A Rose, a Bridge, and a Wild Black Horse

In a palette of sunset pink, orange, and lilac, Morstad (The Puppets of Spelhorst) creates new illustrations for this creation by the late Zolotow (William’s Doll), reenvisioned by Crescent Dragonwagon as a string of extravagant promises made by a girl to her mother. Portrayed with black hair and skin that generally reflects the white of the page, the two snuggle on a blanket, the child gazing at her parent with love. “When I’m grown up,” the younger announces, “I’ll break rocks in half for you with my bare hands.” Morstad draws the girl, now older, in a martial arts–style pose, her eyes closed as a large geode near her cracks open. Her plans range from the epic (“I’ll climb mountains and bring you a stone from the top”) to the mundane (“I will do all your arithmetic for you”). On another page, “I’ll fight anyone you don’t like and win” becomes an act of peacemaking as the girl offers a shadowy monster a cup of tea. The girl’s final promise imagines a day of leave-taking, but, she vows, she will leave her mother with a friend; it’s an expression of boundless love that has lost none of its fresh specificity—a freshness that’s reflected in the new illustrations, too. An afterword adds biographical context. Ages 5–7. Author’s agent: Edite Kroll, Edite Kroll Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Jr./Folio Literary. (Mar.)