Impossible

In this wispy be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable that takes a comic scenario to the far reaches of its logic, the title’s “impossible” refers to two-and-a-half-year-old Toribio. Though he looks sweetly at readers as he clutches a red truck, he is driving his parents around the bend. He doesn’t sleep, and they can’t, either. He fusses over meals and won’t permit his hair to be washed (“What happened?” his father gasps, as Toribio’s mother, clad in a sleeveless red dress, emerges from the bathroom drenched). And he doesn’t want to use the potty, preferring instead to fill his pants. Punchy spreads by Isol (Daytime Visions) combine splashes of wash and loose figure outlines that don’t quite align, contributing to the sense of household chaos. In desperation, Toribio’s parents answer a newspaper ad: for $250, Mrs. Meridien, an expert, promises to put everything to rights. And she does, in a most unexpected way. Despite the sweet-tempered setup, which establishes Toribio as a reasonably defiant toddler, the story proves a sly cautionary tale, instead, about his parents—and the fruitlessness of wishing to change an individual’s very nature. Ages 3–7. [em](Mar.) [/em]