CAVE DADA

“Baba want book”: A tot’s demand for a book before bed will strike chords of recognition in many a household.

After a busy day (“Dada tired. Hunt gather all day. Dada no read book”), Cave Dada just wants Baba to sleep. But his fur diaper–clad tot isn’t having it: “Ug. Baba feel cry.” And when Dada attempts to distract his tot in other ways, that’s just what Baba does, in an up-close, full-bleed page of the child’s blotchy face, screwed-shut eyes, and uvula visible at the back of the wide-open, wailing mouth. Off Dada goes to get the book: a stone tablet carved with symbols. But it’s not the right one. “Dada feel cry, too.” And when he returns with a book taller and wider than he is, he does cry—it’s not the one Baba wants either. Even the discovery of fire (from the friction of moving the book) doesn’t distract for long—it’s off to get the big book with the necessary help of a mammoth. Adult readers will guess what Dada finds upon his return, but the ending spread is still sweetly satisfying, even though it ultimately fails to promote bonding through books. Reese’s soft-edged cartoons are masterful, the backgrounds simple so as to keep the focus on the dilemma (and humor) at hand. Both Baba and Dada have light skin.

This is the Neolithic equivalent of “one more book,” “I need a drink,” “gotta go potty,” and it’s uproarious.