ARNO AND HIS HORSE

When Arno loses his wooden horse, everyone helps hunt for the small carving.

In pedestrian verse, the search unfolds: “Back to the bush, / we ran from here to there. / Mercy said, ‘Your little horse, / it could be anywhere!’ ” The word bush and some cockatoos roosting on a playhouse provide clues to the Australian setting and origin of this book. Since few of the several characters depicted are named, children will speculate about relationships among the multiracial group Arno’s seen with. Mercy and Arno have the same freckles, beige skin, and dark hair, but whether the brown-skinned and White-presenting kids and adults with them are all members of a blended family is unspoken. Grandpa, who also presents White, is introduced as the now-deceased carver of the horse. That’s what makes it special. After Arno dreams about his grandpa, he knows where to find the horse. Several elements of this happy ending require unpacking. With no clear segue between dream and waking, Arno is depicted running out alone into the night. He finds the horse buried under some tree roots, “just near the longest bridge”—which is not pictured in any of the prior illustrations. Grandpa is seen fording the river, both in Arno’s memory of his grandfather’s stories and in his dream. Does it matter? The book’s emphasis on the relationship between the older man and the young boy is comforting, but the narrative gaps tantalize.

Puzzling.