RAY

Sometimes a change of scenery is all you need.

Coppo presents the story of an anthropomorphic incandescent light bulb named Ray that has lived in various rooms of a home and now resides in a closet among seldom-used items. Bored with it all, Ray leads an unfulfilled life until he’s called upon to power a lantern on a family camping trip. This trip exposes Ray to a new world of stars and the sun and inspires him to dream big once again. Scratching your head yet? Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Astute children may also be confused by Ray’s tale: How has Ray never seen the sun or stars before if he’s lived in other rooms of the house? Who moves light bulbs from room to room? Why, in 2020, is Ray an incandescent bulb? The measured pacing that made Coppo’s Petra (2017) such a joy works against this story, causing it to feel needlessly drawn out. Some elements, such as an interactive moment à la Hervé Tullet, are underutilized and make the story feel disjointed. The illustrations—a combination of tempera, pastel, and digital collage—are all over the place. Some pages are very sparse while others are dark and complex, which works against large group read-alouds.

This bulb has burned out.