cover image Orlando on a Thursday

Orlando on a Thursday

Emma Magenta, Candlewick, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4560-1

Ideal for a very young audience, Australian author/illustrator Magenta's deeply reassuring story stars a boy who does without his beloved Mami every Thursday. "Mami will be back tonight," says Papi to Orlando on Thursday morning. "In the meantime, let's play!" Orlando has a couple of shaky moments—"I look around to show Mami," says Orlando after proudly riding his tricycle down a ramp, "but then I remember that today is Thursday." Papi plays his Magic Drum for the tearful Orlando, who dances to the beat: "I feel much better," he says. "That is why it is called the Magic Drum," says Papi. Orlando, Mami, and Papi are drawn as childlike stick figures; they look as if they might have come from the hand of Orlando himself. Simple backdrops in reds, greens, and blues represent Orlando's house and neighborhood with cut-out shapes and cheerful labels ("Beep! Beep!" say some unsteady black letters across the page beneath a car). Magenta succeeds in putting her arms around Orlando's small, safe world and conveying its warmth. Ages 3–5. (Aug.)