In this outing, fans will discover a mellower side to the can-do canine that debuted in The Adventures of Polo
. French artist Faller creates another inventive, wordless story revealed in panel art, although more modest in scope than its predecessors. (And in literal size, too, with a smaller trim size and less than half the length.) On his small island, Polo, a cafe au lait–hued pup, lives a quiet life, watering tidy rows of tomato plants and dining alone on the fish he catches. That is, until Lily, a spunky rabbit who cruises around on a cloud, plops into his tree house bedroom. (Aficionados may recall her cameo in Polo: The Runaway Book
.) Faller's jewel-toned panels are wry and expressive: flapping ears and a lifted eyebrow convey Polo's huffy response to a playful squirt of the garden hose. While still quirky––Polo answers Lily's call on a telephone ringing in a left-behind suitcase––this title shifts from the surreal slapstick of its predecessors to the gently offbeat unfolding of a friendship. Published simultaneously with Polo and the Magic Flute
. Ages 4–8. (May)
