If You Run Out of Words

February 5, 2024
Getting ready for bedtime, a child, portrayed with pale skin, sees their mustachioed father, shown with light brown skin, hunched over and tapping intently into a smartphone. “What happens if you run out of words?” the young protagonist asks. “Will you have any left for me?” Momentarily taken aback, Dad quickly comes up with a story about an underground “Elves’ Word Factory”—depicted in an elaborate cutaway—where he can purchase an “infinity bottle” of words. But the vivid story prompts the equally imaginative child to ask a series of what-if questions that catalyze an extended narrative featuring Dad as the star. Mixed-media vignettes by Sala (My Dog and I) conjure up whimsical details, warm palettes, and avid characters as Dad, clad in bright yellow pajamas, travels up a tree, into space and underwater, and onto a mouse pirate ship. As lights-out approaches, Dad proves his storytelling mettle, reassuring his child that he’ll never run out of words—especially the three most important ones. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. Agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions.

March 15, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 *Starred Review* A question at bedtime ("What happens if you run out of words? Will you have any left for me?") sends a dad on a wild adventure, spurred by his daughter's increasingly complicated what-ifs. First, he goes to the underground word factory, but "what if it's so dark in the woods you can't find your way out?" Then, a giant owl carries him off to the moon, where he builds a rocket. He ends up on other planets, under the sea, and shrunken down to fit on a mouse's pirate ship, all in an effort to get back home to his daughter. Sala's playful illustrations in a palette of sumptuously rich colors truly make the story sing, from the questing father in rumpled yellow pajamas to the fantastical scenarios he describes to the way she deftly captures classic bendy little-kid poses--hanging upside down from the edge of the bed; bicycling feet in the air--as the daughter listens to her father's wild tale. With a plot that recalls Margaret Wise Brown's classic The Runaway Bunny and artwork kids will love to pore over, this whimsical bedtime story offers a superb, masterful balance between the sweet reassurance of parental love and the freewheeling silliness of imaginative play.

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Starred review from February 15, 2024
When a young girl seems unable to get her father's attention, a simple question brings it back. Dad chats with a friend at the supermarket, talks on the phone while cooking, and texts while the young protagonist dons pajamas. Feeling neglected, the child wonders what will happen if he runs out of words: "Will you have any left for me?" The father's expression registers guilt and embarrassment. With unruly dark hair and a massive upper body ending in tiny feet, he's a robust yet comical and affable character. He explains that if faced with a language deficit, he would visit the Elves' Word Factory; upon seeing the containers of "small talk" and "dad jokes," he'd select "infinity" to guarantee a steady supply. But what if he gets lost on his way back? The child asks a series of "what ifs" as she enacts various incredibly flexible poses on her bed, a stuffed rabbit mirroring her acrobatics--all set against uncluttered white pages. By contrast, detailed, mixed-media settings portray Dad's increasingly outlandish scenarios of his journey home: He builds a rocket, rides a narwhal, and drinks a shrinking potion so he can fit on a mouse-led rescue boat. Ultimately, loving words and the dramatic reveal of the "infinity" bottle amaze and delight the daughter--and readers. The child is light-skinned; Dad is brown-skinned. With humor, heart, and oodles of child appeal, this tale models a flawed but devoted parent's mastery of love languages. (Picture book. 3-6)

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