I was drawn to this book because of its intriguing illustrations. Looking closer I realized its look was intriguing because it was crafted by the likes of Jon Klassen.
Think The Folk Keeper.
Think Skellig.
Now, think Coraline.
What happens when the hero of the story is an anxious child? One who cocoons beneath his covers each night and cannot commit to sleep until he’s recited his litany of gratitude—twice.
Add to this drama the fact the fragile protagonist has a brand new baby brother who is desperately ill.
What happens when that protagonist, once he’s finally drifted off to dreamland, encounters the queen-of-all-angel-wasps whose come to “save” the baby?
Unsettling?
Quite.
But for upper elementary and middle school level readers, this is a book worth reading to glean, among other treasures, its message of perseverance in the face of fragility is heartening.
The lexicon here is simple, but I found it deceptively and wondrously so.
For example:
“I knew I wouldn’t get back to sleep—didn’t even want to—so I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and went outside to the backyard. It was early to be cool still, though you could feel the heat already clenched up in the earth and air, just waiting to unfurl” (70-71).
There is something magical about the way the author uses the words “clench” and “unfurl” to surprise the reader, to turn the tone of this statement.
And here too:
“I hated it when her eyes got wet. It made me scared. Like she wasn’t my mom any more but something fragile that might break” (41).
In two small sentences leading up to a third longer statement, we sense the drama of this family who is thin with worry for the sick baby. We readers are invited to experience the story’s main conflict through small turns in simple language. These three small sentences, all straight forward on the surface, demonstrate the inviting voice of this book. Here, the building of rhythm, the sensory information—those wet eyes—and, the last statement beginning with that awkward prepositional phrase, “Like she,” work together to give us a fresh understanding of a child responding to a mother’s tears.
While it is not likely The Nest, by Kenneth Oppel will make it to our Level 3 or 4 lineup in the near future, it is a recommended read for those interested in magical realism, especially for those who like the genre best when it is pushed toward the realm of science fiction or fantasy as this book pushes in both directions.
-Kim