A SOUND IN THE NIGHT

Fear transforms into friendship in this strikingly illustrated work.

Though Coco limits herself to a palette of blue, yellow, orange, and pink, her near-wordless storytelling fills the pages in other ways. Accompanied by a pet dog, our protagonist (who looks childlike but is capable of driving a car) packs up for a wilderness adventure. After pitching a tent, swimming, and playing a little fetch, the two build a campfire and go to bed. At first it’s quiet, but all too soon, the duo are wide-eyed and terrified as they hear a series of “cracks.” The dog recovers first, and after some hesitation, they both venture forth to see what’s making that sound. In the flick of a flashlight, their scary nighttime companion turns out to simply be a stray kitty. The cat accompanies them on their outdoor adventures and, when it’s time to go home, makes their duo a trio. For all the book’s seeming simplicity, it’s rife with clever details; toward the end, the cat initially seems to have been left behind, but a tell-tale tail in the car hints otherwise. Reminiscent of Picasso’s work at times, the art, rendered in colored and grease pencil, depicts the protagonist with round eyes, a triangular pink nose, and skin the white of the page.

A demonstration that words are unnecessary when there’s fun storytelling to be had.