How to Be a Proper Ogre

DiPucchio (Mouse & Giraffe) and Bynum (Sloth Is Not a Baby!) deliver a fairy tale send-up that wittily interrogates familial belonging. Three infants emerge from a bilious-looking swamp to make parents out of an elated ogre couple. Two of the tots, which are green and clearly resemble ogre-kind, are accordingly named Hairy Knuckles and Crusty Boogers, while the third is a pink-skinned being that resembles a human baby. Though her sheer adorableness is initially off-putting to her caretakers, she’s quickly embraced and dubbed Mary Beth. The seemingly dainty, pinafore-wearing girl accepts her differences, but she can’t stand being held at a remove: “While her brothers had all the fun pestering farmers and scaring the cheese curds out of cattle and playing tricks on the royal family,” Mary Beth is relegated to the sidelines. Digitally finished ink and watercolor cartooning builds the book’s cockeyed happily-ever-ogre sensibility, and a plot pivot involving an evil prince, a golden-egg-laying goose, and a threat emboldens the girl to embrace her core identity in ways that surprise everyone. It’s a boisterous, affectionate celebration of family bonds as thicker than swamp water. Ages 2–5. Author’s agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Erzsi Deak, Hen&Ink. (June)