A THOUSAND BILLION THINGS (AND SOME SHEEP)

A child’s world is brimming with choices—until it comes to bedtime.

The title seems hardly an exaggeration, as all but a small corner of each spread is jam-crammed full of tiny, nonrepeating images of foodstuffs and other (to use the French original’s term) “trucs” that a young, white narrator encounters while going from breakfast to dinner. Viewers willing to follow along will be confronted with challenges to pick out from the teeming pages six rubber ducks, a nibbled carrot, a frog mask, and like items. Perhaps even more compelling is the temptation to linger over each extravagant outpouring of tiny but finely drawn, individually distinct flora, fauna (the day’s round includes a visit to an aquarium), enticing toys, mouthwatering pastries, items of clothing, and more. Then, instead of options, bedtime brings only a gazillion all-too-similar sheep to count: “WHERE’S THE FUN IN THAT?” the narrator grumpily concludes. Many will agree, though an earlier “I wonder if all this choice is an eternal delight or an infernal torment” may prompt more-reflective sorts to wonder the same. Happily, to ease any incipient frustration, there is a visual key (sans a total for those sheep, though) at the end.

A rare display of artistic invention, with rewards aplenty for close viewing.