Shrinking Violet

PreS-Gr 3–Violet resides in a stately castle near a forest by the sea with her constant companion, Bird. The quality of Snyder’s writing establishes a powerful, intense metaphor for anxiety: when startled (by rustling or a spider), Violet feels “trembly” and begins to shrink, trapped in the loop of getting smaller and smaller, hiding from what or who made her afraid. She attempts to stop this process by thinking soothing thoughts like fireflies or hummingbirds. The illustrations, rendered in gouache, are central to conveying the emotional scale. The artwork effectively contrasts Violet’s descent into fear, making her a thimble of a girl in the enormous night, with her emotional turning point in becoming brave to save Bird growing quick as a lick into the tallest tree in the forest. She eventually calms herself by picturing simple, ordinary things such as making her bed. The story concludes with a realistic resolution, noting she still shrinks and grows if not always happily, but now strides out brave and careful. The clean, realistic writing and story make it relatable even as it resides inside a fantasy world, with the colors washing out the characters as if to invite readers to focus on and see themselves in Violet.