Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems (review)

What a day for froggy little Nanette! Today she is going to the bakery on her own to pick up the family baguette. She manages to evade the distractions of her friends Georgette, Suzette, and Bret (with his clarinet), and triumphantly acquires the baguette. Which is warm. And it smells wonderful. And “there sure is a lot of it.” Soon there’s a lot less, as Nanette snarfs down piece after piece of the baguette and finally finishes it off. Fortunately, Mom is understanding, giving Nanette a warm and wonderful hug “like a million baguettes,” and off they go together to get a replacement—which tempts Mom. Willems delivers a twofer here, a deft story of a child who fell from pride to temptation and an over-the-top, sometimes tongue-twisting rhymefest; in fact, the rhyme is so prevalent that the book makes great drama of the moments when the text sinks into mere prose. The bold art incorporates elements hand-drawn on cardboard and then digitally collaged into the final illustrations, and the dimensionality and shadow suggest set design or witty stop-motion animation. Aside from her green skin and slightly—but attractively—bulbous eyes, Nanette is all newly independent little kid, and her theatrically represented swings from elation to greed to shame will elicit knowing audience empathy. Practice the readaloud first to get your rhymes in a row, and then let ’er rip and get set for Nanette.