While We Wait

Johnson (What Can a Mess Make?) understands that biding one’s time can be hard work—not least during a day of endless errands. As a caretaker and two rambunctious siblings head out (a note from Dad reads “Be back soon”), playful short rhymes and stylish visuals, reminiscent of mid-century modern commercial art, sweep readers along. The children, shown with light brown skin, at first make constructive use of their surroundings to ground them. At the farmers market, “Bucket drummer/ makes a beat// While we wait, we move our feet,” and at the post office, entertaining a toddler helps the time to pass (“While we wait,/ we make a friend”). Things grow trickier at a vintage shop as well as at a crowded, noisy diner, where the kids “fall apart,” littering the counter with overturned creamer containers, straw sleeves, and sugar packs. A rainstorm under a shared awning resets the dynamic (“While we wait,/ we squeeze together”), until bedtime reveals that waiting can be hard on grown-ups, too: after a day of offspring-wrangling, the solo adult falls asleep sitting up, too pooped to turn out the light. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)