JUNE AND AUGUST

In this tongue-in-cheek take on the tried-and-true theme of unlikely friendships, a python meets what she thinks is another python one night. June and August hit it off immediately, and not even the daytime revelation that June has been talking to an elephant’s trunk puts a damper on their relationship. Caring little that all the other animals are staring, the two bond more closely by cavorting through the jungle all day, then climbing a hill with June atop August’s back to admire the Moon and stars together. Using very thinly applied color to give his flat-perspective scratchboard-and-gouache scenes a distinctive, speckled look, McCauley depicts the smitten pair with large, expressive eyes, and adds quirky details—June, for instance, wears a wristwatch, and August a decorative blanket—to reflect the tale’s urbane language (“June thought August looked stunning”) and sensibility. (Picture book. 6-8)