cover image Little Boo

Little Boo

Stephen Wunderli, illus. by Tim Zeltner. Holt, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9708-5

Throughout the year, a cherubic pumpkin seed with gentle eyes and rosy cheeks is eager to grow up and “be scary.” In winter, he tries to frighten a group of spritelike snowflakes with a “Boo!” only to have them respond, “There’s more of us than you.... Why would we be scared of you?” The wind encourages the seed to be patient, and after snoozing in the winter soil, waking to the sun, and growing into a rather unfrightening flower, the seed eventually becomes a pumpkin and is picked from the garden to become a scary jack-o’-lantern. Wunderli’s tender story offers a lyrical take on the holiday, entwined with an impatience to grow up that many young readers will easily identify with. Painted on plywood, Zeltner’s acrylics mix anthropomorphic cuteness with a seasonal moodiness that’s well suited to the story’s coming-of-age theme and year-round arc. Ages 3–7. (Aug.)