BirdCatDog

In this first title in the Three-Story Books series, Nordling (The Bramble) and Spanish illustrator Bosch tell three related stories simultaneously through wordless sequential panels. On each page, three sets of panels run parallel—one across the top for the bird of the title, a second in the middle for the cat, and the third along the bottom for the dog. They’re all pets in the same household, and after they leave the house, they meet other animals, chase them, and are chased by them—and sometimes they meet and chase each other, too. When they do, both sets of panels record the encounter, each from that animal’s own perspective. Though there’s lots of cheerful action, the story isn’t out for laughs. The focus is on carrying out the storytelling task, a seriousness of purpose deepened by the declaration at the end: “We are all heroes of our own stories,” a squirrel intones. It’s not quite the right lesson to take away from this experiment, which has more to do with how every event can be seen from several perspectives—a point it makes most effectively. Ages 5–9. (Nov.)