Just Us

After a snowstorm snarls travel, a family of four explores new ways to celebrate, “just us,” in Griffin’s emotionally aware story. With opening first-person lines, a youthful speaker describes the jubilant festivities that take place every year with extended family, portrayed with pale skin, including a “big, big dinner, everybody together,” “charades, loud and rowdy,” and three kinds of pie. In the absence of these traditions, the narrating child and a sibling, led by Mom and Mama, fill the day with cozy activities—cooking stew, hiking through the snow, playing a card game—that each prove enjoyable in their own way. When pent-up disappointment results in an understandable emotional outburst, the foursome loops in Grandma virtually for a “sweet” ending. Semirdzhyan’s scribbly-lined drawings create animated narrative scenes that capture the range of sentiments suggested by the story’s focuses on togetherness and adaptability. An apple crisp recipe concludes. Ages 3–7. (Aug.)