Albie on His Way
by
Jutta Bauer
; illus. by the author; trans. from German by
Matthias Wieland
Primary
Red Comet 40 pp.
g
10/22
978-1-63655-032-9
$17.99
e-book ed. 978-1-63655-033-6 $10.99
The main story here employs the benign fairy-tale trope of a questing traveler who pauses on the journey to help out those in need. Albie, a mouse in red track pants, is summoned by the king, a pig, to deliver a scroll to a neighboring castle. Even though speed is of the essence, Albie interrupts the trip to administer first aid to an injured squirrel, retrieve a lost toy, and babysit for a harassed mother. He also meets his true love. Concurrently, a wordless strip running along the bottom of the pages shows what the king is up to during Albie’s long absence. While the mouse’s world is full of color, connection, and kindness, the king’s monochromatic scenes suggest boredom, restlessness, and even grief, along with underscoring just how very long our deliverer’s trip is taking. Humorously, Albie takes a wrong turn and ends up back home, scroll undelivered. The king, delighted to see him, throws the scroll into the fire and invites Albie to live in a cottage on the castle grounds, with visiting privileges for all the friends he made on his journey. (Looking back, we wonder what was in that scroll.) There’s more to this fable than a tidy ending and the sheer visual fun of seeing a squirrel in a full-body cast.
From the September/October 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.
Add Comment :-
Be the first reader to comment.
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!