EDITH

Who knew immortality wasn’t all it was cracked up to be?

And it seemed like such a good idea at the time. When pale-skinned, dark-haired Edith is born, her parents have her blessed by not one, but two fairies. The first gives her the ability to bring objects to life; the second provides her with the “gift” of eternal childhood. But staying a 10-year-old forever turns out to be a bore. When Edith, still to all appearances a kid, reaches 100 years of age, she decides that things must change. After she brings to life a lemon whom she names Squirt—and who proves supremely helpful—the two head out with Edith’s talking dog, Bolster, to find a fairy to reverse the cursed blessing. Though the story features succinct chapters and spare text, translated from French, its philosophical underpinnings have a surprising heft. To grow old and die truly is an awfully big adventure in Edith’s case, and one worth fighting for. Valckx’s gentle full-color illustrations subtly show Edith growing up, initially in the 1920s and then pursuing her destiny in the present day. These simply rendered images adeptly highlight the poor girl’s misery (including never having a friend who won’t outgrow her) and eventual (much deserved) triumph. Few books have felt happier than when a character offers a gleeful, “I’m going to have lots of new problems.”

A sparkling celebration of life rooted in change, aging, and the necessity of death itself.