Flora and the Ostrich

Idle’s young dancer Flora and an ostrich demonstrate nine pairs of opposite words. Wielding a yellow umbrella, Flora appears on left-hand pages in a romper whose frills and purple color mimic the plumage of the ostrich on the facing page. When Flora waves “hello,” the ostrich ducks its head into the sand (“goodbye,” revealed by lifting a flap). One hides, the other seeks, and after a bit of “give” and “take” involving the umbrella, Flora and the bird go from “apart” to “together” in a foldout finale. A playful, emotive, and customarily elegant pas de deux that introduces opposites with style. Up to age 2. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)