The World of Maxime

This graphic novel–like picture book from de Pesloüan (What Makes Girls Sick and Tired) and Goldstyn (The Stars) starts slowly with a detailed introduction of 10-year-old Maxime, the only child of an often-preoccupied single parent. Maxime loves cats and reading, resents overbearing adults, and yearns for a friend. The story’s action picks up as she notices dishes filled with cat kibble in the alley behind her house. “Her mother has told her over and over not to feed Turmeric’s friends, or any other cat on the street,” so who put them there? Detective work leads her to an adult, Catmamou, who seems different from others—irascible and private, but genuine, too, and willing to listen. Soon, the older woman’s companionship makes it possible for Maxime to do and say things she has feared. Fizzy line drawings and forthright conversation capture the characters’ warmth as a stranger-turned-kindred-spirit accompanies Maxime through a crucial moment of growth. Protagonists are shown with pale skin. One East Asian–cued background character’s depiction leans into caricature; individuals throughout are shown with various abilities and skin tones. More about community cats concludes. Ages 7–10. (May)