A Daydreamy Child Takes a Walk

In a fanciful picture book about a child with his head in the clouds, Italian author and Andersen Medalist Rodari (1920–1980) focuses on easily diverted Giovanni, a well-intentioned boy who goes out for a walk. “Have fun, Giovanni,” his mother notes, “don’t get distracted along the way.” Giovanni means to follow her instructions, and checks for the first block or so to make sure he hasn’t lost anything (“Am I all here? Yes, I am!”), but soon afterward he begins to stare “at shop windows, cars, the clouds,” until a passerby accosts him: “Oh, little one, you need to pay attention. Look! You’ve already lost a hand.” As Giovanni continues missing body parts, and neighbors return them to his mother, surreal collages from Alemagna (Telling Stories Wrong) render the pale-skinned figures as doll-like, so that the detachment of limbs and features registers as comic rather than traumatic. When Giovanni’s mother bemoans her child’s inattention, each neighbor comforts her (“That’s just the way children are”) until, when the child returns, “cheerful as a sparrow,” he is restored to his original state. Giovanni’s distraction doesn’t hurt anyone—not even Giovanni—in this conflict-free, daydreamy tale that centers a child letting go of care. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)