Boo Who?

The friends from Clanton’s Rex Wrecks It!—Rex the dinosaur, Sprinkles the unicorn-rabbit, Wild the furry monster, and Gizmo the robot—welcome someone new into their group. Boo’s a Pac-Man-esque ghost, and a lot of games don’t work if you’re incorporeal. When the group plays “bounce-ball,” the basketball passes right through Boo (the other creatures look a little worried), and Boo can’t play tag, either: “You tagged me?” says Sprinkles. “Oh, sorry. I couldn’t feel it.” When the four run off to play a new game without inviting Boo, he’s sad; a sequence of drawings shows him fading to the point of invisibility. But the new game is hide-and-seek—a game ghosts excel at. Visually, Clanton’s clean backdrops offer minimal distractions, making sure that the story’s tightly focused point won’t be lost on readers. With sensitivity, Clanton telegraphs Boo’s uncertainty and the group’s dismay: getting used to difference requires some patience and good thinking from everyone involved, but when that work is done, there’s plenty of fun to be had. Ages 3–7. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt and Zacker Literary. (Aug.)