Ready for School, Murphy?

Murphy (the character) is a shockheaded boy with a body mostly made up of circles and semicircles, and he is breaking out every metaphor in the book to avoid school: “I feel like I’ve got ants in my pants... and butterflies in my tummy.” These and other excuses seem largely designed to give Murphy (the author and artist) opportunities to show off his geometric aesthetic (he pixelates half of the boy’s body when he tells his father he might have a “computer virus”). The images are polished and clever, but there isn’t much in the way of real emotion in this story, which peters out with an overfamiliar “It’s Saturday!” zinger and an underwear gag. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (June)