Ollie’s Garden (Carefree Ollie #3)

In this third installment, Ollie, who has peach skin, light brown hair, and comically large eyes, dons a light blue crown to “rule over his garden kingdom,” a lush space rife with produce as well as insects, small mammals, and amphibians. But trouble arises when the orange ladybugs block the red ladybugs from the daisies because of shell color, the frogs discriminate against the toads because of differing sounds, and the chipmunks oust the squirrels because of the latter’s bushy tails. Frustrated, Ollie leaves to play with his own friends— a chubby white child named Brice, an Asian child named Gracie, and Bobbie, a Black child who uses a wheelchair—and, reinvigorated, subsequently rallies the garden critters to celebrate their differences. Carvallo contributes bright, animation-style art. Encouragement to respect perpetrators of prejudice strikes an unfortunate note (“Squirrels, no matter how awful the chipmunks are, you must be good!”), but this deliberately paced journey makes its message of inclusion clear. Ages 5–7. (Self-published)