So-Hee and Lowy

From the team behind You Are (Not) Small comes a tale about a pet who brings companionship to its owner and community to its neighborhood. So-Hee, a lonely only child who desperately wants a pet but is allergic to furry creatures, finally encounters “a PET! That I can HUG!”—a large yellow snake found at the pet store’s “giant non-furry pet sale.” In cartooned drawings, Weyant shows child and snake learning to be friends. After an initial setback (a loud sneeze from So-Hee sends Lowy retreating to a chandelier), the two become happily inseparable: Lowy assists while So-Hee administers medical care to stuffed animals, and the two sunbathe, ride the carousel, and cycle together. Then, one icy winter day, the snake disappears, and a long search follows—one that brings Lowy to the attention of the child’s entire apartment building, and wins So-Hee a new community. Kang accentuates the positive throughout this low-conflict story, which resolves with a sunny reminder that camaraderie can often be found both anywhere and where one least expects it. So-Hee cues as East Asian; background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages up to 7. (Apr.)