REVIEWS+

Palazzo Inverso

by D. B. Johnson
32p. 978-0-54723-999-6.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2-4 With the enigmatic work of M.C. Escher as his inspiration, Johnson puts brush to paper to imagine a startling world that changes on every page. A grand "Palazzo" is under construction, and young Mauk, restricted to sharpening the Master's pencils, has mischievously shifted the building drawings. As a result, carpenters now stand on their heads, painters hang from the ceiling, and fountains spray down instead of up. With everything in disarray, Mauk races through the now-distorted "Palazzo" with the Master in close pursuit. Viewers can track his adventure through the running text at page bottom, which, with the help of an arrow, directs them, at the final page, to turn the book around. The story then continues with, of course, an appropriate shift in perspective, and readers soon find themselves back at the beginningor are they at the end? Children will delight in discovering Mauk in a variety of places and poses and will be intrigued with the inverted architectural details that Johnson supplies. With the help of brown-and-white multishaded drawings, the illustrator provides a never-ending loop of clever optical trickery. This is a great opportunity to introduce Escher (short biography appended) and to connect the story to some of Mitsumasa Anno's puzzle books as well as to David Macaulay's "Black and White" (Houghton, 1990)."Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
In this riff on Escher's Relativity, a master builder's apprentice rotates the master's drawing; the next day confused workers are walking on ceilings and walls. Many of Johnson's busy sepia illustrations are purposefully confusing, meant to be viewed right side up and upside down, as is the book itself. Johnson has fun with optical tricks; one large plot hole is unfortunate.
This unique picture book features a continuous narrative and illustrations that can be viewed right-side up and upside down: once readers reach the “end,” they turn the book over and read all the way back to page one. M. C. Escher’s influence is clear. His Ascending and Descending inspired D. B. Johnson; nods to other Escher works appear throughout, including a close-up of Mauk’s eyes and bird/fish symmetry images. Readers will want to pore over the artwork. The contrast between black and white enhances the different dimensions of the work. A captivating visual introduction to pattern, perspective, three-dimensional space, and “impossible spaces.”

Be the first reader to comment.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?