Are You Mad at Me?

When Opal the ostrich feels anxious, she gets “The Noodles”—her long neck feels as wobbly as cooked spaghetti—and even her loving family’s hugs and affirmations can’t banish them. Leading up to the Feather Family’s annual soiree, Opal’s anxieties are focused on her fulfilling a big responsibility: fetching the triple-layer double-custard-beet-and-berry tart that’s a mainstay of the celebration. Opal tries to shore herself up with a calming routine—she dons a favorite scarf, gives herself a pep talk, and takes three deep breaths—but every encounter she has en route to Ms. Peanut’s Bakery nevertheless sends her into a spiral. Why does Henrietta the leopard speed away without a word? Why does Remington the bat sound so cross? “Are you mad at me?” Opal cries out again and again, only to discover in each scenario that what she has interpreted as other animals’ intentional slights are not about her at all. Tyler Feder (Bodies Are Cool) and sister Cody Feder wisely don’t try to solve their protagonist’s concerns, but by giving anxiety a specific name and reiteratively showing the world to be an essentially benevolent place—portrayed via crisp cartooning in bright pastel colors—they underscore both the bird’s bravery and her burgeoning self-knowledge that when the Noodles come, “she would be okay.” Ages 5–8. (Sept.)