Measured Extravagance

2000-11-13 - 9:58 p.m.

I stopped by Davis-Kidd tonight to pick up Rosemary Wells' Voyage to the Bunny Planet, sat there awhile reading The Secret Garden, and left with a copy of Debi Gliori's No Matter What. If you have a deserving child or parent on your holiday list, get them the Gliori. It's cute. It's sly. It's got the most comforting message in the world...

"Oh, Small," said Large,
"grumpy or not,
I'll always love you,
no matter what."

....with sneakily hilarious background jokes. I knew I was going to buy the book when I glimpsed the artwork in the foxes' home (a framed, antique sheep-carving diagram and a limited edition print of "Cassoulet de lapin"), the bunny-shaped salt-and-pepper shakers, and the goofy-looking chickens on the border the baby fox's bedroom. The vibrant, cartoon-styled characterizations of the animals will readily engage pre-school "readers"; adults can also admire the subtle washes and shadows that lend depth to Gliori's illustrations. The continuity of other motifs - a candlelabra, a pattern of tulips, a brace of rubber duckies, and Small's favorite toys - also make the book very satisfying to pore over and reread.

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