I TOLD A LITTLE LIE

A small fib spirals into a giant misunderstanding, but it’s nothing that cupcakes (and an apology!) can’t fix.

A brown-skinned, bespectacled young girl is thrilled when she catches a brilliant orange balloon. When two ants see the balloon and assume that it’s her birthday, she’s too flattered to correct them. Her little lie—“so little, she didn’t have to say anything”—will be all too relatable for many readers. But too late, the lie is off and growing. After no birthday party materializes, a fleet of agitated ants demand an “investicaketion,” a true delight of a portmanteau. Called on her lie, the girl has a pitch-perfect reckoning under a “Think-About-It” sign, a moment that epitomizes the narrative’s playful, absurd undercurrent. She reflects, takes accountability, and makes amends with an ant-approved compromise: “THERE SHALL BE CUPCAKES!” Morality tales often feel dour or weighty, but this one is relentlessly light. You can make mistakes, Henderson reminds readers, but you have the power to fix them. The whole book has a similarly airy feel, from the dazzling, midcentury art–inspired illustrations in a matte palette, with colorful bursts of amber, coral, and cerulean, to the frequent perspective changes that help readers empathize with the young protagonist. Smart touches, like the ants’ droll dialogue and the funky, slightly off-kilter typeface, add to the quirkiness.

Fresh, funny, and as sweet as vanilla buttercream frosting.