Doors in the Air

PreS-Gr 2—Though it begins as a detailed description of an ordinary house, "There's an attic for trunks... /There are bedrooms and halls/Ceilings and floors...," this story-in-verse quickly transforms into a paean to the metaphorical doors of one's imagination. The narrator, an unnamed boy, leaves his mundane bedroom (through a door, of course) and journeys into a series of imaginary landscapes, praising the doors' amazing ability to transport him to surprising places all the while. A bit of nonsense verse is thrown in for good measure: "Oh sesame, sesame/Wrinkles and recipes/Tickedy, tackedy, tock!" Painted in a cartoon, stylized manner, Pratt's bright acrylic spreads delight with vivid greens, reds, and blues. The content of the illustrations, however, does not quite match the colors in exuberance. Unlike, say, the wild imaginings of Dr. Seuss, the depiction of the fantasyland here is spare and somewhat understated. A few flying fish, a tiny elephant, and an odd-looking flamingo-esque bird are some of the more whimsical details. Mildly charming but not essential.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY