My Beijing Four stories of everyday wonder

It must be something about their steady, gentle hugeness: Elephants are especially beloved by the smallest children. The versatile, ever-perceptive Henkes has created a beguiling book of pastel-colored pachyderms, outlined in thick, pleasingly rough black lines. They look lively, yet extremely squeezable, as they march across the pages. He also sneaks in several toddler-ready concepts. The happy creatures demonstrate counting, a few apropos opposites like "over" and "under," a dash of wondrous nighttime magic in the form of a shower of stars, and then - as always, parents will bless his name - the joy of settling down serenely to sleep after a full day. 40 pp. Greenwillow. $18.99. Ages 2 to 5. THE VISITOR Written and illustrated by Antje Damm. Translated by Sally-Ann Spencer. A shut-in, neatnik woman named Elise lives alone and shuns company, until "something unbelievable" happens - a paper plane flies in her window, followed by a boy knocking at her door. Warm connection ensues. What makes it striking is Damm's nifty, expressive art, photographs of dioramas and cutout painted figures. Dressed in red and yellow, the boy, Emil, brings color to Elise's gray world. She makes her own paper plane, and the dazzling last page needs no words: We see inside her now colorful home, but she's not there. 32 pp. Gecko. $17.99. Ages 3 to 5. A VERY LATE STORY Written and illustrated by Marianna Coppo Meta picture books, in which characters know (or find out) they're in a book, can be overbearing, but this one brings a light, clever touch to the conceit. Five small, silly, delicately drawn animals wander across blank pages, unsure why they're there. Soon they realize they must wait for the story to arrive - how irritating. As they wait, a tree grows, adding new characters and new delights to the sea of white. By the time a stork brings the story, they realize they've got their own already, creating a head-spinning yet easygoing lesson in finding your own voice, and your own fun. 48 pp. Flying Eye. $17.95. Ages 3 to 7. NIGHT JOB By Karen Hesse. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. The premise is simple - a boy recounts how he goes with Dad on Friday nights to his job cleaning a school - but Hesse, a Newbery Medal winner, and Karas create an atmosphere of hushed fascination as we follow the pair through the long night. They leave home on a motorcycle; Dad opens the school door with a ring of keys "as big as the rising moon." Karas's dusky paneled art gives a feel of enchantment and adventure as the boy sweeps floors, shoots hoops, reads and falls asleep while Dad finishes working. He's added an extraordinary dignity and tenderness to this picture of working-parent reality and a loving, physically close father-son bond. 32 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. Ages 4 to 8. GROW UF> DAVID! Written and illustrated by David Shannon With its likably mischievous hero who can't slow down, Shannon's Caldecott Honor-winning "No, David!" is 20 years old. This welcome fifth David book is a portrait of our hero as a pesky younger brother, his M.O. captured as always in Shannon's wavery, high-energy art. A fresh sibling complaint is on every spread ("Thanks a lot, David!," "Give it back, David!"), accompanied by a colorful littlekid's-eye view of the damage done. The final rapprochement is surprisingly moving: Brothers are in it for the long haul, and even whirlwind David will, little by little, grow up. 32 pp. Blue Sky Press. $17.99. Ages 3 to 7. THE PATCHWORK BIKE By Maxine Beneba Clarke. Illustrated byVan Thanh Rudd. The children in this exuberant book from an Australian writer and artist live in a "mud for walls" house on the edge of the "no-go desert," and they've made an excellent bike out of random parts. Clarke's poetically compressed language hurtles joyfully along, while Rudd's illustrations, made on cardboard boxes with spirited swaths of paint, burst with irrepressible life. Dreaming and building, we see, go hand in hand no matter where you live. 40 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. Ages 4 to 8. P IS FOR PTERODACTYL: THE WORST ALPHABET BOOK EVER By Raj Haidar and Chris Carpenter. Illustrated by Maria Beddia. You can curse the English language for its insane spelling rules (or lack thereof), or you can delight in it, as this raucous trip through the odd corners of our alphabet does. Haidar - better known as the rapper Lushlife - and Carpenter celebrate "Heir" and "Tsunami," adding brainteasers like "R is not for Are' " for good measure. Beddia's art adds a cartoony touch. 40 pp. Sourcebooks. $17.99. Ages 7 to 12. MY BEIJING: FOUR STORIES OF EVERYDAY WONDER Written and illustrated by Nie Jun. Translated by Edward Gauvin. This delectable graphic story collection gives a taste of the everyday life of kids in China, kicked up with a clever time-travel element. A girl named Yu'er, who has a disability that limits her walking, and the grandfather who cares for her live simply, but their days are filled with both resourcefulness and amazement. The stories move gracefully between reality and fantasy, a bit like Miyazaki movies, but sweeter. 128 pp. Graphic Universe. $17.99. Ages 7 to 12. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.

*Starred Review* When young Yu'er laments, People think I'm different, her grandfather's immediate response, Oh, who cares what they think! sets her free to be just that and more. She's different because she's physically challenged, but Grampa ensures her mobility via push cart, wooden chair on wheels, or even his back. Buoyed by Grampa's playfully devoted support, Yu'er's adventures are magically empowering. Four such endeavors are included here: swimming without water in hopeful preparation for the Special Olympics in Yu'er's Dream, visiting Bug Paradise with a protective new friend, sending The Letter from the present to the past, and nurturing artistic expression with the neighborhood grouch in Kids at Heart. Yu'er and Grampa make ideal guides to their Beijing hutong, a traditional neighborhood of courtyard houses and alleyways. Gauvin's buoyantly translated speech bubbles exude youthful excitement and energy, and the occasional asterisks lead to explanations of, for instance, how Yu'er's name translates to fish girl and the literary significance of the Ming Dynasty classic, Journey to the West. Presented in sumptuous full color, Jun's exquisite graphics from perfect realism (a cancelled stamp) to comical specificity (Grampa's exaggerated backside) to the natural simplicity of Yu'er's own drawings offer nonstop merriment and whimsical delight.--Terry Hong Copyright 2018 Booklist

This big-hearted debut is set in a traditional Beijing neighborhood of one-story dwellings whose tiled roofs and arched bridges offer an atmospheric backdrop for four tales. The author doesn't explain why Yu'er walks with a crutch, or where her parents have gone. But the unshakable love that she and Grandpa share form the solid ground of these stories, which, in the manner of a Miyazaki film, slip from reality into a dreamy otherworld and back. In the first, Grandpa comes up with a novel way for Yu'er to "swim" in their courtyard. In the second, a boy defends Yu'er from bullies and introduces her to the glories of insect song. The third memorializes Yu'er's late Gramma with a lovely twist that ventures into science fiction, and the fourth follows Grandpa and Yu'er as they melt the heart of a grumpy artist nicknamed Pumpkin. "Is this a dream?" Pumpkin asks. "Yep!" Grandpa replies. "And we all need dreams, don't we?" Delicate pen-and-ink drawings glow with sunny colors in this graphic novel, and the sequential storytelling shines. Gauvin's translation, from the French edition, is a translation in turn from the Chinese. Ages 7-11. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.