TALKING TO ANGELS

by Esther Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996

A book of beautiful mixed-media illustrations, with the look of children's scribbles: painted and repainted, scratched and drawn-over. The characters in the pictures are arms attached to heads, with six and seven fingers per hand. Watson's sense of color, shape, and composition is perfect; the first impulse is to hang the pictures on the wall. The text is about the author's sister, one hand-lettered sentence per page that describes the younger girl's favorite things, from the way kittens feel on her cheek to her talk with the angels. Plain, well-aimed one-liners tell readers exactly what they need to know about this sublime pageant, brought down to earth by the penultimate sentence: ""My sister Christa is autistic."" Suddenly, the book is reduced to a specific tribute rather than a universal celebration of a unique perspective. To be sure, the tribute is a fine one, but some will want to skip that sentence and allow Watson's first book to remain aloft. A debut of uncommon, nearly perfect grace.

Pub Date: March 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harcourt Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S