Out of Nowhere

Against simple yet striking grayscale landscapes, Naylor-Ballesteros offers a gentle tale of friendship between a round-eyed black horned beetle narrator and a red caterpillar. Every day, the pals picnic; every night, they “watch the moon come up together.” That is, until one morning, when the caterpillar disappears (a red chrysalis hanging from the overlook provides an impeccable illustration of dramatic irony). Determined to rescue its friend, the beetle buckles on a picnic basket and sets off toward spots of red in the forest. Though the beetle’s initial identification proves a misconstruction, a spotted red butterfly soon appears. Naylor-Ballesteros’s prose is conversational and gently humorous, as in the beetle’s bravery song: “Oh, I’m a beetle and, er... haven’t you heard?/ I’ll keep singing till... till I run out of words!” Graphite strokes offer rich texture against spare backgrounds in this tale that emphasizes friendship’s ability to withstand change. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)