Sheep & Goat Climb the World

When a bighorn sheep and a shaggy mountain goat lock horns—figuratively speaking—over who can climb highest, settling things can go only one direction in this wily picture book comedy of literal one-upmanship. Both start small (Sheep bounces onto a startled turtle, while Goat mounts a slightly taller stump), but once the duo exhausts their habitat, the rivalry ascends into an airplane and to Earth’s most famous landmarks. As Paolini, making her picture book debut, and Arnaldo (The Museum of Very Bad Smells) send their feuding duo from Cristo Redentor to the Great Wall, the ever-escalating, often punny trash talk (“This sheep wool be the winner!!”) is matched with geometric, perspective-shifting watercolor, gouache, and pencil-crayon illustrations that emphasize ever-more-dizzying heights. Finally, the only unclimbed peak is a mountain so high that a spread turns sideways to accommodate it. But upon simultaneously reaching the summit, Sheep and Goat suddenly realize “WE’RE STUCK!” It takes literally putting their heads together to get down safely—and through that forced cooperation, a beautiful friendship is born. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Alexandra Levick, Writers House. (Apr.)