Bravo!

This spare, delicately drawn offering from a German duo follows Helena, who lives with the rest of her cat family in a cottage where things are “almost perfect.” Everything, that is, except for Helena’s father, who’s a shouter: “Everything he said came out in a roar.” Port draws him with his mouth agape, his words scrawled in black ink: “Who left these shoes on the floor? My egg is too runny!” Despite her mother’s tactful explanation (“They’ve been shouters for generations. When you’re older, you can be one too, if you like”), Helena decides she can’t bear the racket; she packs her things and asks the woman up the hill if she can move in. “My father’s a shouter,” Helena explains. “I see,” says the neighbor, who takes her in without another word. As the title hints, Helena’s decisive act allows her to find her own voice and to mend her relationship with her father, too. Helena’s dilemma is one that might more commonly be found in books for older readers, making this gentle, measured treatment a noteworthy achievement. Ages 4–up. (Sept.)