Warthog

In a lively interactive counting book from the team behind Just Right for Christmas, verse with a nursery rhyme–like cadence follows along as a young warthog explores the landscape surrounding his village. Surprises are revealed under flaps shaped like bushes, flowers, and boulders, each leading to the warthog’s next small adventure: “A warthog went a-wandering,/ swishing through the grass./ He looked up at the big blue sky/ and watched the clouds drift past./ He found five lovely flowers.../ he found six butterflies./ One landed on his snuffly nose,/ which gave him a surprise!” After meeting nine monkeys, the warthog spots 10 large footprints, which belong to a lion that chases him home. Accented with vividly patterned details, Beardshaw’s mixed-media artwork contributes significantly to the story’s physical comedy and sense of adventure. Ages 3–7. (May)