The Thing at 52

First-person storytelling by Montgomery describes the friendship that blossoms between a tan-skinned child narrator and a gray shaggy Thing in this melancholy story. Noticing that the neighborhood Thing is constantly alone, an empathic child goes over to offer a flower. The Thing—who lives with a single chair, newspaper rugs, and a fridge full of mustard—reciprocates with an invitation to come inside for a cup of gravy. Soon, the pair hang out every day after the child’s school (“He’d help me with math while I fed him mustard”). On an outing to the beach, the duo spot another Thing in the air (“all Things have to go sometime,” says the child’s companion), and the youth is inspired to throw a party to connect the creatures. The event proves sustaining when the relationship comes abruptly to its conclusion—one of many unexpected aspects of this unusual story. Johnson’s creatures are furry and huggable amid wispy, soft-edged artwork that partners readily with the text’s wistful tone. The creators’ worldbuilding teeters between the realistically familiar and the bizarre in this sensitive portrayal of an unlikely friendship. Ages 4–7. (July)