The Wall in the Middle of the Book

Starred review from July 30, 2018
In this sly fable by Agee (Life on Mars), a tall brick wall runs along the book’s gutter, and the action takes place on either side. On the verso, a short, perky knight approaches the wall with a ladder. On the recto, a menacing-looking tiger and rhino lurk. “The wall protects this side of the book” the knight explains, “from the other side of the book.” The contrast between the knight’s cheery, confiding tone and the outsize dangers supply hilarity, and blocky images in faded hues soften potentially scary moments. As the animals flee, the knight’s side of the wall starts to fill up with water. “The most dangerous thing on the other side of the book is the ogre,” the knight says from his ladder, oblivious to the deepening flood, finger raised in emphasis. Enter the ogre—uh oh. As ever, Agee nails pacing and punch lines, making inventive use of the famous fourth wall as a literary device (and giving the book a new wall altogether). Most satisfying is his gentle reminder that preconceived notions about things and people, over a boundary or otherwise, are often distinctly wrong. Ages 4–8. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

Narrators Everest de Montebello and Marc Thompson provide a young knight with a youthful voice and a large ogre with a deep and gravelly voice in this examination of children's perception. At the beginning of the audiobook, the characters confidently inhabit their own sides of a brick wall. As the story unfolds, things are not exactly what the knight thinks they should be. Listeners will chuckle as de Montebello voices the knight's disgust with the ogre and share in his amazement as his side of the wall changes dramatically. Then they'll relish Thompson's gusto as the ogre shares his side. Sound effects provide background AND fade-away giggles. This is an audiobook that works wells as a read-along with pictures that tell all! A.R. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine