Lines

Starred review from July 17, 2017
As she did in Wave and Shadow, Lee explores the possibilities of the picture book as she draws a parallel between a solitary figure skater and the solitary artist who sketches her. The skater soars across the white pages, etching sinuous lines on the ice, a breathtaking vision of continuous motion. But then the skater leaps, spins, teeters off balance, and crashes hard; her red knit cap goes flying. A page turn translates the skater’s failure into the language of the artist: readers see a drawing crumpled in angry frustration, an eraser cast aside. Another page turn shows the skater’s slow recovery—and the artist’s—as the crumpled sheet of paper is spread out; on it, the skater sits gazing at her hat. A host of other skaters tumble about her, sprawling ungracefully, all with broad grins. Someone offers her a hand, and suddenly they’re all skating together. Skaters fail, artists make bad drawings—that’s how learning happens. And when a person is part of a community, it’s easier to keep one’s balance. For a story about making mistakes, Lee’s work is nearly flawless. Ages 3–5.

August 15, 2017
A lone skater, pale-skinned and dark-haired in a red knit cap and mittens, swoops across the white expanse of each double-page spread in this wordless picture book that celebrates companionship and play. At first reveling in solitary freedom, the figure flies across the ice, skates carving a symphony of lines in the surface with graceful spins, leaps, and turns. Eventually tumbling and crashing to the ground, the skater comes to a skidding halt. Next readers see a crumpled piece of paper, the little skater apparently no more than the figment of an artist's imagination. But wait! The wad of paper is flattened out, and there's the skater, alone and forlorn, on a smudged and wrinkled background, until another child comes along, then another and another. Soon the page is filled with joyful children of varying skin tones and hair colors--and even a bounding dog--skating and throwing snowballs on a pond surrounded by snow and trees. The deft pencil illustrations convey movement and emotion so effectively that words are superfluous. Readers are transported into a wintry wonderland of exuberant bliss in this picture book that speaks to those who like to explore the boundaries of creative expression. (Picture book. 4-8)

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October 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 3-An unseen artist sketches a deft ice skater making beautiful lines on the ice. Straight lines, squiggles, and curls, the combinations are endless. Then, suddenly, the ice skater falls, disrupting the fluidity and gracefulness of the story. The artist seems displeased with this development and starts anew on the following page. In this wordless picture book by Lee, readers can tell when the artist is changing the story line by the crinkled sketch paper and erasure mark illustrations. Through drawings alone, the message that everyone falls, but it is important to get back up and try again is delivered flawlessly. Supremely crisp, clean, and appealing, this is the kind of artwork that will entice readers to return to the pages again and again to see what detail they may have missed. The pages of the book are mostly a bright white, touched by the gray lines of the pencil drawings. The tiny splashes of color pop in the wintry hats and coats of the ice skaters as more figures emerge and the scene unfolds. Somehow, even with the cool white pages and cold, wintry landscape, this picture book for all ages will make readers feel warm inside. VERDICT Any lover of picture books will appreciate this graceful wordless gem. A great discussion starter and drawing prompt to see where a single line might lead.- Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2017
Preschool-G *Starred Review* This wordless picture book celebrates the imaginative exploration of what lines can do to foster creativity. From the bifurcated cover, half shiny as ice, the other matte white, children are invited into an artist's world, where charcoal, pencil, and paper can create magic for both readers and aspiring illustrators. The palette of white, black, and gray introduces a girl skating on a frozen pond, wearing a red woolly hat and red mittens. In one spare line, her skate crosses the double fold spread, while in the next, she draws swirling and straight lines with her edges. Thin lines roil into thicker gray lines; straight lines intersect the spirals as the lone skater executes more and more complicated maneuvers. Her breakneck spin produces a blur of red hat and mittens. Forward, backward, she skates off the page, leaps into the air, trips, and falls. At this point, Lee cleverly introduces a torn page on one side. Is this a story drawn on paper or an ice-rink reality? A crumpled-up page leads to a new drawing as a crowd of skaters of all shapes and sizes appears on the ice and links up in a chain led by a dog to finish a meta story replete with friendship and winter activity. Another wordless wonder from the award-winning author of Wave (2008), Mirror (2010), and Shadow (2010).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)