The Piano

Originally published in Finland, this cheerful domestic adventure introduces an overalls-wearing girl named Filippa who lives in a hip town populated by anthropomorphic animals. After a piano mysteriously appears in front of Filippa’s house (in the opening scene, readers watch it sail out the back of a van), she is eager to play it. But her friend André, a donkey, grabs it to use as extra seating at his café (a mobile coffee cart, really), and her pal Snoozy the cat takes a nap inside of it. An annoyed Filippa storms off to play her harmonica, which attracts the attention of a certain pianist whose instrument has gone missing. Virta creates an appealing setting for future books, a friendly town where humans and animals alike sip coffee and play jazz music together. But it’s Maijala’s bold and splashy illustrations that captivate. Colored in bright shades of yellow, peach, sea green, and sky blue, her scenes brim with energy and quirky details: Filippa is building homemade birdhouses when readers first meet her, and the pianist’s bench is a can of pickled cucumbers. Ages 3–8. (Mar.)