A WONDERFUL YEAR

A comics-style look at the seasons in four short episodes of buffoonery.

Bruel examines winter first. A girl is excited to play in the snow. However, everyone reminds her to bundle up. Key characters seen again in later stories all pop in to suggest what to wear (the most obvious of her advisers being her mother and father, but a large purple hippo, a tree, a refrigerator and a can of beans weigh in as well). Alas, when she has finally put on all of the clothing, the weather has changed to spring. She slips out of her snowsuit and waves goodbye as the whole outfit walks away, ready to return next year. Bruel creates a clever concept book using dynamic storytelling and infusing each season with droll humor. Spring proves fertile ground for the girl’s exuberant imagination, summer’s heat makes her melt away—literally—and fall leads her to discover the perfect use for the very last leaf of a tree. Each tale is interconnected (it all takes a metafictive turn in the end), and the sparsely paneled comics style keeps the story’s focus where it belongs—on its endearing, shaggy-haired heroine (and, of course, the can of beans).   

From silly to quite touching, an array of emotions spans this whole wide, wonderful year.