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IN THE HALF ROOM by Carson Ellis

IN THE HALF ROOM

by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis

Pub Date: Oct. 13th, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1456-7
Publisher: Candlewick

Under a half moon, a glimpse of a half woman in a cottage full of half things invites speculation and puzzlement.

In cadences reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s soothing narratives, Ellis introduces the interior: “Half a window / Half a door / Half a rug on half a floor.” True and near rhymes jostle gently in the lulling text. When “half a knock on half a door” reveals “half a face you’ve seen before,” the half woman—who presents White with freckles and long, carrot-colored hair—is reunited with her other half. After a satisfying “SHOOOOOP” joins the halves together, she revels outside under the moon. Next, the nether end of the pet cat is at the door, sparking two “half cats / in a half-cat fight.” In Ellis’ appealing gouache paintings, the cat halves spar in a series of spot illustrations. A page turn reveals a partial resolution: “Two half cats asleep / Good night.” Young readers might wonder why the cat’s halves don’t “shoop” together at the end, as the woman’s halves had. Perhaps it’s a nod to the consummate self-satisfaction of felines: Ellis’ dedication calls out both her son and her eight cats, past and present. Even as she evokes the coziness of Goodnight Moon, Ellis injects a modern, disquieting note by avoiding “shooping” all things whole.

Visually charming and a bit disarming, this invites dialogue between caregivers and young children.

(Picture book. 4-8)