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A review by tashrow
Where Do We Go When We Disappear? by Madalena Matoso, Isabel Minhós Martins
5.0
I recently reviewed My Neighbor Is a Dog, another new book by this author and illustrator duo. In this book, the question of where people and things go when they disappear is explored thoroughly. The result is a book that asks big questions and attempts to answer them or at least provide a framework to answer them. The book begins with people disappearing and the idea that you must be missed in order to disappear, so disappearing takes two. Then it moves on to other things that disappear like sunshine and clouds, socks and puddles, snow and noise. It ends with the fact that everything disappears, even the most solid things like rocks over time will disappear.
Translated from the Portuguese original, this book is thought provoking and fascinating. Martins manages to right a book about big questions that answers them in a way that is exploratory and insightful and doesn’t turn quickly to a religious answer. Instead she stays in the questioning place, allowing different ideas to surface and be discussed. She does not provide any easy answers, meeting children right where they want the discussion to stay, where it leads to more and more questions.
Matoso’s illustrations are vibrantly colored and filled with strong shapes. They appear to be block printed which adds to the organic feel. She uses negative space brilliantly. One example is her snow image with the background white and the flakes cut out circles that merge directly into the white and stand out against the other bright objects.
Challenging, thought-provoking and a book that will inspire discussion and help children find their own answers. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
Translated from the Portuguese original, this book is thought provoking and fascinating. Martins manages to right a book about big questions that answers them in a way that is exploratory and insightful and doesn’t turn quickly to a religious answer. Instead she stays in the questioning place, allowing different ideas to surface and be discussed. She does not provide any easy answers, meeting children right where they want the discussion to stay, where it leads to more and more questions.
Matoso’s illustrations are vibrantly colored and filled with strong shapes. They appear to be block printed which adds to the organic feel. She uses negative space brilliantly. One example is her snow image with the background white and the flakes cut out circles that merge directly into the white and stand out against the other bright objects.
Challenging, thought-provoking and a book that will inspire discussion and help children find their own answers. Appropriate for ages 5-7.