Lemon Bird Can Help!

At once surreal and sugary, Ganucheau’s (Zodiac Starforce) early chapter book comic doubles down on kawaii and kindness. While practicing aerial maneuvers, non-aerodynamic Lemon Bird, an oblong yellow creature whose peel serves as wings, crash-lands and heroically frees a pumpkin-puppy mash-up—an orange pupkin—from a tangle of vines. When the two mischievously sneak aboard a vegetable truck and fall asleep in a carrot crate, they awaken at a faraway farm stand and must find their way home in time for pupkin adoption day. Along the way, the two pause to assist others by planting a garden, hanging laundry, and doing other good deeds. Sound effects, such as Pupkin’s sad “awoooo” and the “whhhzzzzz... fwah” of Lemon Bird catapulting to the rescue, punctuate saturated digital art in a hypernatural palette: a neon-yellow-dappled forest shadowed in deep evergreen reveals a strawberry-hued rabbit, and lofty sunset-pink clouds float in blue-and-yellow skies. Meanwhile, minimal dialogue keeps the pace up (humans, portrayed with varying skin tones and fanciful hair colors, speak in strings of stars and symbols) in this action-intensive story for early readers. Like the gummy candy they resemble, the hybrid animal-fruits possess a comforting sweetness and a fizzy pop style. Ages 4–8. Agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (Aug.)