Duet

Sleepless Kao (artist Kaori Kasai) tells the story of an idyllic friendship%E2%80%94or at least it starts out that way. Sora and Sarah wear matching blue dresses with lacy white aprons. Their huge blue eyes open wide in wonder when they compare their heights, then close in pleasure as they lick twin ice cream cones. "I know your mind, Sarah," Sora says. "I feel your feelings, Sora," Sarah replies. But things change: "Time for school. Sora goes. Sarah stays." Sora's new friend Kay comes to play. Sora orders Sarah into the closet: "Sarah sits in blue darkness." When Kay suggests they play with Tutu, "my secret friend," Sora asks if Sarah, her "secret twin," can play, too. She opens the closet door%E2%80%94but Sarah's not there. Sarah reappears shortly thereafter as the four friends dance in the snow, Sora and Kay in winter clothing, Sarah in her dress and bare feet (Tutu is revealed as a winged unicorn-deer hybrid). While the story gives credence to just how real imaginary friends can be to children, enigmatic images and oblique storytelling make this an odd, unsettling fantasy. Ages 3%E2%80%937. (Oct.)