RSS

Quest by Aaron Becker Book Review

Quest by Aaron Becker
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Release Date: August 26, 2014

A king emerges from a hidden door in a city park, startling two children sheltering from the rain. No sooner does he push a map and some strange objects into their hands than he is captured by hostile forces that whisk him back through the enchanted door. Just like that, the children are caught up in a quest to rescue the king and his kingdom from darkness, while illuminating the farthest reaches of their imagination. Colored markers in hand, they make their own way through the portal, under the sea, through a tropical paradise, over a perilous bridge, and high in the air with the help of a winged friend. Journey lovers will be thrilled to follow its characters on a new adventure threaded with familiar elements, while new fans will be swept into a visually captivating story that is even richer and more exhilarating than the first.

I borrowed that synopsis from Goodreads, because frankly I was having a hard time coming up with something "original" for a wordless picture book. After reading through this book three times, I realized that I had not read the first book and so I had to go check out Journey in order to know what the heck was going on. So there is one negative, you cannot read this book on its own because it simply doesn't make sense. That said, I love the Harold and the Purple Crayon-like use of drawings. Each page requires careful study as the story doesn't reveal itself in a quick glance, which gives it more depth than your typical wordless picture book. As a child who used to carefully study the illustrations of Dinotopia and Anamalia, I know there are some kids who will pore over this story and enjoy every minute of it.


0 comments: