YOU’LL BE SORRY

Sandwiched between Schneider’s stout denials that the episode is based on personal experiences is a puckish tale of impulsive sibling violence and remorse in a family of Kevin Henkes–like mice. When Samantha ignores her parents’ warning (see title) and hits her little brother, his tears gush out in such quantity that the family has to spend the night outside in a rowboat, with only soggy crackers for meals. So miserable is Samantha that not even the flooded school’s cancellation lifts her spirits, so she finally apologizes—and, more significantly, manages to resist a subsequent urge to pinch. Because the actual punch is delivered offstage and the characters are expressively drawn with outsized noses and ears, the humor will be more visible to children than the trauma. Though even younger ones will reckon the unlikelihood of ever being in the same (so to speak) boat with Samantha, they may come away at least a little more convinced of the frequent connection between rash acts and unforeseen consequences. (Picture book. 5-7)