The run

PreS-K--What is happening? Animals are running--penguins, lions, polar bears, chickens, and more--as a voice asks questions in speech bubbles visible at the corner of each page. The unseen narrator wants to know why everyone is running. Are they playing a game? Is there free ice cream? Is someone chasing them? The animals are mute, even when the unseen narrator pleads for them to stop. next page reveals the narrator as a boy seated on a toilet, reading a book. Speech bubbles reveal his thoughts: "Why are they all running? It's a mystery! Gee, what a strange book." An insistent knock on the bathroom door reveals the same (impatient) animals outside the door: "WE WANT TO PEE!" The little boy, book in hand, exits the bathroom saying, "Maybe I should run." The title makes good use of the horizontal full-page spreads to emphasize the running animals. Swashes of matte color with minimal ink outlines depict backgrounds appropriate for each animal and the tail end of another animal is revealed before the page turn, encouraging more engagement for readers. The depiction of the boy, red book covering the front of his lower body, is modest. VERDICT Readers will be compelled to find out more until the satisfying and hilarious end to this preschool work of metafiction.--Ramarie Beaver, formerly at Plano P.L., TX

A metafictive, mystery-and--potty-book mashup that actually…works! Beginning with the jacket art, Barroux expertly propels readers through this fast-paced picture book. The cover shows a group of animals crowded at the spine as a very young child runs to the right, compelling readers to open the book. Inside, pacing is akin to Sue Williams and Julie Vivas' I Went Walking (1990) or one of Jan Brett's cumulative stories, with a guessing game at each page turn. Kicking things off, a rhino runs across the verso copyright page following a creature that's barely visible at the recto title page's edge. Only a webbed foot and black wing appear there, acting as a visual page-turner speeding up progress to the main text. There appears a trio of webbed-footed, black-winged penguins running toward the gutter. On the facing recto, a tufted yellow tail leads to the next page turn under a yellow speech balloon reading "Hello? Hello?" The speaker remains offstage for several spreads, continually asking why the animals are running. Are they being chased? In a race? Pursuing a special treat? Finally, a large, red speech balloon reads "STOP"--and the page turn reveals the child from the book's cover seated on a toilet and reading a book. This book, in fact. But why were the animals running? Knocks on the bathroom door hold the answer: "WE WANT TO PEE!" cry the animals when the child, who appears white, opens the door. Run to pick up this one. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.