A Sleepless Night

One memorable night, this story’s young narrator relates, their infant sister Elisa wouldn’t stop crying. In uproarious prose translated by Landsman, Chirif (Sheep Count Flowers) lays it on thick: “She sounded like a fire truck instead of a baby.” Ordinary methods to quiet Elisa fail in humorous ways. Reading aloud doesn’t work; Elisa’s outrage extends to fictional characters (“Her roars were so thunderous that even the king in the story cried”). Folk art–style, marker- textured illustrations by Camp (Robbery) portray family members and arriving neighbors wearing masks and costumes to calm her, but it’s all in vain: “You could hear it on the other side of the planet.” The next morning, exhausted neighbors call in sick (“I was hit by a plane,” says Mr. Gutiérrez). It isn’t until the children’s grandmother arrives that the cause of Elisa’s distress is playfully revealed. This catalog of chaos highlights infants’ unexpected power to dominate everything around them—even the lives of strangers—and does so with good humor and respect for the wisdom of elders. The family is portrayed with pink skin; secondary characters have various skin tones. Ages 3–8. (Sept.)