Henry & Leo

Henry, Leo, and the family and forest creatures are graced with halolike crowns; a teapot and cups appear on the forest floor. Invite young readers to talk about this visual feast for the imagination, and something magical may happen.

Little ones will be entranced.

Zagarenski (The Whisper) frames her splendid, tapestrylike paintings within a story that focuses their power. Henry's family loves him, but his insistence that his toy lion, Leo, has feelings is a problem. "Leo is a stuffed toy," his sister sniffs, "and toys aren't real." When Henry falls asleep on a hike and drops Leo in the woods, his mother assures him that they'll search for Leo in the morning. In a series of hauntingly lovely wordless spreads, Zagarenski returns to the forest under the warm light of a full moon, where a bear, fox, and hare discover Leo. They sip out of mugs while Leo draws a picture of his house; he rides home on the bear's back. When Henry spots Leo on the lawn the next morning, his sister says wonderingly, "But I looked in that very spot last night," allowing readers to share in Leo's secret. Lost-toy stories can be frightening, but Zagarenski presents the forest as a place of beauty and refuge, and the closing endpapers suggest that Leo and Henry find more to do there. Ages 4-7. (Oct.)

In this spare picture book, Zagarenski explores the familiar theme of a stuffed animal becoming real. Leo, a stuffed toy lion, is Henry's favorite. Henry has other toys, for sure, such as a bear, bunny, and fox. But Leo is special, with his glass button eyes and jointed and movable parts, and he and Henry are inseparable. One day the family decides to go for a walk in the woods, and Henry excitedly declares, "Leo loves the woods!" Henry's disbelieving sister scolds him, though, saying, "Leo is a stuffed toy, and toys aren't real!" Henry knows better as they enjoy a stroll through the Nearby Woods. Unfortunately, after a long, tiring walk, Leo is accidentally left behind. Heading out again into the night, the family searches, but the little friend is nowhere to be found. Henry is inconsolable as he lies in bed, but magic is happening in the Nearby Woods. Henry's stuffed toys transform into real animals, and the bear, the rabbit, and the fox guide Leo safely home. The next morning, the family finds him in the garden, looking every bit like a stuffed animal again. However, Leo quietly whispers a real "I love you" into Henry's ear. The full-bleed illustrations are done in mixed media and have a soft, dreamy quality to them. As the people and toys drift between the real world and the magical one, ghostly crowns appear over their heads. The nighttime scenes in the forest contain fantasylike elements, contrasting with the more realistic ones in the real world. VERDICT The stunning, sumptuous artwork and familiar themes make this a serene and satisfying bedtime story for young children, with just the right amount of dramatic tension.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA