METROGNOME

In Cruz’s debut picture book, a restless garden gnome journeys to the big city.

Cora, a brown-haired, pigtailed gnome with fair skin, is bored with her life standing about in the garden. Though her parents dismiss her dream of going to the nearby city, Cora runs away and makes a life there selling apples. Cora wants to be part of the music she hears around town; her chance comes courtesy of real-life historical figure Johann Maelzel, who has just invented a device to help musicians keep the beat. Inspired by Cora’s relocation to the city, he names this device the metrognome. Cora finds work operating the metrognome for none other than Ludwig van Beethoven (“She was proud of the music she helped him make”). Cora makes her parents proud, and is happy for a while, but then her feet grow itchy again and she leaves the city in search of new horizons. Cruz tells Cora’s story in straightforward, non-rhyming text. The historical setting is well realized, and while the titular pun might not land for young readers, the ideas of chasing opportunities and immersing oneself in larger events shine through—though perhaps without sufficient cautionary sentiment to satisfy parents. Stoliar provides busy, faux hand-drawn, digital illustrations whose ingenuous renderings and time-faded colors capture an impression of early 19th-century city life with understated grace.

A gentle paean to wanderlust, experience, and fulfilment.