All We Need Is Love and a Really Soft Pillow!

Reynolds (When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left) and son set a title that’s reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm story “The Fisherman and His Wife” on a seemingly barren landscape; there, a furry blue bipedal creature and its pink offspring muse upon themes of love and necessity. When Poppy declares that “love is all we need,” Little One readily agrees, making a modest addition of the eponymous pillow. After Poppy concedes the point, Little One successively adds more objects to their life, and the account becomes a running narrative about what one might require to live. In addition to love—noted as the finishing touch to each new addition—the two soon accumulate a roof, four walls, running water, chocolate, a cooking pot, a bathtub, a vegetable garden and a fruit tree, books, and an outdoor toilet. But as soon as they’re nicely situated, a violent storm sweeps everything away, leaving only their love for each other—which, Poppy reminds Little One, is really enough, especially when fluffy Poppy makes a fine pillow. The cartooning’s swift black lines and washes of bright pastels give the pictures a composed-on-the-spot immediacy, but the affection-focused story neglects to acknowledge the importance of an adequate standard of living: Isn’t everyone as deserving of life’s essentials as they are of love? Ages 4–8. (Oct.)