The Short Years

McCreesh follows her sweeping Eisner-nominated travelogue Degrees of Separation with an intimate and gently amusing collection of one-page vignettes about child-rearing. The cartoons document seven years of McCreesh and her husband “living with small people,” specifically son Riel and daughters Sam and Dominique (who is born midway through the book), plus two dogs. The family is tight-knit, the kids fascinated by their own existence and one another’s—in bed at night, Riel comments with puzzlement that he didn’t see Sam’s conception, and concludes, “Maybe I was at daycare, so that’s why I missed it.” Their observations are a kid-typical mix of cute (“You can hear feelings in songs”) and disturbing (“Is there anyone you know who didn’t become dead?”). Many scenes receive wry titles like “The case of the terrible 9 year old roommate” or “The case of the 3-year-old who was very much 3 years old.” McCreesh’s vibrant, squiggly line lends knowing charm to familiar parental tragicomedies: toilet training, spontaneous undressing, tantrums, and weird questions galore. It’s a light and sweet palate cleanser, full of moments families will recognize. (May)