In the woods

In "Olly's Wings," a horse feels abandoned by his flying-unicorn friends. In "Lionel's Mane," a lion's mane vanishes. In "Red's Wedding," a wolf steals a wedding cake. In all three forest-set vignettes, animals (forest and otherwise) collaborate on a solution. Pristine geometric art in rainbow colors helps tell the tales, all of which end with the jarring enjoinder "Be happy now! (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

It's springtime in the woods, and all the animals are buzzing with excitement for the wedding of Red the fox. While making decorations for the big event, two penguins help to solve problems that beset three of their friends. In the first short chapter, they encounter Olly the horse, who is distraught because all his friends have become unicorns and flown away. With speedy ingenuity, the penguins and other animals transform the forlorn horse into a magical beast, using branches for wings and a cone for a horn to help Olly become a unicorn and fly away. In the second chapter, Lionel the lion has lost his mane, and the friends construct an acceptable substitute out of flowers and branches. In the third minichapter, disaster befalls Red: the wedding cake she spent all week making has been stolen by Wolf. The friends pool their supply of woodland foods to make a new cake, "big enough to feed the whole wood." Each minichapter ends with the phrase "Be happy now!" Rowe's flat, limited-color silkscreen-style illustrations create an overly busy impression on the page, and the erratically placed text makes it sometimes difficult to follow the narrative. It's not the most original of plots and somewhat lacking in substance, but the message is clear: true friendship can overcome any obstacle. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.