The Pet Potato

A child who begs for a pet finally receives one, sort of, in this quirky picture book for fans of Sophie’s Squash. When Albert, portrayed with brown skin, begs his brown-skinned father and white mother for a pet, his dad finally gives him a potato. “Dad made jokes like that all time. Albert had learned to ignore them,” writes Lacey (the Dragonsitter series). Then Albert notices a forlorn face in the spud’s lumpy visage, and it opens his heart to possibility: playful, bold-hued vignettes by debut illustrator Abe portray a blossoming friendship that includes pretend play, trips to the playground and library, and shared tub time (the potato is perfectly dressed for each occasion). The potato inevitably rots, and Albert discovers that his mother has thrown it away without telling him (“I don’t want that thing in my house,” she says of the already-binned tuber). But the child insists on giving it a proper burial, eventually discovering that he can grow an entire crop of pets to keep and pass on to others. The family’s relationship may strike some as a bit emotionally distant, but Albert’s sense of agency and imagination are winning, and the happiness he cultivates is admirable. Ages 3–6. (June)