HENRY AND PAWL AND THE ROUND YELLOW BALL

Renowned illustrator GrandPré collaborates with her husband and makes an authorial debut with this subtle tale of a frustrated young artist on whom inspiration sneaks up—even as he’s trying to find it. Henry is delighted to receive a Mighty Masters Art Kit for his birthday, but his efforts to create “something important, something special, something really great” result in piles of crumpled of paper (and dreams of same)—until his beloved dog Pawl loses a prized yellow ball. Smoothly sculpted 3D figures and flat, childlike drawings co-exist harmoniously in shadowy scenes featuring a paint-spattered lad and his frisky, then downcast pooch. Determined to help, Henry paints a set of sunny, colorful “Lost” posters with which he and his parents paper the town; the next day, a man comes to the door with both the ball, which makes Pawl happy, and praise for the artwork, which breaks the creative ice for Henry. Young readers who are similarly stuck, or who just enjoy a good boy-and-his-dog tale, will be drawn to this. (Picture book. 7-10)