The Outside

A group of happy-go-lucky prairie dogs loves to play outside—all except Earl, who worries about leaving the burrow. When the others head up to view the sunrise, painted by Marino (We Will Live in This Forest Again) as a scrap of color-splashed sky seen through the tunnel’s narrow opening, Earl warns them: “Careful! Coyotes come out at dawn.... Smells like rain.” As the carefree prairie dogs play tag, readers can see that Earl’s not wrong; a coyote lurks nearby, and thunderclouds quickly gather. When the rain comes and the tunnel floods, the group finds that Earl has made provisions for danger they hadn’t even thought about. When Earl’s physical need for warmth outweighs his heightened awareness of threat, the group convinces Earl to try a new tack—and they do it with maximum care. Speech balloon text kicks up the pacing throughout, while cross-sections of the burrow system reveal both the animals’ underground lives and how Earl perceives the outdoors from below—as small, constricted areas of light in the midst of velvety blackness. It all adds dimension to this sweet-tempered outing that illuminates a supportive system leading to individual change. More about prairie dogs concludes. Ages 4–8. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (June)