positively shreds its way down the narrative slope for an awesome stick.

Extremely entertaining.