Prickly Jenny

Jenny has a sturdy toddler’s body, a big round head topped by orange pigtails that look like kitten’s ears, and a major case of the sulks: “Jenny doesn’t say good morning because, really, what’s so good about it?” No reason is given for this state of affairs, and none is needed. Jenny simply makes it crystal clear that she has zero interest in the polka-dot dress her mother offers her, that she’s being dragged to a fair, and that she would rather stand on her head than take a nap like a baby. Jenny isn’t quite in the same league as the ultimate kid nihilist, William Steig’s Spinky; her grumpy façade cracks, and while she wants Mommy to go away, she doesn’t want her to go too far. French author-artist Delacroix wisely assures readers that Jenny just needs some time and space: “tomorrow, when she’s bigger, it will get better.” But until Jenny regains her equilibrium, she’s an irresistible bundle of unhappiness, and Delacroix makes her the grumpy star of every one of her minimally detailed, roughly sketched drawings. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)