Being Edie Is Hard Today

In an empathic, artful story, a child wishes she could transform into something other than herself. Edie wears two spriglike leaves on the top of her head, almost like ears, and takes on the characteristics of various animals throughout the school day. When her teacher asks her to write on the board, Edie explains why she can’t: “I have polar bear hands.” When she eats sardines at recess, other kids tease her, calling her a “stinky squid”; in the following spread, Edie wistfully imagines herself as a pink squid, tentacles encircling her classmates’ ship (“Oh, to be a squid”). Bergeland illustrates in intricate pencil lines paired with bursts of pale color, providing the story a gently surreal, melancholy atmosphere. Readers will observe that other students have animal features— a tail here, a pair of antlers there. The addition of emoji-style faces hovering above the characters’ blank faces can feel duplicative but often gives voice to the blank-faced figures’ inner emotions—the strangeness of the day and the relatable feeling of wanting to disappear into a new identity more than speaks for itself. Ages 4–8. [em](May) [/em]