Betty and the Mysterious Visitor

Grandma lives in the intriguingly named village of Wobbly Bottom, where granddaughter Betty visits her each summer. Sutton (Grow: Secrets of Our DNA) paints densely worked, tapestry-like watercolors that show the vine-covered cottages opening up to Acorn Hollows— the homes’ shared garden, where Grandma grows the berries that she makes into jam and sells at the market. One morning, the garden is dug up (“a mess, a higgle and a puff”), and when Betty investigates, a moment shown in a stark b&w spread, she sees a badger pushing its striped head under the fence. What if the badger gets into the fruit cage and digs up Grandma’s treasured berries? Debut author Twist sneaks rhyme into prose lines (the badger “snuffled and sniffled and scurried along, searching for treats that were tasty and strong”) and keeps the energy high in a storybook vignette that demonstrates a child coming up with a solution. The tale’s focus on independent problem-solving is rooted in a sense of domestic security and abundance that’s supported by visual layers of pattern and color. Protagonists present as white. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Cait Hoyt, Creative Artists Agency. (Sept.)