A STACK OF ALPACAS

Three misbehaving young visitors give Macca the alpaca hairy conniptions.

The storyline is best regarded as a vehicle for scenes of big-eyed, dainty-hoofed super cuties and a narrative so choked with trite and forced rhymes that it’s hard to read with a straight face. The bully-beating woolly introduced in Macca the Alpaca (2020) initially welcomes a visit from two nieces and a nephew (“That guy is called Drew. / He’s Macca’s nephew!”). However, they play so wildly that the house is soon a wreck, and they display terrible table manners to boot: “They flicked all their peas / and scoffed down candies.” Confectionery-bright backgrounds set off equally candy-colored crias surrounded by similarly hued rubble. No sooner does “Uncle Mac / completely blow his stack,” however, than all three repentantly rush off to clean everything up and then fall asleep in an angelic little pile—the titular stack. Sure, young readers will definitely buy that as viable behavior-modeling. On the other hand, the snortworthy verse, sweet pastel colors, and, especially, all those huge, round eyes with their long lashes may beguile even dyed-in-the-wool cynics. For a few moments, at least, and then they will brush their teeth. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.9-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 60% of actual size.)

Readers may wonder if it’s meant to be parody.