Outstanding in the Rain

Viva (Along a Long Road) plays a game of conceal and reveal with die-cuts in this homophonic salute to Coney Island. A boy is celebrating his birthday, and his first order of business is “ice cream,” with the word “cream” framed by an oval opening. Readers turn the page to uncover a hidden S and observe that the scoops have fallen off the cone (“ ‘Oh no!’ I scream,/ with tears in my eyes”). The boy and his mother proceed to the amusement park, enjoy birthday cake on the beach, and as the sun sets and a “night rain” falls, the “night train” arrives, and an “ice man” becomes a “nice man” by replacing the boy’s lost treat. Viva’s playfully stylized graphics—in saturated hues of hot fudge, gold, vanilla, turquoise, and red—celebrate boardwalk food stands, carnival games, and beach goers. Yet Viva sometimes labors to find words to fit the die-cut holes (“Those sandwiches there,/ they look the best./ On the sand which is there,/ we stop and rest”), calling attention to the strained gimmick. Ages 3–6. Agency: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. (Apr.)