Wet

Sookocheff’s (Solutions for Cold Feet and Other Little Problems) quiet artwork suits her story’s inward, meditative arc. Working with matte tones of light blue, mustard, and gray, she draws a boy thinking about the different ways it’s possible to get wet. First, he ventures into the swimming pool (“My feet get wet first”). After his swimming lesson, he plays in a puddle in the rain (“Sometimes it’s fun to get wet”) then falls in the mud (“and sometimes it’s not”). A page turn gives him another thought: “My face gets wet when I cry.” His father picks him up and comforts him: “So does my dad’s shoulder.” There’s something comforting about this slow, methodical laying out of possibilities. The point is not to convey knowledge or demonstrate cleverness; rather, it’s an exploration of how we come to know what we know. After a bath to wash the mud off (“I have to get wet again”), the boy’s dog and cat provide one last thought: “At the end of the day nothing is wet... except good-night kisses.” A calming book for the end of a long day. Ages 4–8. (June)