STOP KISSING ME!
by Ethan Long & illustrated by Ethan Long
A fervent pre-recorded smooch activated by the press of a button forms the interactive component in this romantic comedy for the preschool set. A duck persists in giving an increasingly annoyed pink poodle long, sloppy kisses until the dog bellows a protest. The duck’s devastating rejoinder, “I was just trying to show how much I love you,” results in an instant reconciliation—with the proviso that future expressions of regard be delivered in nice, dry hugs. Long fills the spaces around his big, slobber-covered cartoon figures with aqueous sound effects and minimal dialogue, and one corner is cut away so that the button is accessible at every page turn. Fans of Mo Willems’s pigeon tales will find themselves in familiar territory. (Picture book. 5-7)