UP THE WALL

Everywhere the small narrator goes, someone in his family is busy and asking him to be quiet. Resourcefully, he packs a big green sack with food and toys and, with his dog, walks up the wall to the ceiling, which provides ample uncluttered space for skateboarding, bowling, or spreading out belongings. Heller visualizes this pleasing fantasy in vibrant, sophisticated colors and perspectives so precise that the pictures can be read either right-side up--so that everyday life and objects hang from a floor that's now overhead--or upside-down, with boy and dog defying gravity. A novel notion, elaborated with imagination and style.