MAYHEM AT THE MUSEUM

The unthinkable happens during a museum visit.

Clad in a red cap, the tan-skinned, dark-haired Yuri loves dinosaurs but fears birds. When a parakeet belonging to the coat check attendant flies off to make its nightly rounds, savvy readers might have a clue as to what’s in store. Yuri is balancing on the railing surrounding two enormous skeletons and a third smaller one when it happens—“the really REALLY BIIIIG catastrophe….The kind of catastrophe that makes you think nothing will ever be right again. You feel so quiet. You feel so small.” Spotting the bird, Yuri flinches, and the exhibit is reduced to a pile of bones. The youngster is mortified, but luckily the other museumgoers—a diverse group of adults and children—toil all night, reassembling hundreds (maybe thousands) of bones. In the morning, the group admires their work. “Catastrophe. What catastrophe?” This Swiss import, translated from German, features orderly, elegant illustrations with fine black sketchy outlines. A quirky tone creeps in as Brückner plays with the gutter and concludes her tale on a surprising, whimsical note; her dramatic but ultimately reassuring second-person narration highlights the tragicomic aspects of the story. Be sure to share this one before—or after—a museum visit.

Warmly witty fare that will elicit smiles from anyone who’s ever committed a public gaffe.