Lucky

Mom announces there’ll be a surprise at dinner, and the narrator and his brother, Leo, eventually decide it can mean only one thing: their family has won a trip to “Hawaii for two weeks: all expenses paid!” The brothers set the school grapevine buzzing and even inspire the principal to give everyone 10 minutes of free time because “this is the first time in history that anyone from our school has ever won a vacation.” Then Mom enthusiastically reveals, as only mothers can, that the big surprise is... takeout pizza. Crushed and embarrassed, the narrator slowly realizes that he’s in a pretty lucky family after all—a revelation handled with the subtlety and sweetness that’s become Mackintosh’s signature. As befits a story about magical thinking, Mackintosh (Standing in for Lincoln Green) amplifies his sketchbook-style drawings with a visually extravagant mélange of comic book framings, exaggerated typography that sometimes tips a hat to concrete poetry, and collage (which includes kitschy Hawaiiana to accompany Leo’s rhapsodic tribute to island life). It’s a story that leaves its readers feeling fortunate as well. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)