HAPPYBARAS

Two capybara companions set off for Alaska—one brimming with excitement, the other decidedly less enthusiastic.

With efficiency and wit, Bardhan-Quallen swiftly establishes her central conceit: One character is a “Happybara,” the other an “Unhappybara.” The book’s engine runs entirely on portmanteaux ending with “bara,” strung together in quick succession as the duo navigate the indignities and delights of travel: “thwap-ybara” as a seatmate elbows Unhappybara on the airplane, a thrilled “grand-ybara!” upon glimpsing a gorgeous mountain view, a “catnap-ybara” in a hot spring, and an alarming “oh, snap-ybara” when Unhappybara accidentally hooks an orca while fishing. The pacing is nimble, and the layouts vary smartly, pairing mostly double-page spreads with a couple of pages featuring montages that rattle off several coined terms at once, building comic momentum. Appert’s illustrations are fun and rounded, relying on bluish-gray tones that give the snowy Alaskan landscape real atmosphere. The roly-poly capybaras are expressive despite minimal facial detail. The book’s emotional arc, in which Unhappybara eventually learns to embrace the joys of travel, resolves gently and without moralizing; the friendship itself, tested by snoring, mishaps, and cold nights, emerges as the throughline. The closing spread finds the pair back at the airport, one already eyeing a rack of destination brochures—signaling more adventures ahead that readers will be eager to join. The joke density is high; so is the rereadability factor.

Capybara fans and lovers of wordplay will find this a thoroughly clap-ybara-worthy romp.