Bob and Flo

Flo the penguin is starting preschool with a pink bow and a pink lunch bucket. Then, without permission, her new friend Bob walks off with the bucket and plays it with all day, using it as a hat, footstool, and drum. None of this registers with Flo at first (she goes off looking for her bucket while Bob is standing right in front of her, wearing it on his head), but when it finally does, Flo is not even a little miffed. Instead, she fills the bucket with water, which she uses to free Bob, who has gotten himself stuck on a playground slide. At day’s end, Bob shows no signs of returning the bucket. “See you tomorrow, Bob!” Flo says cheerfully. “And don’t forget our bucket!” British illustrator Ashdown (How the Library [Not the Prince] Saved Rapunzel) has loads of visual talent: her minimalist graphic style is sunny and fun, and her poker-faced characterizations have a naïf charm. But most readers will likely be taken aback by Bob’s brazenness and wish that Flo would stand up for herself a little. Ages 4–8. Agency: Bright Agency. (July)