IT IS OKAY

Opposites attract when Goat and Bunny strike up a friendship.

When Goat discovers that he’s run out of his favorite canned grass, he heads to the supermarket to buy more and walks right into a meet-cute with Bunny, who also enjoys this delicacy. Though they have little else in common, they become fast friends. While both frequent the same coffee shop, Goat, who takes his coffee black, thinks Bunny adds too much sugar. “But it is okay, because they can still enjoy coffee together.” The titular phrase is repeated when small mishaps occur: when the two briefly get lost in the woods, when they miss their train, and when Goat can’t fit through the door to Bunny’s warren. No matter what, these friends’ mutual support and respect are on full display. The spare text of Guo’s English-language debut doesn’t offer a full story arc, but rather brief episodes fleshed out by fully realized visual characterization and whimsical settings. Throughout, illustrations with monoprint backgrounds and details added in pencil, colored pencil, pastel and wax pastel, watercolor pen, ink, and collage display impressive command of multimedia in a style somewhat reminiscent of Maira Kalman’s work, with a dash of Oliver Jeffers to boot.

A stellar story of pals weathering ups and downs with aplomb.