A Pinecone!

Once a dark-haired child discovers pinecones on a snowy walk, there’s no limit to their lengths of obsession in this humorous tale by Yoon (Off-Limits). Picking up one pinecone after another, the child names each find and collects them for the trip home. The child’s pale, blond-bearded adult, meanwhile, is in slapstick distress: the family dog pulls the grown-up into a mud puddle, then flings dirt all over indoors. Still solely pinecone-focused, the child slips out through a dog door and continues adding to the collection (“Hello, Uncle Pinecone! Greetings, Great-Aunt Pinecone!”). And when woody objects overflow myriad household vessels, and insects and worms begin wriggling up walls, it becomes clear that the interest has reached new heights. Minimal text is mostly devoted to the child’s fully committed narrative (“With the singing of the Pinecone Family anthem... we will now commence the Pinecone Family reunion!”) and appears alongside a wealth of familial sight gags delivered with affectionate aplomb. Fully and funnily realizing the comedic potential of a child’s single-mindedness, the work also provides a model for rolling with the p... inecones. The final scenes are a visual feast of related decor—and a tribute to the family’s crafting chops. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)