JELLYBEANS

Dutch author/artist Van Ommen presents a delightfully—and deceptively—simple tale introducing a pair of friends whose favorite treat inspires some existential questions. In charming ink drawings, Oscar the cat and George the rabbit make a plan (via text messages on their cell phones) to get together. "Hi. Have you seen how nice it is outside? How about going to the park to eat jellybeans?" suggests Oscar, who instructs George to bring the candy; the feline arrives with a thermos of hot chocolate. As the two settle down with their snack, Oscar finds a jellybean "as blue as the sky," which prompts the question, "Do you think there's a heaven?" George endearingly responds, "I'm going if you're going, that's for sure," yet worries that heaven might be so big that they won't bump into each other or that they won't know each other if they do meet. With echoes of Holly Keller's Farfallina and Marcel , the buddies' solution to this potential dilemma will please youngsters as thoroughly as it does the pensive pals, who agree, "If we bump into each other and we don't recognize each other... Then we can just become friends all over again." (One will bring the jellybeans—the other hot chocolate.) The author's spare artwork, is as streamlined, childlike and winsome as her narrative, which is likely to inspire dialogue—and surely offers reassurance—about what might lie ahead. Ages 4-up. (May)