Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Return by Aaron Becker

Aaron Becker's wordless fantasy concludes in this final book of the trilogy that includes Journey and Quest.

The lonely girl of the first two stories returns to her fantastic world when her dad still doesn't pay her any attention. When he finally realizes she's missing, he follows her into the world she's discovered, meets the boy with the purple crayon, and tries to reconcile with his daughter. Things take a dangerous turn when they are attacked and the magical crayons stolen. As they work together to defeat the evil army and release the magic, the father and daughter reconcile and the father makes the final plan to release the magical colors. The final picture shows an empty studio, an open door, and a red kite floating through the sky, implying the father and daughter have gone together on more adventures.

I loved Becker's illustrations, especially the magical woods, when I first encountered his art on Seven Impossible Things. This book expands the fine detail of the previous books, showing more aspects of the fantasy world while still leaving it open for readers to imagine their own aspects. The explosion of magic colors, when they are released from the evil soldiers' mechanical device, sends brilliant color splashing across the page, ending with a flight of colorful, magical birds into the sunset, signaling the end of the trilogy as the magic is sent out into the world for more adventures.

ISBN: If you only purchase a few wordless picture books, this trilogy is definitely a must-have. Perfect for a dreamy child to explore or to use for inspiration in an art class or storytime.

ISBN: 9780763677305; Published 2016 by Candlewick; Review copy provided by publisher; 

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