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A PACKRAT NAMED ORANGE by Cathy Callen

A PACKRAT NAMED ORANGE

by Cathy Callen

ISBN: 9780988471641
Publisher: Self

A rodent introduces young readers to abstract art in this picture book.

Orange, a pack rat, lives in a small apartment under the steps of a house in the city. There, she keeps an art gallery. As a pack rat with “an artist’s eye,” Orange is particular about what she steals; indeed, she only collects marbles: “Orange marbles. Sometimes red ones, but mostly orange. She had 447 of them so far.” These objects, including orange marbles provided to her by local children, are arranged in homage to art by famed artists Joan Miró, Wassily Kandinsky, and Dale Chihuly, whose works Callen describes in detail in the book’s backmatter. Simple sentences invite readers to imagine an animal who occasionally veers into human habits, including artistic endeavors or making tea; Waterman-Peters effectively embraces the realism and the whimsy with watercolor illustrations of a realistic rodent who occasionally wears a beret. Orange’s gallery pieces effectively emulate the works of famous abstract artists; readers may note that the pieces also feature marbles in colors besides orange and red. There’s not much in the way of narrative conflict, but there doesn’t need to be; instead, it’s a cozy exploration of color, collection, and creativity.

A pleasant tale of art from a pack rat’s perspective.