cover image Toby and the Ice Giants

Toby and the Ice Giants

Joe Lillington. Nobrow/Flying Eye (Consortium, dist.), $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-909263-58-1

In a story set during the last glacial period, Toby the bison ventures away from his family and runs into other large, roaming animals like the woolly rhinoceros, mammoth, and megatherium. The doe-eyed, shaggy-banged bison shyly approaches each “ice giant”: “I’m Toby, I can run really fast!” he tells a glyptodon, who replies by saying, “Well I’m a Glyptodon and I’m slow. You would be too, if you had a heavy shell like mine.” A smilodon isn’t nearly as friendly, and Toby rushes past a short-faced bear, a teratorn bird, and some ice-age humans to return to his mother’s side. Lillington’s cartoons bring a retro Golden Books charm to the prehistoric setting, while sidebars offer details about each animal’s diet, habitat, and more. It’s an appealing introduction to eight bygone species and one (ours) that’s “Still going!” Ages 3–7. (Aug.)