THE SURPRISE

A guinea pig who is a surprise birthday gift learns that it’s OK to be an oddball.

The Surprise is sleepy and dressed in a martial arts uniform. She wakes when Kit, the Black child to whom she was gifted, has left for school, and the other pets surround her. Paul, a bird; Dora, a cat; and Bob, a pug, don’t know what she is or what she does, and they conclude that “If you’re not a cat or a dog or a bird, you’re an oddball.” After being ostracized, the Surprise tries to make herself more like the other pets, but the flying device she creates carries her out the window. Blown by a gust of wind, she finds herself at the window of another oddball, who shares macaroons and a game of cards until it is time for the Surprise to return to Kit. When Kit hugs her and introduces her to the other pets by name, the others stop giving her a hard time and welcome her into the fold. Smith and Laird’s picture-book debut is adorable and sweet, if surprisingly ordinary; their exploration of the eternal theme of fitting in offers amusing details but no unique angle. Fox’s illustrations, in a soft palette, add personality, relying on compositions that emphasize both action and quieter moments of connection. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fun story of friendship and acceptance that treads familiar territory.