My Bison

This quiet tale by artist Wisniewski imagines a small girl’s friendship with a bison. Her mother introduces them: “Look!” the mother says to her daughter, who clings to her neck. “He’s back!” The animal stands in tall grass, his bulk and horns visible. Wisniewski draws in charcoal and ink with occasional wisps of blue and brown; scuffed strokes soften the figures. The bison leaves for the summer and reappears faithfully every winter. The girl’s compact, stumpy shape contrasts deliciously with his huge mass. In one vignette, she sits in a small blue armchair across from the animal, who’s curled comfortably on the floor before a small cup of steaming tea. She buries her head in his shaggy coat: “We were never cold in the snow.” Time passes, and one winter, the bison doesn’t return. The girl, now an old woman, is bereft, but his presence endures. “I am in every spring flower...” she hears him say, “and every snowflake.” There’s a striking contrast between Wisniewski’s adorable portraits and her story’s sober meditation on love and loss—a focus that pushes it, perhaps, in the direction of older readers. Ages 5–8. [em](Mar.) [/em]