Play with Me!

Pip the pig and Nico the bear agree to play together—an ordinary enough idea that proves to be anything but. The self-possessed Nico’s idea of “play” involves his cello, while for Pip, who arrives pulling an overstuffed toy box, it means dressing up, jumping rope, hide-and-seek, or any number of other activities. “I meant play with me!!!” he finally yells, threatening to go home. Nico saves the day by finding Pip a drum to play, and they make raucous music together. Telling her semantics-themed story with highly distilled watercolor-and-ink drawings, debut author-illustrator Lee shows the visual and comic poise of a veteran. Her nuanced sense of character impresses, too. Nico isn’t empathic (he unknowingly knocks over Pip’s block tower with an ecstatic swing of his bow), but he never lapses into disdain. Pip, meanwhile, is as imaginative and resourceful as he is frenetic: he doesn’t just suggest hopscotch—he builds an entire hopscotch court out of sticks. That these pals are evenly matched in passion and determination makes their reconciliation all the more satisfying. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Jan.)