Please, Open This Book!

September 28, 2015
In Warning: Do Not Open This Book! Lehrhaupt begged readers not to allow the animals in that book to escape; now, the animals plead with children to leave this book open, so they aren’t trapped inside. Lehrhaupt’s humor is sharper this time around, even edgy—a toucan and gator wear bandages, suggesting that shutting a book doesn’t just trap characters, it injures them. Set against black backgrounds, Forsythe’s digital artwork is equally attuned to the slightly sadistic mood. As book’s end approaches, he delivers an extreme close-up of a dewy-eyed monkey making its desperate plea to readers: “We’ll be good. Promise.” Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary.

August 1, 2015
Lehrhaupt and Forsythe reverse an earlier premise, as the manic animals from Warning! Do Not Open This Book! (2013) return, now exhorting readers not to close the book. A monkey with a lantern illuminating ink-black pages rejoices: "You opened the book. We're saved!" Illustrating many of the terrible things that can happen when a book is closed, Forsythe produces an alligator in a cast, a toucan with a bandaged beak, and a frightened lemur peeking from a box. A battered banana is proffered as further evidence. Stalling readers from reaching the book's end, the narrator offers to change the story. "We'll write something with a hero and heroine. You'll like it. It will be a good story!" Amusingly, the earth-toned, digitally composed illustrations depict a gorilla hunkered over a typewriter; strewn about are drafts whose only word is "banana." More bribes (that banana, now half-eaten) naturally won't deter readers from turning the pages. The panicky monkey laments: "One more page and... // THIS BOOK WILL BE // ...CLOSED!" This anguished word winds up on the back cover, with small-print instructions: "You can fix this. Flip it over and...." The metafictive silliness will require the suspension of disbelief: if a closed book could hurt its characters, wouldn't a page turn inflict some minor injury? Joining a growing array of coy, self-referential works, this one's handsomely designed but a bit light on concept. (Picture book. 4-8)

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