Mouse Bird Snake Wolf

Gr 2–6—In this original creation myth, set "long ago and far away, in a world rather like this one," the gods have left some things unfinished. Having created mountains, camels, people, and other phenomena, they are now prone to enjoying naps and teatime in the clouds more than work. Yet, there are "places that were filled with emptiness." Almond's potent text and McKean's otherworldly caricatures create a magic that is all-absorbing. Text and image are more tightly connected in this hybrid format than in previous collaborations. Often they are contained together in panels of varying sizes and shapes. Sometimes the words are overlaid on pictures or a sentence or paragraph is framed by the full-page composition. The design propels readers through the story of Harry, Sue, and Little Ben, who, when bored with the world they know, start imagining and then fashioning new creatures. Each animal, made from materials at hand and called to life by the children's commands, gets progressively larger and more threatening until Harry's wolf gobbles up the two older children. Realizing that the gods are no help, Ben addresses the danger by unmaking the beast and rescuing the youth within. The ending leaves an opening for trouble to rise again. Almond's mythic and folkloric elements, wrapped in his own fertile imagination, combine with McKean's expressionistic illustrations to produce a whole that reveals the beauty and terror encountered in the created world and in the human spirit.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library