cover image Pepper and Frannie

Pepper and Frannie

Catherine Lazar Odell. Page Street Kids, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-62414-660-2

Pepper the rabbit is “practical and prepared, and follows the rules.” Frannie, her friend, is “fancy and free, and follows her own path.” Frannie’s headed to Wheels in the Woods, a skateboarding festival, but she misses her bus; Pepper, who was planning a photography jaunt, gives her a lift. “STAY! STAY! STAY!” Frannie pleads, and Pepper finds herself learning how to skateboard. Despite her scatterbrained temperament, Frannie proves a gifted teacher, encouraging Pepper to persist through tumbles (“TRY! TRY... TRY!”), captured by Odell in lively vignettes. Though the skateboarding jargon sounds shoehorned in (“They shred”), the triumph Pepper expresses registers as completely genuine. “If I can do this,” she says, surveying the forest skateboard path the two have just conquered, “I can do anything!” Odell’s artwork conveys the joy of skateboarding at speed, the rabbits’ ears flying behind them as they lean into the curves. Rule-follower Pepper’s the hero, but so is impulsive Frannie—the story, about the joy of friends supporting each other and the elation of taking risks, needs them both. Ages 4–8. [em](Mar.) [/em]