THE PARTY

Irrepressible Chick and his laid-back pal Fox star in three illustrated stories for new readers.

Through the use of panels that vary from four to a page to double-page spreads, this lovely early reader has the feel of a graphic novel, allowing its clever stories to move easily across the pages. In the first, title story, Chick invites a bevy of animal friends into Fox’s bathroom to swim and play. Then Chick questions Fox’s habit of eating vegetables rather than the more common diet of small rodents, frogs, and (gulp) birds in the second, “Good Soup.” Finally, in “Sit Still,” Fox tolerantly paints his way through an afternoon of what is supposed to be antsy Chick’s sitting for a portrait, only to emerge in the end with a landscape. Some of the understated humor may be missed by the youngest readers, but the simple, repeated phrasing and dialogue featured in word balloons will keep them engaged. Interspersed throughout are wordless panels in which the vividly colored, soft-edged pen, ink, and watercolor artwork tells the story. This will have wide natural appeal for readers who know some words by sight and are looking to tackle a few that are a bit more complex (“supposed”; “landscape”; “portrait”) and for established fans of Ruzzier’s picture books.

A fun, simple, yet sophisticated collection about a friendship between two very different characters.