His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist.

Living in a 'domain' of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human-except Ivan does not think much of humans. How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage. Klassen’s artwork, meanwhile, continues to awe with its wistfulness. Even as its often fantastical premise careens over the edge (and thrillingly so), the series’ titular duo keep it grounded thanks to Timberlake’s clear admiration for these characters and their quirks. Leaning heavily on its delightfully whimsical qualities, Book 2 of Timberlake and Klassen’s endearing series also boasts a whole lot of heart, perhaps even more so than its predecessor. When Skunk and Badger learn of a cave with a dinosaur egg embedded in a wall of amber, the duo must thwart Fisher’s attempts to steal the egg from its chicken protectors. Then Fisher shows up, mocking Badger’s Important Rock Scientist research. The trip begins well enough: a walk alongside Endless Lake and into the woods where a waterfall fits the bill for Important Rock Work. Blame it on Badger’s treasure-hunting cousin, Fisher, who stole Badger’s Spider Eye Agate long ago. Indeed, Badger’s Wall of Rocks-organized alphabetically-does not have the letter A rock. “You cannot leave a hole at the beginning of your Wall of Rocks,” observes Skunk. When a former neighbor threatens to resume his weekly theft of Skunk’s New Yak Times Book Review, Skunk convinces Badger to undertake a rock-finding expedition in order to assuage the pain of a Book Review–less Sunday.

Egg marks the spot