Stickler Loves the World
by Lane Smith; illus. by the author; design by Molly Leach
Preschool, Primary    Random House Studio/Random    40 pp.
8/23    9780593649831    $18.99
Library ed.  9780593649848    $21.99
e-book ed.  9780593649855    $10.99

Smith (A Gift for Nana, rev. 5/22) again explores a world of friendly monsters, talking animals, and personified inanimate objects, here celebrating childlike curiosity, wonder, and appreciation. The openhearted Stickler, a troll-like creature with sticks for hair and an ever-shifting number of googly eyeballs, sees its friend Crow with its head stuck in a can and mistakes it for an alien visitor. Stickler takes it upon itself to share with Crow “the wonders of my planet.” Morning sunbeams, waving waves, twirling maple seeds, and other seemingly ordinary features of nature are presented to Crow with reverence. Smith’s mixed-media illustrations vary in color, texture, and medium between scenarios, from a fluid splatter-splash effect for water to sharply three-dimensional craggy textures for rocks. Language and text size and placement are skillfully employed throughout, both through Leach’s expressive design and Smith’s quippy humor. It is only after a full day of experiencing natural wonders that the can is removed from Crow’s head, but instead of discontent, Crow reveals that Stickler’s perspective “did open my eyes.” Additional flourishes, such as day and night endpapers and drop-cap lettering (made from sticks, of course), further extend and enrich the reading experience. Smith continues to explore big ideas through oddball characters; as Stickler says, “If you think about it, our world has some pretty weird stuff in it!”

From the September/October 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.