No. 5 Bubblegum Street

It's late afternoon when an agreeable unseen narrator introduces each of the quirky creatures who share space in a cheerful yellow apartment building. Each animal has a different creative hobby--Dog sculpts, Bat dances, frogs compose, monkeys bake--all in preparation for the weekly rooftop party where the affable neighbors share and celebrate their artsy accomplishments. With labeled vignettes, such as Mouse's search for his hat, a diagram of Bat's choreographed moves, and detailed views of the Spider family orchestra's inventively named homemade instruments, the rebus-like scenes offer silly decoding fun for emerging readers. Translated from Polish, the text presents occasional rhyme in a slightly stilted tone that nevertheless resonates well as the voice of our narrator, revealed just before the party begins to be a tiny three-eyed bug sporting feathery antennae and striped trousers. With a bright retro palette of colored-pencil lines and textured fills, every spread overflowing with whimsical details, this charming picture book by an experienced author-illustrator team will delight fans of Richard Scarry.

The animal residents of No. 5 Bubblegum Street are an eclectic bunch. An insect narrator offers readers a peek into apartments filled with baking monkeys, a houseplant-hoarding panther, a family of musical spiders, an adventure-loving hippo, and many more creative creatures, all living side by side as friends and neighbors. Translated from Polish, this slice-of-life story sequentially introduces the inhabitants of each household, all of whom contribute their special talents to a party at the end. Young readers may lose interest with the slow pace and sometimes wordy descriptions. Still, it's worth taking the time to pore over the lively, detailed illustrations, rendered in bold colors in a charmingly childlike hand-drawn style. Each apartment is as unique as its residents, and many characters have a signature color or two, such as Mouse's bright red-orange decor, the soothing blues and greens of Panther's plants, and the gray and black hues used to depict Bat's home. Everything comes together in a riot of color and pattern at the party. Many pages feature multiple small, labeled vignettes reminiscent of Richard Scarry's Busytown books. The book also makes fun use of sound; birds squeak and tweet, Hippo snores, and the spiders play a homemade "accordiohorn." In their joyful coexistence, these very different neighbors gently model acceptance and kindness. A leisurely tale brought to life by illustrations that vibrate with color, sound, and movement. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.