The Story of the Everything, the Nothing, and Other Strange Stories

Comprising 18 tales, this sprightly short story collection by Hungarian author Tóth feels intent on stretching minds. “Once upon a time there was a Nothing. In this Nothing there was nothing,” the first begins. After listing many things that are missing from the Nothing (“There were even no bedtime stories”), the narrator admits, “I guess there isn’t anything left to say.” Intriguing titles (“Story of the Little Boy Whose Pajamas Wouldn’t Let Him Go to Sleep”) lead to provocative questions (“Would you do something in this anything?”) and unexpected drama. In the punctuated, oddly exhilarating “Story of the Air and the Ball,” for example, a ball bounces up far enough to see “rainbow-tinted roofs, chimneys puffing out plumes of white smoke,” before falling to the ground and then again visiting this aerial paradise. Budapest-born graphic designer Nagy lends gravitas to the collection with illustrations in a mix of styles—cartooned, carefully naturalistic, fantastical—in shades of rust, mustard, and asparagus. Levy’s translation stays impish throughout this work, which offers opportunities to imagine opinionated erasers and doors that open to unpredictable places. Ages up to 6. (June)