Still Life

A superb example of text and image telling opposing stories—and of the humor that can be found in the intersection.

London (The Adventures of Wrong Man and Power Girl) pits a pale-skinned human painter against a crew of fairy tale characters who get up to no good in this meta work, a fizzy art class send-up. The artist, appropriately decked out in a dashing red scarf, lectures readers about the theory behind a specific still life painting--an elaborate arrangement of cheese and fruit, writing implements, and more arrayed on a table that's overlooked by a dollhouse castle. The artist's discourse begins: "This is a still life. It is a painting of objects sitting still. In a still life, nothing moves." The explanation is just as firm about what isn't there: "Dragons? No, nothing like that." But readers will spot a dragon, along with a doll-size royal watching from the castle, and a few other creatures, all most assuredly on the move. In dynamic digitally finished spreads, Zelinsky (Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred) juggles multiple visual styles, using expressive line drawing for the lecturing artist; elegantly drafted and sculpted forms for the painting; and loose-limbed caricature for the decidedly unstill beings who tumble amusingly into jam-smudged, thread-tangled, cheese-strangled chaos right under the artist's nose. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Robert Guinsler, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Sept.)

"London and Zelinsky have created something unendingly fun, but also deeply meaningful—art takes on a life of its own, no matter how much the artist thinks the work can be controlled!" — Brian Selznick, Caldecott Medal-winning author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret