Alphonse, there's mud on the ceiling!

Monster siblings Natalie and Alphonse live on the seventh floor of a city apartment. One day while trying to turn their hall closet into a cave, they fetch some jungle to bring inside. But after a mishap that leaves mud on the ceiling, Dad suggests they play outdoors instead. After an expedition in the park, they bring sticks back home to create a jungle on their balcony where they sleep under the stars. Hirst's deliberately off-kilter, childlike artistic styling may not please more traditional readers, but the artwork is delightful in its sloppy playfulness and supports the wild theme of the book. The story speaks specifically to the creativity of city children in their pursuit of interactions with nature, and the economy of language is impressive. There is a lot of plot and story squeezed into this picture book. And may we all just celebrate the gorgeous and perfect fact that Natalie finds a wild squirrel and names it Squilliam? Delightful.

Alphonse and Natalie, the lovable, active preschool monster siblings from Alphonse, That Is Not OK To Do! (2016) and I Do Not Like Books Anymore! (2018), are back with a way to enjoy nature and the outdoors from their seventh-floor apartment. Playing indoors can be fun for the children if they use their imagination. They can drive their bunk bed, tumble in the hallway, and hide behind the big green chair and then leap out with a "Raaaar!" But when they play wiggly worms all over the small apartment and start to bump and upset things like Dad's coffee, then: "NATALIEALPHONSE, that is not a good game for indoors!" The kids begin to bemoan the fact that, unlike their friend Elfrida, who has a backyard with a tent for sleeping, they have no backyard space, and so Natalie declares, "I'm going to live in the park." Ever patient and supportive Dad agrees, and they all go out to "have an expedition." After exploring and living under a bush for a while, they collect some sticks and head back to the apartment, with sticks to build a tent on the balcony. Bold, bright colors against white space depict the familiarly fiendish family's third installment in a very familiar scenario, one that offers gentle guidance to caregivers as well as affirmation and inspiration to children. Imaginative play leads to inventive solutions in this sweet sibling tale. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.