cover image There’s Nothing to Do!

There’s Nothing to Do!

Dev Petty, illus. by Mike Boldt. Doubleday, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-55803-0

The malcontented frog from I Don’t Want to Be a Frog and I Don’t Want to Be Big is at a loss about what to do with his day. “You can’t think of anything?” his father asks, working on a crossword puzzle. “I can think of lots of things... buuuuut I don’t want to do any of them,” replies the frog, wearing an expression that suggests he can’t believe his father would even ask such a question. Friends’ suggestions do nothing for the frog (“You should lick between your toes for a while,” proposes Cat), who eventually realizes that doing nothing—or at least being present in the moment—can be something in itself. Snappy, spot-on dialogue pairs ideally with the outsize drama of Boldt’s artwork; reading this book belongs on families’ to-do lists. Ages 3–7. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)