Love Finds a Way

A curmudgeonly yellow bird’s best efforts to avoid affection result in an opposite outcome in a friendship story that underscores love’s indomitable qualities. Oscar, who, inexplicably, has “always worried that one day love would find him,” tries various tactics for avoiding a group of overzealous squirrels; when those fail, he reverts to getting a “ferocious guard dog” called Brutus. While he trains Brutus to alarm others, he unwittingly begins forming an attachment with the canine. And when the pup temporarily goes missing, Oscar awakens to the notion that love may not be something to fear after all. Muddy, muted coloring texturizes rough-hewn mixed-media renderings, which comically convey the lengths Oscar goes to avoid his woodland fans. After the two friends eventually reunite, the palette gently lightens, and heart-shaped butterflies fill the air, revealing Kousky’s quirky spin on the title’s takeaway. Ages 3–6. (Dec.)