Intruders! The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit

The chickens were living on a safe, pleasant island in the swamp.

LIFE WAS COMFORTABLE. EVERYONE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO.

UNTIL ONE DAY... THE CAPYBARAS CAME.

They had long, soggy, swampy-smelling hair. They looked like guinea pigs, only big, BIGGER, MUCH BIGGER! The capybaras made the island instantly feel overpopulated.

But the capybaras could not leave because...

HUNTING SEASON HAD BEGUN.

So the chickens kindly let them stay, but not before they agreed to follow the rules:

1. MAKE NO NOISE.

2. STAY IN THE WATER.

3. STAY AWAY FROM THE FOOD.

4. FOLLOW THE RULES WITHOUT QUESTION.

But one little peeper chick was curious about the littlest capybara. He ran after him and jumped on his back! The little capybara jumped into the water with the chick on his back and swam out into the water! The scared chick called for MAMA!

PEEP! PEE-EEP!

Mama Hen rescues him and reminds him that capybaras are wild animals, and they must keep away from those alien, smelly swamp dwellers.

Fall comes and with it the capybara hunters with their guns and dogs. But one day, on the way back to their nesting house, the little chick is chased by a dog with sharp teeth. It doesn't look good for the chick, until the capybaras turn around and scare the WOOOOFS right out of the dog with their size and show of even more sharp teeth.

So now it's all for one and one for all on Hen Island. The hunters go home empty handed. Hens and capybaras live together happily ever after, in Alfredo Soderguit's little parable of coming together for the common good, The Capybaras.

Using a minamalist art style of black lines with touches of red, illustrator Soderguit's little lesson on living together proves the motto "In union there is strength," and life on the island is good again!

Publishers Weekly applauds, saying, "Featuring a cast of adorable, expressive animals, this is a simple but multilayered tale of overcoming prejudice, learning to question the status quo, and creating community."

"Tear Down That Wall!" There's a Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee

Once upon a time all the animals roamed all across the land, the kingdom of their own book, wherever they wanted to go. But then...

THERE WAS A WALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK.

It was a strong, brick wall, and the large Gorilla and Rhino, Tiger and Crocodile, and Ogre with his club could not get over the tall wall.

On the other side a small knight smiled as, with trowel and mortar, he built the wall as tall as he could reach. And then he fetched a tall ladder and climbed up to add even more bricks to the top of his wall. He peered over the wall at the animals on the other side.

They were big and scary, and the crocodile appeared rather dangerous. But the little knight smiled a bigger smile...

THIS SIDE OF THE WALL IS SAFE.

But while the knight at the top of the tall ladder looks over at the other side, slowly but surely, his kingdom begins to fill with water. Unbeknownst to the little knight, the water level rises up toward his feet on the ladder.

Finally the little knight looks down.

"WAIT A SECOND! WHAT IS GOING ON?

"THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE GOING ON ON THIS SIDE OF THE WALL!"

The tall wall that is supposed to protect his side is trapping him in the rising flood. Can the big animals help the Ogre reach over the wall for the necessary rescue? In this little tale of the perils of isolationism, of course they can, in John Agee's funny modern fable, The Wall in the Middle of the Book (Dial Books, 2018). "Things are not always what they seem," in author-illustrator Agee's story of a widening world view, and his cartoon style illustrations tell the tale visually in his noted artistic style. Says Publishers Weekly, "As ever, Agee nails pacing and punch lines, making inventive use of the famous fourth wall as a literary device."

Agee's other noted works include Life on Mars and Lion Lessons (see review here).