Trouble by Katherine Battersby (review)

Battersby, Katherine Trouble; written and illus. by Katherine Battersby. Viking, 2021 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780593114049 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780593114056 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-7 yrs

Our purple squirrel protagonist and her meowing mouse pet Chamomile know what's coming when a bear moves in next door: trouble. They've seen it all on television—the terrible teeth, the razor claws, the generally wild behavior—and they are having none of it. Squirrel mostly manages to ignore Bear or otherwise hide from him when he comes to call or they see each other in the diner, but when he nearly hurts Chamomile, she goes all mama-bear herself, ready to take the beast down … until she realizes that Chamomile doesn't find Bear trouble at all. The fun here is the humorous contradiction between Squirrel's anxious narration and the comedic illustrations: as she's lamenting the sharpness of the bear's teeth, the opposite page has him merely brushing them as he gets ready for bed; when she expounds upon his horrible hunger, he's seen munching away on freshly baked cookies; and his "attack" on Chamomile is a rather amusing misunderstanding, setting up the stage nicely for Squirrel to reconsider her first impression and a new oddball friendship to bloom. Visual variation keeps the spreads engaging, as textured backgrounds pair up with the simply lined figures, angles and panels change with the story's energy, and all three animals—Squirrel with her eyebrow raised in constant suspicion, boxy Bear with his loveable mug, and Chamomile with her perfectly curled tail—are just too cute to boot. This has the obvious message of not judging a book (or animal) by its cover (or claws), but it could also serve as a stealthy and timely media lesson, showing that you can't always believe what you see on TV.