Do Not Go in There

May 25, 2020
A shiny red door sits in an otherwise blank landscape. To open it, or not? Bogart, a big fluffy purple and pink critter, says absolutely not: “There is probably a scary wolf with beady eyes who eats bunnies for supper in there!” But Morton, a visual cross between a baby giraffe, a rabbit, and a stegosaurus, can barely contain its curiosity. “I bet there are fireworks and party balloons behind the door! And robots who are in a robot band!” The friends trade ever more elaborate scenarios—one catastrophic, the other Elysian—but eventually Morton bats eager, calflike eyes and, as the book closes, the glass half full wins out. Digital pictures by Burton (The Wonder Tree) have a limited dimensionality, but their candy-colored silliness is well choreographed, showing that while the two friends may have opposing temperaments (“Not wolves: PUPPIES! Snuggly, soft, cuddly puppies”), they can definitely share a vivid imagination. Horn makes a fine picture book debut, with text that practically begs to be read aloud: “There are WOLVES! Do you hear me? THERE ARE WOLVES!!!” Ages 3–6.

April 15, 2020
What is behind that alluring red door? Two friends see the red door with the gold handle and have very different reactions to what might be behind it. Morton, a horned bunny with a lizardlike tail, tells of amazing possibilities and happy endings, presented in red text. Maybe there will be balloons and candy or spaceships, carnivals, and puppies, and wondrous magic. Bogart, a large, fuzzy, purple creature, counters each of Morton's starry-eyed prognostications with dire predictions of danger and doom, especially to bunnies. Maybe there's a scary wolf behind this door that eats bunnies. Maybe it collects pointy forks to eat all the bunnies, and it will take Morton's imagined spaceships to find more bunnies in outer space. The terrors, presented in blue text, grow harsher and more frightening, but Morton is ever ready with more bright imaginings. Morton's innate sweetness and joy reassure Bogart, and perhaps they will open the door together. Horn's take on the friendship between the pessimist and the optimist speaks directly to young readers whose fears of the unknown can sometimes overwhelm their innocent imaginations. Burton's very bright illustrations depict a mashup of the scary and the fun, with Morton's happy thoughts always coming out ahead. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice another creature looking on, watching the developments. Children and their grown-ups can read together in two voices, perhaps switching characters for the repeat that is sure to come. Tender, reassuring, and lots of fun. (Picture book. 3-7)

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