Sometimes It’s Nice to Be Alone
by Amy Hest; illus. by Philip Stead
Preschool    Porter/Holiday    40 pp.
2/23    9780823449477    $18.99

This question-and-answer story featuring an independent, bespectacled child joyously explores and celebrates everyday moments, whether spent alone or in unexpected company. The book opens with the child focusing on her cookie, disregarding a small pink toy elephant at her feet. “Sometimes it’s nice to be alone. Just you, eating your cookie, alone. But what if a friend pops in?” A page-turn addresses that question, with the elephant, no longer a toy, now dominating the spread as a life-size snacking companion. The refrain “sometimes it’s nice to be alone” repeats, with the child reading a book near a toy horse, riding a bike with a stuffed bear in the basket, spying from a treehouse with a toy giraffe. Each vignette follows the same pattern, but the reveal is always a delight when the come-to-life toy creates a more dramatic and entertaining scene. A real dinosaur makes playing in a pile of leaves much more exciting, and an alligator friend can turn bathtime into a beach day. The brightly colored, textured illustrations, created by hand using printmaking techniques, are mischievous and detailed, perfectly extending the plucky text. The last spread shows the child ready for bed, looking out the window on a snowy scene; the page-turn reveals a toy penguin on the floor and a final word (“dreaming”), allowing listeners to decide what might come next.

From the January/February 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.