With a cast of anthropomorphized cats and a generous helping of low-key empathy, Middleton (Do You Still Love Me?
) looks at how the transition to school can stir up a tsunami of anxieties in even the most confident child. Enrico is an accomplished four-year-old ("He could make a magnificent sardine in lobster-jelly sandwich") and the idol of his younger brother Chico. But when Enrico enters school at age 5, he loses confidence: he is reluctant to hold up his hand in class ("even though he knew some of the answers") and draws a blank when it comes to fitting in and making friends. As in her previous work, Middleton achieves an effective visual and emotional counterpoint by combining bright, saturated colors with a poignantly scraggly ink line. The palette keeps the mood reassuringly upbeat, while the fine line conveys Enrico's vulnerability. In many of the pictures, Middleton subtly enriches the emotional texture by adding arrowed, handwritten annotations—one example points to Enrico's "Funny new school shorts" before he leaves for his first day, an omen of the uneasiness to come. But with sound advice from Chico to simply be himself, Enrico relaxes, opens up in class and even makes a new chum on the playground. Without moralizing or melodrama, Middleton tells nascent school-goers that it's okay to be scared—but even better to do what comes naturally. Ages 4-up. (July)
