THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT DODOS

The title here is a nudge from a new author/illustrator who lacks confidence in his audience: this is hardly the first time a book's real purpose is not simply its plot. Lehan's protagonist is a solitary artist whose mountain is invaded by a huge flock of dodos. He tries unsuccessfully to ignore them--they insinuate themselves into his pictures as the shapes of trees, clouds, or even a pond. Then he tries to paint them on purpose, but they refuse to hold still. At last he gets the hang of representing his difficult subject, only to have the dodos disappear again. Now what? He arrays his dodo pictures over the landscape and sits down to paint. Thought-provoking, if a bit contrived, and the ideas may be beyond the readership suggested by the format. Still, the bold art--featuring vibrantly contrasting colors and fiat, often repetitive forms in decorative compositions--is arrestingly fresh. Worth a try if funds allow, especially where there's interest in books about the nature of the creative process.