HUBERT HORATIO BARTLE BOBTON-TRENT

When the “frightfully, frightfully rich” Bobton-Trents get bored with their set and decide they need to meet someone new, they have a child, the absurdly precocious Hubert Horatio. His parents are daffy but loving, welcoming him every evening in their bedroom for a cup of cocoa—which is always a little cold after he makes the trek through the mansion. When strange things begin to happen—they run out of jelly during a party, they see the butler trading a priceless painting for two pints of milk—Hubert quickly realizes that his parents are no longer frightfully, frightfully rich, and takes charge. When his schemes don’t pan out and the family must move to 17b Plankton Heights, they adjust swimmingly—and Hubert’s cocoa doesn’t get cold after the short walk to his parents’ room. Nothing much actually happens, but Hubert’s story is given the patented Child touch, with a dynamic typeface swooping around spiky mixed-media collages. If Hubert lacks the verve of a Clarice Bean, this is still a sweetly offbeat tale whose heart is in exactly the right place. (Picture book. 5-8)