A Cure for Hiccups

Headstrong Max, portrayed with red hair and pink skin, has the hiccups, and none of the usual remedies are working. Digital cartoon vignettes by Scott (Metal Baby) show the comically discombobulated protagonist trying everything from drinking water upside down to plugging her nose while licking a lemon. Stepping out onto the front porch, Max’s clearly chill grandmother counsels, “If you’re patient enough, they’ll tiptoe away on their own. You won’t even notice.” As Smith (The Creature of Habit) notes, this isn’t new advice—Grandma is always telling Max “To pause./ To wait./ To be,” and Max is always charging ahead. When the hiccups persist, Max pictures herself becoming a case study for baffled doctors, being “thrown out of schools and theaters and museums for being too loud,” and even hiccupping through a tenure as U.S. president. Finally taking the mindfulness plunge, she listens to “the scritch of the leaves as the trees sway in the wind,” breathes deeply, and “for the first time, she just is.” And it works! Rooted in a silly premise, it’s an aptly gentle look at the connection between the mindful and the somatic. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jennifer Joel, CAA. Illustrator’s agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary. (Nov.)