The Bridge

On a lonely country road, a wolf flags down a pig in a small yellow sedan. “Stop!” the wolf says, “the bridge up ahead is closed.” In scribbled textures, Swedish author-illustrator Lindström paints a desolate landscape, with downed trees scattered about and no greenery visible anywhere. A chainsaw rests on the ground by a stump. Getting out of the car, the pig carries a small briefcase: “Wait, how long will it be closed for? I have somewhere to be.” There’s immediate tension in the encounter, and in the wolf’s invitation to accompany it home (“It usually takes a while”), but the pig follows the wolf into a startlingly calm dwelling. In a suspenseful meeting, the wolf and its partner offer coffee and pastries, and the pig makes polite small talk about the isolated locale before being escorted back to the car. But after the pig gets back on the road, an unexpected encounter signals that the visit was not quite what it seemed. Depending on the way it’s understood, this shaggy-dog story, gracefully translated by Prime, leaves behind either an eerie, unsettled vibe or a guffaw at an offbeat attempt at socializing. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)