The first picture book collaboration from bestselling husband-and-wife team Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi is the charmingly irreverent tale of a very cranky book . . . who might not be so cranky after all.
A VERY CRANKY BOOK
by Angela & Tony DiTerlizzi
HarperCollins, September 2023
(via Writers House)
Are you ready to meet the world’s crankiest book?
Cranky doesn’t want to be read. He just wants you to leave him alone. After all, there are so many other things you can do—ride a bike, play a game, or draw a picture. There’s no reason for you to be bothering him! But when other books show up for story time, will Cranky change his mind?
Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi, two creative forces, have crafted a story as silly as it is clever. In the vein of Grumpy Monkey and The Day the Crayons Quit, this tale humorously explores the big emotions of one very cranky book.
Angela DiTerlizzi is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author.
Tony DiTerlizzi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and artist whose work includes the Caldecott Honor book The Spider and the Fly, and The Spiderwick Chronicles with Holly Black, which has sold over 20 million copies and been licensed in over thirty territories.
This deceptively simple concept book introduces readers to grumpy, old, exhausted Cat, who just wants to be left alone, and to happy, new, energetic Kitty, who longs to make friends. In a story told entirely through well-chosen pairs of opposites and drolly expressive artwork, author-illustrator Mirka Hokkanen manages to elevate the humble concept book into a true work of art—one that is bound to have readers giggling and crying for more!
Nila and her mom love shopping at the thrift store. But when Nila finds the most perfect, shiny, puffy coat, Mom says no: Nila’s winter coat still fits her just fine. With a lot of determination and some birthday money from Dad, Nila sets out to prove the coat really is perfect–but along the way, learns maybe it’s perfect for someone else. Someone who needs both a coat and a friend.
Simon the sloth loves to hug. He hugs plants. He hugs rocks. He hugs his friends. He even hugs himself! So when his best friend, Elsa the jaguar, and others around him start saying no to his hugs, he is crushed. Why wouldn’t someone want to be hugged? After being rejected several times, he learns that both he and his friends need to want a hug at the same time so they both feel comfortable.
After Raccoon’s home burns down in a lightning storm, his friends don’t know what they can do to help. Squirrel, Beaver, Mouse, Badger, and Rabbit all go back to their own homes, trying to focus on something other than Raccoon’s tragedy. But each animal discovers one small thing they can do for Raccoon—and it turns out that each small act may not be so small after all.