Caboose

Narrator Hippo loves being first in line among all the anthropomorphized animal students at school—Jonker (Just One Flake) writes, “I can make everyone go fast, I can make everyone go slow. I can suddenly stop and make everyone crash. Oh, the power!” Slice-of-life drawings by Chan (Rick the Rock of Room 214) show Hippo employing myriad tactics to achieve front-of-line status, ranging from subterfuge (comically and intricately mapping a circuitous path through the playground) to naked aggression (startling schoolmates with a move that Hippo dubs “the feral troll”). Eventually, though, Hippo tries one line-heading ploy too many, too close to the teacher, and is relegated to class line “caboose,” a move that results in Hippo’s cultivating back-of-line expertise that goes “too far.” Finally, the teacher hits on a new solution: scooting Hippo to the middle of the line. It’s just the move, geographic and emotional, that the character needs, and one that helps Hippo truly appreciate collaborative skills, like skipping arm in arm. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Feb.)