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FIONA & THE FOG by William Poor

FIONA & THE FOG

by William Poor ; illustrated by William Poor ; developed by William Poor

Pub Date: Sept. 3rd, 2014
Publisher: William Poor

A blend of photos and animated elements showcases Poor’s story of a girl pursuing a windblown scarf, much as a boy did a red balloon, and experiencing a great city in the process.

A mischievous wind with inspired ulterior motives snatches a girl’s scarf during a foggy day in San Francisco when it hears her complain that she is bored. As a silent messenger, it takes her on a tour of her great city and introduces her to some of its citizens: a pelican that cares for a lighthouse, one of the city’s fabled parrot escapees, sea lions and a red crab that lives under a pier. They are an amiable crew who are familiar with the wind’s curious behavior by now, and each pressures Fiona on to the next stop, which ends with a tattered rope ladder leading through the fog above to a grand, panoptical view. The fog is everywhere here, as in San Francisco it ought to be, lending mystery to the story’s progression as it gets soupier and soupier. The girl’s movement through the city precincts is peaceful but absorbing, and the end is quietly satisfying. The story’s backgrounds are actual photos of the city, the animated elements infusing them with lightness and a trompe l’oeil quality.

The view is lovely, but it is Fiona’s Homeric voyage through the city that will find readers charged with their own wanderlust.

(Requires iOS 7 and above.) (Picture book. 4-8)