FICTION

Up & Down

by Britta TECKENTRUP
illus. by Britta Teckentrup. 28p. Candlewick/Templar. 2014. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780763671297. LC 2013955692.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—Little Penguin sets out to visit his friend on a faraway iceberg, traveling high and low, in front and behind, above and below undersea structures and creatures. The lift-the-flap format reveals the second half of all of the conceptual pairings, some smoothly, others awkwardly impeding the flow of the page-turning, especially a vertical flap that crosses the gutter. The digital artwork is dark and cool, with the texture of block prints and the clean lines of papercut. The story line is minimal and the book mainly functions as an exercise in opposites and directional concepts. An additional purchase.—Heidi Estrin, Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL
Little Penguin misses his friend, who lives on a far-off iceberg, so he crosses the ocean to reach her; each spread showing his course features a flap that expands his journey (e.g., "He swam above bobbing jellyfish... / and below a tickly octopus"). It's a cool concept, but the restricted palette of mainly grays, somber blues, and black grows monotonous.
Reviewed by Heidi Estrin , Nov 01, 2014

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