cover image Billy and Belle

Billy and Belle

Sarah Garland. Viking Children's Books, $13 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-670-84396-1

Billy and Belle are two siblings whose mother is expecting a baby any minute. When the morning of labor pains arrives, the pair head off to Billy's school with a neighbor while Dad goes to the hospital with Mom. The hours pass, but after Belle's curiosity almost turns the school pet day into a zany zoo, the teachers are happy to see Dad when it's time to go home. Garland's situations hold much potential for a frenzy of action, yet her text is flat and the story line virtually lifeless. The new brother's birth is anticlimactic--the children and Dad hardly seem excited or moved. The animal escapades in the schoolyard don't create much of a ruckus either. Garland's ink and watercolor illustrations are sometimes peppered with talk balloons or broken into small comic book-style panels, which gives her artwork a light mood. Her predominantly subdued palette resonates the warmth appropriate to a familial tale. Of particular note are the endpaper illustrations that show Mom and Dad--a biracial couple--in bed together. Though a natural and even broadening depiction of parents, the situation may need explaining for some children. Ages 3-8. (June)