TRUST ME, MOM!

A young boy’s quest for independence begins with one step—out the front door, that is, to the local store for some cheese. What ensues en route is the stuff of legend, or at least a little boy’s vivid imaginings. McAllister neatly balances the reality of Mom’s last-minute safety-awareness coaching with Ollie’s fanciful encounters. Instead of strangers or inattentive motorists, Ollie has to cope with the unexpected: monsters, ghosts and a wily witch. Using his remarkable ingenuity, Ollie is up to the task of defeating these menaces. The end result is an amusing, witty tale that delivers a poignant (for parents and caregivers, at least) message that at some point youngsters need to test their wings and try to make their own way. Collins’s watercolor-and-acrylic illustrations tap into the story’s comic undertones. His drawings of Ollie’s adversaries are so gleefully over the top as to render them really harmless. Ollie’s wonderful insouciance will reassure young readers and bolster them in their own fledgling attempts at independence. (Picture book. 4-8)