Albert's Quiet Quest

April 1, 2019
Reading, friends, and fertile imagination combine in this neighborhood follow-up to Colette's Lost Pet (2017). Young Albert is looking through Mile End, an urban row-house neighborhood in Montreal, for a quiet place to read a book. In the alley, Albert finds a discarded painting of an ocean sunset and pulls up a chair in front of it for quiet reading and contemplation. The page turn gives way to a wordless double-page spread of Albert sitting in a chaise on the beach, and readers will understand that Albert has entered the ocean-sunset picture via imagination. Two friends arrive in the alley to repot a plant, and in Albert's imaginative world they also enter the beach scene, building a sand castle. As other friends arrive, they, too, enter the beach scene, until it becomes crowded and noisy. Finally Albert yells in frustration, "That's it! QUIET!!" This pale, blue-green-and-orange beach scene is now followed by an illustration showing Albert's friends, wearing reproachful expressions, slinking away down the black-and-white alley. They return, though, with books of their own--and a surprise response to Albert's abashed apology. Author/illustrator Arsenault does a terrific job directing the story's pace and ambiance using wordless spot and double-page-spread illustrations interspersed with others containing dialogue bubbles and hand-lettered sound effects. Albert presents white, and his friends are diverse. This accessible story will validate readers who relish their quiet time as well as their friends. (Picture book. 4-7)

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April 29, 2019
The follow-up to Arsenault’s Colette’s Lost Pet stars Albert, whose search for a quiet place to read is told with restraint. Frustrated by the racket inside his house, Albert drags a chair into the alley and parks it in front of a discarded painting: an ocean sunset done in tints of orange and aqua. In his imagination, he’s at the beach—in possession of a refuge with an inviting view. But he soon experiences interruptions as, one by one, his neighbors intrude to garden, play badminton, listen to dance music, and more. Arsenault draws all this activity taking place on Albert’s “beach,” her loose pencil lines and expressive shading conveying his growing frustration as the arrival of additional children raises the decibel level. At last, Albert hollers (“For Pete’s sake, can’t someone just read a book around here or what?!”), and his friends react by respecting his wishes in a particularly warm and loving way that includes the entire group. In Arsenault’s ideal neighborhood, independent children make their own decisions and form their own community, and they resolve their own conflicts, too. Ages 3–7. Agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency.

June 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-The Mile End Kids are back in this follow-up to Colette's Lost Pet. Albert's row house yard opens onto an alley, where he goes seeking some peace and quiet in order to read. Noticing a painted beach scene someone has dropped there, blond, fair-skinned Albert sets up a chair and imagines himself sunning by the shore. As a series of other children with various skin tones interrupt his solitude, he incorporates them into his fantasy. Two girls potting plants become sand castle builders and are joined by badminton players, a girl with a baby buggy, and kids playing music and dancing. When Albert loses patience with the noisy beach scene and yells that he is trying to read, the children scatter, only to return, one by one, with their own books. Albert tries to apologize, but his friends cheerfully shush him. Pencil, watercolor, and ink illustrations, with Photoshop coloration, are primarily black-and-white with teal and orange used as accent colors. VERDICT The imaginative contrast between the beach scenes and the urban setting creates a humorous backdrop for this "quiet" tale of kindness and friendship.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2019
Grades K-2 Starring the same cast of kids as Colette's Lost Pet (2017), this story aims the spotlight at Albert, who's after some peace and quiet. His house is far too noisy, but the alley is the perfect spot for quiet reading. There's even a painting of a calm beach sunset to keep him company, and he goes there in his imagination, lounging on a beach chair and watching the warm orange sky. Before long, other kids appear, and at first, that's OK: they pop up on his imaginary beach, building sandcastles and playing badminton. But before long, even his daydreamy getaway gets too noisy, and he finally has to speak up for what he really wants. Arsenault's soft illustrations in graphic novel-style panels seamlessly shift back and forth between the orange-and-blue beach scenes in Albert's fantasy and the dusty, smudgy grays of the ordinary alley. The kids' open, winsome expressions nicely hint at the ingenuousness of their actions, and their reaction to Albert's frustration is both comical and kind. A beautifully illustrated story sure to resonate with kids.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)