The Wrong Book

The protagonist of this meta comedy by Daywalt (the Crayons series) and Willmore (Little Black Hole) is an anthropomorphized yellow bookmark-like entity with blue legs, brown boots, and blue thread popping out of its flat head. As an omniscient narrator begins introducing, primer-like, objects with associated songs, the bookmark is moved by the sight of a “pretty” apple and the smell of a flower with a “wonderful” scent. But when the narrator next insists that “flowers go CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOOOO CHOOOO!!!!!” it’s clear that conceptual anarchy is afoot. Soon, the narrator claims not only that a puppy is a bicycle but also that “the bicycle says, BURRRRP!” Stuck in the pages, the increasingly agitated protagonist can’t seem to make the narrator stop, so it tries to rally the characters: “Clearly the narrator of this book is all cuckoo-bonker-pants and doesn’t know nothin’. So it’s up to us. What do you say?” Even if the answer isn’t what the bookmark hoped to hear, the book’s resolute silliness, Looney Tunes comic beats, and topsy-turvy perspective make clear that this is a rambunctious read-aloud that’s tailor-made to induce giggle fits. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)