• Age: 1 to 4
• Grade: p
• Reading age: 1 to 4

Ingenuity saves the day in this cleverly constructed board book!

Bestselling author/illustrator Cybèle Young is back with a board book for the very young. The main character of this charming, nearly wordless story is a small unidentified mammal who accidentally loses his ball one day. Too small to look out the window, the little creature is frustrated at first in his attempts to see where his precious ball has gone. But undeterred, he perseveres until he comes up with a solution to his problem, at which point he discovers that an unusual parade is underway. This parade doesn't feature the usual floats and mascots-instead, it is made up of amazing machines and strange hybrid creatures. Our young hero is thrilled, as young readers will be. And best of all? On the very last page of the book, the lost ball is returned to its rightful owner.

This leporello-style board book is designed so that the first half of the story focuses on the attempt to see what is happening out the window, while the second half, revealed only when the book is flipped over, shows a wonderfully inventive parade. Despite its simplicity, this is a story with much humor and many surprises. Nearly wordless, it is a book that even the youngest child will want to read independently as well as enjoy with others.

Cybèle Young is an award-winning artist who exhibits her exquisite paper sculpture (Japanese paper printed with etched copperplates) internationally. She has illustrated several books for children, including Pa’s Harvest by Jan Andrews, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award (Illustration) and Jack Pine by Christopher Patton. She has recently written and illustrated A Few Blocks, a Kirkus Best Children’s Book and winner of the Alcuin Award; Ten Birds, winner of the Governor General’s Award (Illustration); and A Few Bites, which received starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and was named an OLA Best Bet. Cybèle lives with her family in Toronto./p

Cybèle Young's profile page

[T]wo delightful stories in one—one subtly hilarious, the other wonderfully trippy.

Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

This beautifully designed accordion-fold board book will provide plenty of entertainment for the littlest readers.

School Library Journal

This whimsical celebration of imagination is a reminder to constantly seek to broaden our horizons, for new wonders always await.

Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW