It's a sad day for Isabel (who almost always has a parrot on her head) when her best friend Simon moves away: "For a while Isabel hated everything." To the visible agitation of the parrot, she angrily knocks over a vase, draws a T. rex on the wall and dumps out boxes.
In time she adapts, "and decided to like being on her own." Who needs friends when you can read or stomp in puddles or climb trees solo? Isabel also takes comfort in her "system," in which she sorts her belongings into cardboard boxes labeled Castles, Hats, Monster (the only box with a lid and an escaping claw), Broken Umbrellas, "Ducks, Hula-Hoop" and... Wolves. "Sometimes, at night, the parrot felt worried about the boxes, especially the box of wolves." "Don't be such a scaredy-parrot," she chides her bird friend, but secretly she worries, too, particularly about the biggest wolf. As she scoots down the city street, they spot a huge box "perfect for the wolf." But a friendly boy named Chester is inside. He explains that wolves are supposed to live in faraway forests, not in boxes. Chester, who "had a way with umbrellas and tape," is obviously a keeper, and when the two new friends tell the boxed wolf about the faraway forests, "The wolf left at once" on a red motorcycle.
British debut author-illustrator Daisy Hirst's simple, extra-charming artwork almost looks Sharpie-drawn (perfect for box labeling!), and her screenprinting technique adds rich color and texture to her bold compositions. A splendidly odd tribute to wild imaginations and friendships lost and found. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness