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Susie's Library

 Often, picture books are plotless or predictable. Things get resolved; love wins. That's why I enjoy "The Misunderstanding," by James Marshall. The two hippos misread each other--and you expect that all will be well, eventually--and then the tension grows and grows, until the curtain abruptly drops.


Mac Barnett does something similar in "Square." The protagonist, Square, spends his days pushing square-shaped rocks up a hill. His friend, Circle, observes the work, and she wrongly concludes that Square is a sculptor; he is making brilliant self-portraits.

Circle says, "Since you're such a genius, you must make an image of me."

Square could correct the error--but he is flattered, and a bit passive--so he sentences himself to hell. For hours and hours, he works on a "Circle" effigy, but of course he can't reach his goal.

The ending is a shocker, and it's just as absurd as the previous chapters.

It's so difficult to tell an original story--with real movement, from A to Z--even if you have 400 pages. Mac Barnett does the work in approximately one paragraph.

I'm a fan.





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