COCO'S COURAGE

A girl’s love of candy turns into a big problem in Lewis’ picture-book series installment.

Coco has just started her first day of kindergarten, but it doesn’t take long for her to get into trouble. She finds a bag of candy left behind in the cafeteria and takes it home; later, at her grandmother’s house, she steals more candy from a jar on the living room table. As weeks pass and Coco eats her contraband, her teeth start to ache, and her parents suspect that she has a cavity. “It looks like Dad and I need to take you to the dentist,” her mom explains. Coco is nervous: She must apologize for taking the candy and also confront her fear of going to the dentist. In this follow-up to Coco Braves the Dark (2023), Lewis has Coco call on her religious faith to see her through her trials. The story is quick, blunt, and to the point; it sticks to its lesson without any secondary plot details or characterization. Betzy and Lola’s illustrations are bright and colorful, depicting Coco, her family, and their dentist as people of color; other characters have a range of skin tones. Oddly, two illustrations are repeated on consecutive pages without a clear reason.

A simple, straightforward overview of a first dentist visit for religious readers that’s hampered by slightly confusing execution.