The Voice in the Hollow

When a blizzard forces an early closing of his beloved “branch” library (it’s housed in a tree), young mouse protagonist Hubert Cumberbun, who believes “a good story was everything,” takes a shortcut home through the forbidding Hollow. Just as Hubert realizes that he’s a very small rodent in a vast, snow-covered landscape, an adult mouse appears, dressed in a pink coat and smelling of mothballs. “Are you going this way?” she asks, and, taking Hubert’s hand, she calmly leads him down the treacherous path. Hillebrand (I’m a Duck) draws the Hollow as a place of swirling wind, bleached colors, and craggy shapes that seem spine-chillingly alive. In a sumptuous series of pages that includes a gatefold, a mountain becomes a huge bear that rears its head and roars at the tiny, fleeing duo. When the two finally reach a streetlight—a sign that home is within easy reach—the woman bids Hubert adieu, “But when he looked back, all he could see were footprints—his.” In a yarn that’s simultaneously frightening and reassuring, Hillenbrand renders the daring thrill of an adventure taken and hints at the way that great stories tend to involve an element of risk. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Oct.)