A LITTLE COURAGE

A miniature child explores an apartment and makes friends with a cat.

First-person narration, generally limited to one or two sentences per double-page spread, describes the child’s investigation of potted plants, various small objects, and familiar household areas. Contrasts between the straightforward text, which has a slightly formal tone, and the lighthearted action depicted in the illustrations provide humor, which helps mitigate the book’s plotless feel. The last few pages repeat the text from the first section with small variations as the child enjoys activities with the (initially feared, now accepted) cat as companion. Small enough to dance on a roll of toilet paper, the wide-eyed, apparently white child wears a yellow shirt, black shorts, and a thimble as a hat. Some of the items will be familiar to young listeners: paper clips, keys, a safety pin; others, like the thimble, might be more obscure. Background details suggest that the apartment’s occupants are two adults and a child, obliquely raising the possibility that the small-scale adventures depicted are imaginary. The artwork has the appearance of colored-pencil drawings and features a somewhat muted palette with splashes of red, yellow, and green to enliven the pages. Levi makes the most of texture, size, and perspective to create interest. Observant readers will see the cat before it’s mentioned and may enjoy spotting the insect and arachnid that appear throughout.

This Swiss import is mildly amusing, but even a final twist fails to generate much excitement