THE FOGGY, FOGGY FOREST

Sharratt is not the first illustrator to use vellum to create a sense of mist on the page, but he may be one of the first to capitalize on its peek-a-book effect with a younger audience. As readers push through an indistinct forest, silhouetted characters appear in their midst. “What can this be in the foggy, foggy forest?” Turn the page and the mysterious outline becomes “[a] little elf all by himself,” seated on a toadstool. Other characters from myth and fairy tale appear, engaged in goofily random acts like water fights or yoga. Some of these make more sense than others (is there any particular reason that Red Riding Hood is selling ice cream from a truck?). Like a mix between Circus in the Mist by Bruno Munari (1969) and What’s Going On In There? by Geoffrey Grahn (2005), Sharratt’s title will please the preschooler set. A nifty notion well played. (Picture book. 3-6)