SPLASH!

Arctic-dwelling Splash the seal just can’t be coaxed by his cheery friend to come out and play or swim. “Leave me alone,” he grumbles—and when he consents to race, he loses, aggravating his mortification. Splash even exhorts the sun not to bother to rise—and, oh dear, it doesn’t, floating toward him instead. “I’m sorry,” he tells it. “Can I lift you back up?” Which he does, bouncing it—BOINGBOINGBOINGBOINGBOING—on his nose until, with one last nudge, “The sun is up … and so am I.” The very young audience for whom this sweet but bland story is intended may not get Splash’s sudden shift in mood, but they will respond to the illustrations, liquid blue wash and fine lines against an Arctic white background, touched only with the yellow of the sun. Molly Leach’s design integrates the text into the pictures, guiding the page turns expertly. A wee trim makes this a charmingly intimate read. (Picture book. 2-5)