Le, Maria

This Austrian import makes something gentle and quizzical of the end of the day as a young boy loosens his hold on daytime reality and falls asleep. The book begins by introducing, in a series of double-page spreads, eight animals "at night," sleeping in their rightful places: bird in a nest, leopard on a tree branch, elephant in tall grass. Ninth is Manu, our protagonist, cozily tucked in with a companionable toy crocodile. Flipping the book over offers another, more abstracted picture of the night, as Manu dreams. Now the animals from the first narrative switch places: the elephant sleeps in the bird's nest, etc.-"and some nights Manu sleeps on a cloud, and dreams of chocolate and raspberry ice cream." Both narratives end in the middle with a spread showing two large circles, representing moons...or holes in the fabric of the material world...or something else entirely that recalls the balloons and balls dotting the art throughout the book. Bansch's atmospheric images, saturated with rich color, layer scratchy animal portraits atop collages of newsprint and tissue. Careful, consistent design, with black text appearing in a uniform column of ivory along the same side of each page, establishes a dependable structure inside of which the book's less tangible elements can play. thom barthelmess

This Austrian import makes something gentle and quizzical of night as a young boy falls asleep. In a series of spreads, eight animals sleep in their rightful places; ninth is Manu, the boy. Flipping the book over offers another, more abstract picture as Manu dreams: the animals switch places. Bansch's atmospheric images, saturated with rich color, layer scratchy portraits atop collages of newsprint and tissue.

Feline Officer Katz challenges Houndini, the mischievous escape artist, to a contest, hoping to capture the elusive dog with one of his clever inventions. However, after the competition ends (with a bang), both feel the need for change, so they decide to take their skills on the road together. Comical digital illustrations and frequent wordplay (e.g. "paw-parazzi") maintain the humor in this satisfying tale.