THIS IS (NOT) ENOUGH

Kang and Weyant’s You Are (Not) Small series is the slightly off-kilter gift that keeps on giving.

This time, the diverting duo of fuzzy cryptids are excited because it’s Give-a-Gift Day. At a flea market with carnival-esque booths, each of them attempts to find the perfect gift for the other. They are both in search of a present that’s “COOL and FUN and BIG and ‘WOW’!” They consider music boxes, alien plushies, musical instruments that emit soap bubbles, and more—but none of the items feels special enough. So, they knit, garden, bake, paint, and even attempt carpentry and skywriting, but it all leads to a meltdown: “THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!” When the pair eventually resign themselves to the simplest of handmade gifts that are “one of a kind” and “from the heart,” they are surprised to discover that their offerings aren’t only “more than enough”—they are “everything.” The protagonists and their other cryptid friends are visually intriguing; one of them looks like a cross between a poodle and a dinosaur. The cartoony, cut-out illustrations, rendered in ink and watercolor with brush pens, appear against ample white space, inviting readers to focus squarely on the characters and their emotions. The plot twist on the final page, meant to be amusing, is a tone mismatch but is easily forgotten.

An unromanticized friendship story that manages to be both affecting and amusing.