My Papa Has a Red Mustache

The mortifying becomes miraculous in the entertaining solo debut from Espinosa (Dream for the Land), who details the agony of finding a parent a bit cringe. From pancake-making to pigtail artistry, the eponymous father seems to be everything the child narrator could want. There’s just one thing: Papa’s genial, egg-shaped face bears an “embarrassing” red mustache, while “every other man in the whole wide world” has a black one. It’s an assertion that mixed-media artwork, with the visual joie de vivre of mid-century poster art, bears out in a sly running gag. The child’s unease only intensifies when the pale-skinned duo heads to a much-anticipated soccer match: Papa’s whiskers, to the child, practically glow on the packed train. But when the narrator gets lost in the game’s crowd, there’s only one face unmistakable enough to find. As eye-catching and cheerfully idiosyncratic as Papa’s mustache, this telling bristles with comedy while turning affection with an asterisk into full-stop appreciation. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously. Ages 4–8. Agent: Elizabeth Rudnick, Gillian MacKenzie Agency. (June)