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If there's one thing I love in children's books, it's simplicity. And Chronicle Books' "Rita and Whatsit," by Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod and illustrated by Olivier Tallec, is exactly that. This delightful tale follows Rita, who is more than a little bit grumpy on her birthday (every child has been there, and every parent has dealt with it). Rita is upset at her presents – evidently a gift can be "too big" – but her mood starts to lifts when one of her presents starts to move. Turns out, she gets a talking dog for her birthday, and she names her new pet Whatsit. "What if I just call you Whatsit? It's the perfect name for a dog without a name," exclaims Rita at one point.  And a friendship begins – of course – because no grumpy child can resist a talking dog. There's minimal text on each page, which allows for easy reading. And what's there is humorous and snaps with wit – "'Get back here, present, or you'll regret it!' yelled Rita." But I'm mainly impressed by the clean pen-and-ink illustrations. Each page features a small amount of orange and gray – and a whole lot of white space – but the images are eye-catching. Take this illustration, for example, of Whatsit sleeping. So simple, and yet the reader can clearly see that the pup is slowly winning Rita over – she won't stop bugging with him!  I love it. It's an achievement of epic proportions in just a few words and illustrations: The funny little piece shows kiddies that sometimes the best activities are the ones that aren't planned. The moral of the story? There's a lot to be said for a little. 'Rita and Whatsit' [ages 4-8] By Jean-Philippe Arrou; illustrated by Olivier Tallec (Chronicle Books; $14.99; 32 pages)  Kristen Schott is OC Family's children's book editor. Be sure to check out "Storytime," my video book reviews, for more fun facts about stories you and your kiddies must read. Colds and books More 'Twilight'? 'Princess and the Frog' Where do you read? Are they really 'Indestructible'? Book journals 'Weezer Changes the World' 'All Kinds of Families' |
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