A sound in the night

A camping getaway for a human and pet pooch becomes a tale of found family in this winsome, largely wordless story. Via colored pencil and grease pencil, Coco renders the figures as blue outlines punctuated with orange, pink, and yellow against crisp white backgrounds. Following an action-packed day in the woods, night falls, the background turns deep blue, and the two settle into their tent under a starry, moonlit sky. Then a mysterious, repeating "CRACK" pierces the night, accompanied by a menacing shadow. Summoning their courage, the pair discover a small cat outside their tent. With a nonstop wag and smile, the dog eagerly assents to the feline joining in, and the impromptu playdate turns into a permanent bond. It's a spare work of pure visual joy wrapped up in fur and friendship. The human protagonist's skin tone largely echoes each spread's background color. Ages 2--4. (Oct.)

Fear transforms into friendship in this strikingly illustrated work. Though Coco limits herself to a palette of blue, yellow, orange, and pink, her near-wordless storytelling fills the pages in other ways. Accompanied by a pet dog, our protagonist (who looks childlike but is capable of driving a car) packs up for a wilderness adventure. After pitching a tent, swimming, and playing a little fetch, the two build a campfire and go to bed. At first it's quiet, but all too soon, the duo are wide-eyed and terrified as they hear a series of "cracks." The dog recovers first, and after some hesitation, they both venture forth to see what's making that sound. In the flick of a flashlight, their scary nighttime companion turns out to simply be a stray kitty. The cat accompanies them on their outdoor adventures and, when it's time to go home, makes their duo a trio. For all the book's seeming simplicity, it's rife with clever details; toward the end, the cat initially seems to have been left behind, but a tell-tale tail in the car hints otherwise. Reminiscent of Picasso's work at times, the art, rendered in colored and grease pencil, depicts the protagonist with round eyes, a triangular pink nose, and skin the white of the page. A demonstration that words are unnecessary when there's fun storytelling to be had.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.