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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Based on a true story retold to him by the Tickells, Almond (with Pinfold outstanding illustrations) tells the tale of the building of the largest artificial lake in the UK. Set in Northumberland, it follow the story of a father and daughter who visit the land which is to be lost to the lake. Instead of anger, they choose to sing, dance and play music to the memories of those who have left and the homes that now lay empty.
What is beautiful about this story is that the dam itself also brings a peace and tranquility with it but that the music within the lake and the stories of all those who had lived there should be remembered and celebrated. It is not, as would be so easy to do, cast as the villain but rather as an image of change and new beginnings.
I had read a picturebook written by Almond only a few months ago and it was poor. He wrote too many words and didn't trust the illustrator to handle the telling. Not this time. This time it feels as if Almond understands that the picturebook should be the cradle for words and pictures to work together. He gives Pinfold the space to share his own vision of the bleak yet beautiful Northumberland landscape and in doing so, together they sing and dance a beautiful story: one that I will not forget.
What is beautiful about this story is that the dam itself also brings a peace and tranquility with it but that the music within the lake and the stories of all those who had lived there should be remembered and celebrated. It is not, as would be so easy to do, cast as the villain but rather as an image of change and new beginnings.
I had read a picturebook written by Almond only a few months ago and it was poor. He wrote too many words and didn't trust the illustrator to handle the telling. Not this time. This time it feels as if Almond understands that the picturebook should be the cradle for words and pictures to work together. He gives Pinfold the space to share his own vision of the bleak yet beautiful Northumberland landscape and in doing so, together they sing and dance a beautiful story: one that I will not forget.
Dam(n), this book is sad. But it's also full of hope and a reminder that few things are stronger than music and that even if everything else in the world starts to disappear, music will be one of the last things we will let go of.