cover image Panorama: A Foldout Book

Panorama: A Foldout Book

Fani Marceau, , illus. by Joëlle Jolivet. . Abrams, $19.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-8332-8

Jolivet's (365 Penguins ) b&w illustrations, evocative of block prints, create a montage of world ecosystems in this oversize accordion-style book. In Akurey Island, Iceland, a whale splashes, emerging next to a sleepy Turkish village where “the air smells of thyme and sage.” On subsequent pages, the Hong Kong cityscape transitions into a Romanian meadow, which morphs into the Senegalese savanna. After the final page, the journey begins again, with images of each region at night on the reverse side. Capable of being read like a traditional picture book or unfolded into an enormous chain of images, the book radiates a subtle message of global interconnectedness. Ages 4–up. (Apr.)