BRICKS

After coming into a fortune, Pig makes plans for a home that befits his new wealth. He enlists a cat, a dog, and a hen to do the work, enthusiastically promising four gold coins for the build-out. Pig’s modest brick home (echoing, of course, “The Three Little Pigs”) is not enough; he demands more and more until the hardworking animals have built a huge mansion. When Pig is finally happy, he gives them four gold coins to share, not four coins each, throwing in another two as a bonus. The unhappy crew returns at night to take half of the home, literally (“Fair is fair,” is an ongoing refrain), leaving the structure to wobble and fall on Pig, all 7,000 bricks of it. Most surprising: The collapse kills Pig. The End. The notion that Pig dies over a business deal might raise lots of questions, and the abrupt finale offers no comfort or information on what happens to the aggrieved but murderous builders. The consequences of bad business are pretty serious despite the bright color palette and cute character designs. Perhaps it’s a good lesson to teach early, but Cotton, author of the exquisitely stark The Road Home, illustrated by Sarah Jacoby (2016), does it without the finesse of her previous work. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.5-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

A book to teach kindergartners not to swindle home-building contractors, in case they need that.