PIECE OUT

A fugitive game board piece undertakes the scary trek back to the storage box—all the way across the house.

After being left on the floor at the end of Friday Game Night, Red decides the safest option is just to wait patiently. The next morning, a roaring vacuum monster attacks. One narrow escape later, fueled by a new determination to get back home, Red sets out on an arduous journey, though the way is long, and hazards ranging from terrifying canine beast Lady Flufferton to wads of sticky chewing gum await. Still, the stick-limbed plastic mite displays outsize measures of courage and resourcefulness—not even being snatched up and chucked into the feared junk drawer signals a “game over” for our hero. By the time the next Friday Game Night rolls around, Red is back home in the storage box, not only regaling the other game pieces with tales of “dicey” adventures, but ready for more of the same. Dramatic narration brings to life Red’s near misses and brushes with danger. Willan provides a floor map with thrillingly labeled features like the “Smelly Hillsides” (a shoe rack) and the “Rectangular Sea” (an aquarium) so that fellow travelers can retrace the route; he depicts a diversely hued family of human gamers having a blast around a simple board.

A rousing Toy Story–style odyssey.