CELESTE

A toy bear plays conflict resolution specialist in this post-modern episode from the illustrator of Eric Sanvoisin’s The Ink Drinker (1998). Chasing a duck that has filched a cucumber slice from her picnic basket, Celeste bumps into a blimp-like policeman, Officer Wallace B. Brekkit; while she stands silent and blushing, her jointed ursine companion Tim uses aggression and persuasion to convince the duck that it’s better to be friends. The next day, Celeste and Tim meet the duck on a grassy knoll for chocolate and sausage sandwiches. Matje integrates a present-tense text, printed in various sizes and colors, with cartoons featuring pop-eyed figures with large heads and tiny limbs. Children will respond to this with amusement, and the theme is a worthy one. (Picture book. 7-8)