cover image Why Cry?

Why Cry?

Yusuke Yonezu. Minedition (IPG, dist.), $9.99 (18p) ISBN 978-988-8341-04-7

Japanese author-illustrator Yonezu packs tremendous angst into a tiny package as he introduces a parade of sobbing animals and children, each more distraught than the last. Semicircular die-cuts form the characters’ wailing mouths, and the jagged outlines and bold colors of the artwork all but shout peak tantrum. Comforting words are of no use (“Little pig, come have a hug!”), but the stacked-up die-cuts form a rainbow at book’s end, which does the trick. “Dry your tears and smile!” Yonezu writes. “After rain comes sunshine.” Luckily for parents, the sight of all of these crying creatures is more likely to produce knowing giggles than sympathetic sobs. Up to age 3. (Sept.)