I'm a Gnome!

May 15, 2019
A journey to a gnome festival introduces readers to fantastic folk. The first-person text addresses readers directly as the narrating gnome sets off through the forest. "Oh, don't shuffle your feet. We don't have time for that sort of flumadiddle!" their red-capped guide exclaims, but he must pause to explain to the (apparently dawdling) readers that the groups of elves, dwarves, trolls, and fairies they see are not gnomes. The clear lines he tries to make between himself and the other magical beings (elves wear striped leggings; dwarves use pickaxes; trolls have "wild hair"; and fairies fly about) dissolve due to exceptions he makes based on his own gnomish experiences. This dissolution of intergroup differences is reinforced at the festival, where: Gnomes clad in striped bathing suits dip their feet in a pool; another gnome wields a pickax to carve a chocolate statue; several gnomes get wild-looking haircuts (depicted as multicolored, straight strands sticking out from their heads, as opposed to the trolls' curly "wild hair"); and gnomes fly about astride ducks. Despite this apparent common ground, the groups do stay quite separate from one another throughout the book, though intragroup diversity in appearance (with varied skin and hair colors, some natural to humans, some not) prevents utter homogeneity. There's humor in art and text, but the story lacks substance, and the digital art borders on the garish. Gnothing to write gnome about. (Picture book. 3-5)

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January 24, 2020

K-Gr 2-"Hey, You! I bet you're looking for the annual Gnome Festival. Don't worry I can show you the way." The unnamed male gnome ("Don't ask me why the G is silent, because I have no idea!") guide is dressed in a pointy red hat and has a white beard, belted tunic, and black leggings. As he leads readers to the festival ("Oh, don't shuffle your feet. We don't have time for that sort of flumadiddle!"), they encounter elves, dwarves, trolls, and fairies; at each encounter our guide wants to make clear that they are nice and all, but they are not gnomes. ("Don't you know how to tell the difference between magical creature[s].") Yet, the more he tries to define what a gnome is and isn't, the more exceptions he finds. Sometimes gnomes DO wear stripes (elves), use a pickax (dwarves), hang out in swamps (trolls), have wild hair (trolls), and fly (fairies). Arrival at the Festival ("Now you can see just how different we are..."), only shows more of the same similarities until even our guide can't deny it. Peill-Meininghaus's text firmly breaks the fourth wall in all the right ways. It's fun, instructive, just a little cranky, and perfect for reading aloud. The addition of Bernatene's rich illustrations only enhances the goodness, including detailed depictions of each creature, full-page spreads of their communities, and occasionally the guide taking up half the page looking right at the reader. In addition, dynamic text placement makes everything flow nicely. VERDICT A fun and subtle look at how we have more in common than we may think. Works on many levels, from story time to sparking a conversation about differences. A good general purchase.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

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