The Door That Had Never Been Opened Before

Working in hand-colored and photographed dioramas, the MacLeods offer up a new papercraft adventure for the Grunion cousins of How to Eat a Book, set again in a sprawling family home. The children, whose skin tones reflect the white of the page, are obsessed with a huge, and very locked, red door: inquisitive Shelia sees a puzzle to be solved, apprehensive Gerald is sure it must stay shut, and busy Geraldine intuits another new experience to enjoy. When the door finally opens—through a combination of tenacity, Great Grandma’s hammer, and a withheld key—the book’s pages reveal The Land of Never Before, a door-studded realm that “kept GROWING.” Exuberant graphics and an abrupt ending threaten to overwhelm the story, but the characters’ irrepressible energy turbocharges the action as well as the title’s underlying message about championing discovery. Ages 3–8. (Feb.)

Correction: A previous version of this review misstated the book's title.