Francis, the Little Fox

Quebecois artist Maurey’s elegant, woodblocklike portraits of Francis the fox and his father doing their washing at their neighborhood Laundromat are only part of the charm of this sweet-tempered tale, which derives from a French-language app Boisjoly created. From the loopy rules that govern behavior at the Laundromat (“No tomato slingshots!”) to the made-up cleaning products on the shelf (“Brighter Than You!”), Maurey and Boisjoly both celebrate and poke fun at the rituals of everyday urban life. Francis and his father always “make a game of tossing their orphan socks onto the caribou antlers mounted above the window,” then go for frozen yogurt while the clothes churn. Francis’s Laundromat adversary is the owner’s human granddaughter, Lily Rain Boots, who pulls a prank on Francis that scares away Mouse, the Laundromat cat; Francis and Lily are thrown together as they figure out how to bring Mouse back. The ethereal plot is almost beside the point. It’s the team’s quirky human-animal universe, gentle humor, and close observation that provide the book’s ample pleasures—and a big grin of a punch line. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)