There Is Not Usually a Hole

Alice famously went down a rabbit hole; in this quirky picture book, orange feline Betsy, too, adventures underground. When an unexpected opening appears on a regular walk, Betsy says, “Let’s just go quietly aroun—,” clutching gator-like stuffie Philippa. Then a mysterious wail (“WAAAAAH! I can’t find you....”) echoes up from the hole, and a banana flies out. Betsy advocates for cautious watchfulness and heads off to fetch rice cakes for the vigil, but when the cat returns, Philippa has vanished. In high-contrast screen-printed images, Hirst (I Like Trains) follows the feline tumbling into and then walking through a snaking tunnel. When Betsy discovers a seemingly abandoned purple cat toy, the plot pieces begin falling into place: the lost stuffie, named Josephine, belongs to Nelson, a big green gator who’s tried to make a replacement out of Philippa. But in this sweetly absurd world, snacks and shared appreciation for similar playthings resolve all misunderstandings, forging a new friendship as unexpected as a suddenly appearing hole. Ages 3–5. (Jan.)