Brimsby's Hats

Bereft when his best friend takes off for a new life as a sea captain, Brimsby--a small, fuzzy, button-nosed creature who makes hats--seeks new companions. One winter afternoon he finds some birds working feverishly, "shoveling the snow out of their nests and keeping the cold wind from blowing out their fires." Brimsby realizes that his hats might serve as shelters for them, and his thoughtfulness earns him a treeful of new friends: "They talked about hats. They talked about snow shovels. They talked about whether lemon cookies taste better than worms." Newcomer Prahin's exceptionally polished digital spreads look like stills from an animated feature. Muted, offbeat shades of gray-blue, mauve, and lime echo Brimsby's quirky personality. There's no dialogue--Prahin narrates the whole story comfortingly in the third person, softening Brimsby's feelings of loss--and much of the humor appears in the stylish spreads. In one, a bison tries on a comically small hat; in another, Brimsby and his friend fantasize in pictorial dialogue balloons about fighting a pirate octopus. A promising first outing for Prahin. Ages 4-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Jan.)