The First Day of May

Wordless panels mix the whimsical and the mundane in depicting a child’s exuberant outdoor exploits on the titular first of May. A view of clouds zooms in on one of houses and a vacant playground. As varied pink-skinned kids peek from their windows, one bored-seeming child, sporting a black bob and red dress, draws the book’s focus. A newscaster’s forecast of sun changes everything: snaking immediately toward the door, the child, proffered shoes and let loose outside, appears to take flight, drifting against royal blue skies. Back on land, encounters with animals, insects, and flowers become panel focal points before the youth—given a hot beverage and a blanket—settles into the grass for an outdoor nap. Giving a Totoro-esque vibe, vibrant primary and secondary colors lend energy to Coser Moreira’s stylistically unadorned drawings, whose minimally detailed protagonist communicates the season’s uplifting capabilities. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)