BRIEF THIEF

A sparely told French knee-slapper features a chameleon, a rabbit and a pair of repurposed undies.

Twice repurposed, as it turns out. Having enjoyed his customary breakfast fly, green Leon “has to go poo”—and discovers too late that there’s no paper. Happily, he finds a pair of red patterned underwear “full of holes,” hanging from a twig. But hardly has he chucked the soiled briefs into a bush than an insistent little voice drives him to repent of the theft, scrub the rag clean and hang it up again. “Since when are we allowed to touch other people’s things? What do they teach you in school, anyway?” That voice of conscience, as it turns out, actually belongs to an annoyed rabbit in cape and costume. He emerges from hiding to reclaim the garment, tug it over his (wait for it) ears (the “holes” turn out to be eyeholes) and fly off. The text, printed in different colors and typefaces depending on the speaker, is placed over minimally detailed outdoor scenes created with splatters and thin layers of paint, featuring skinny-limbed figures with beady, expressive eyes.

A natural for fans of Jon Klassen’s terse creature capers.