Seven-year-old Julia is a force of nature in a tutu, boots and pigtails—and another memorable character from the team behind Andrei's Search. On the lookout for a much-wished-for pet—preferably one that will fit in her baby carriage—Julia darts through town, forming an alliance with a boy who imagines himself to be a steam locomotive and calls himself "Engine." She temporarily lays claim to someone else's dog (for which she is roundly scolded) and unsuccessfully attempts to transform Engine into her pet (he "isn't exactly an animal, but she can see that he's just the right size for the baby carriage"). Lindgren's bracingly straightforward prose makes Julia's yearning and perversity feel immediate and authentic. Yet the plot is almost beside the point—as the tongue-in-cheek ending seems to acknowledge. Rather, it is the unabashedly single-minded Julia herself who will hold readers' attention from start to finish. The girl's wiry limbs, dot-eyes and scraggly hair radiate a resolve that's both steely and vulnerable; and while Eriksson's brown-and-yellow–toned pictures may seem subdued at first glance, the earthtone colors and subtle pencil textures ground the heroine in the real world, while her yellow tutu and red baby carriage add playful tones. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
