Constance and Tiny

“My name is Constance. I am locked up in an evil mansion,” the narrator begins, but the illustrations tell a very different tale: the “evil mansion” is her family's charming, ivy-covered cottage with a swimming pool. Humorous disparity between the text and illustrations forms the linchpin of this wry French import. The histrionic narrator, Constance, complains of her wretched life with her parents who “are terrible people—unfair and mean,” yet they are shown bestowing gifts and generally kowtowing to this diminutive terror. Her “sweet and gentle” cat, Tiny, is huge and as ill-behaved as his owner. While the plot is slight—Constance and Tiny run away, only to be returned by bandits, aka kindly police—the pleasure lies in the naughty ironies. Héliot's (Piano Piano ) line drawings are elegant and employ a restrained palette of black, white, gray and red. Charles Addamsesque gothic touches add a cautionary flair: Constance's red-ringed eyes have an evil, zombielike look, while Tiny's ears evoke the sharp angularity of devil's horns. Also out in September: Constance and the Great Escape . Ages 7–up. (Sept.)