cover image Return

Return

Aaron Becker. Candlewick, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-7730-5

In a bravura finish to the trio of wordless tales that began with 2013’s Journey, Caldecott Honoree Becker brings still more splendor and feeling to his architectural fantasy world. For the first time, readers meet the father of the girl with the red crayon, an artist who has sunk into his own work. Wielding her crayon, the girl escapes into the now-familiar fantasy kingdom to meet her friends, the boy and the king. Her remorseful father follows, arriving just as an enemy warrior wields a crank-operated vacuum box to suck up the kingdom’s magic crayons and their creations. Father and daughter escape to a Lascaux-style cavern whose ancient paintings suggest a way to defeat their enemies, and they do just that. Fantastic contraptions, elaborate landscapes, and breathless escapes would each on their own distinguish this installment; together, they dazzle. That the father is redeemed by entering his daughter’s kingdom and mastering its rules gives the story a sense of moral justice. Becker’s creation is a gift to his readers—one they’ll want to save for their own children. Ages 4–8. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Aug.)