Today We’ll Be Eaten

Featuring a slightly sinister fake-out title, this reflective picture book debut from animator Barillaro (Bunns Rabbit) extols the rewards of being fully present, however inadvertently. When a “great storm” sends buddies Dragonfly and Ladybug tumbling into a stream, they end up supine in the water, flowing with the current and staring straight into the open sky above. “My wings are stuck!” Dragonfly frets; “Today we’ll surely be eaten!” Ladybug suggests. But the enforced stillness turns out to be clarifying, yielding realizations about lives generally spent hiding under a shell or zipping quickly around. The unintentionally meditative drifting looks so blissful that even would-be predators want in, and soon, every member of the habitat is floating on its back, encountering the natural world—the sun’s warmth, the stars’ beauty—as it comes. Gossamer digitally finished pencil and watercolor illustrations feel like an animation storyboard; landscapes offer a vast-feeling background for sophisticated characterizations and visual comedy. Prizing ideals of slowing down and reaching out, this pleasant work makes a buoyant and persuasive case that sometimes the best way forward is to go with the flow. Ages 4–8. Agent: Janine Kamouh, William Morris Endeavor. (June)