The Café at the Edge of the Woods

This appealingly loathsome picture book by Please (Robin Robin) opens as its hero, determined, red-headed human Rene, builds a café at the edge of a dark forest, “beam by beam,” then hires Glumfoot, a small green being with pointy ears, to wait tables. Please’s sepia-tinged, theatrically lit spreads give the pages a graphic novel feel, creating ample atmosphere for the café and sympathy for its proprietor when no customers appear. Nursery-rhyme meter adds levity: “Perhaps this plot/ is the worst spot?... My hopes and dreams will turn to rot,” Rene groans. Then Glumfoot goes out walking and brings back a green ogre whose “knuckles dragged upon the floor.” Tension mounts as the ogre requests dishes that Rene feels are too disgusting to consider (“Bats! And slugs and battered mice!”). In a cinema-ready moment, the cook storms off into the kitchen, and the waiter performs a quiet feat of cultural translation, saving the day, and the café. A startling visual mix of elegantly plated restaurant food and friendly horror—extra points for the way Glumfoot makes each dish acceptably revolting—show how collaboration and compassion can yield surprising results. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)