Snow

An energetic, ginger-haired boy can’t wait to play out in the snowy park, but his grandfather takes so long to get ready that the whole neighborhood gets there first—even a crew of animals. An elephant, ostrich, giraffe, walrus, penguin, and monkeys all play around with the boy, his grandfather, and the other children (“Grandad won the snowball fight six slushings to four”). While the story is featherlight, Usher’s ink-and-watercolor cartoons have a loose energy that plants them firmly in the Quentin Blake tradition. In keeping with the anything-can-happen sense of possibility that governs snow days, Usher leaves it to readers to decide whether the animals are real or imagined. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)