cover image The Present

The Present

Bob Gill, Chronicle, $15.99 (36p) ISBN 978-0-8118-7743-5

His birthday approaching, Arthur spies a beribboned present at the top of the closet: what can it be? His mind brims with possibilities: "If it were a tractor, he would hook it up to his friend's truck. They would pretend the truck had a flat tire, so the tractor could tow it to a garage." The wrapped present is square, and so is the book; each page displays one of Arthur's guesses. Most of the drawings are in muted shades, but here and there colors emerge unexpectedly ("If it were a paint box, he'd paint a picture of his house"). The guessing ends abruptly when Arthur gives his unopened present to a woman collecting toys for poor children. An epigraph foreshadows the conclusion ("Better an apple given than eaten"), but Arthur's generosity still comes out of nowhere. Gill's account of Arthur's thoughts and his deadpan renderings of the kinds of gifts boys want (a horn, a fish, an octopus-shaped kite) are closely observed, but not finding out what Arthur's present is will likely leave children dissatisfied. Ages 5–up. (Nov.)