VANISHING COLORS

On the eve of losing everything and
with danger still ahead, a mother and daughter exhibit the perseverance of the
human spirit in wartime.

At the beginning of this Norwegian
import, a mother and her daughter find a dry place in their roofless and almost
wall-less house to sleep. Mama comforts her daughter, the narrator, with the
story of a large bird that descends from the mountains as night falls and
spreads its wings over their house to protect them from danger. Dark,
foreboding illustrations show the protagonists in a state of terror and shock, their
city ravaged by war. When the girl wakes up, the bird is there, its head
enormous next to her slim body. “Have you
forgotten everything? it asks. / … / All
the wonderful things that were here before.” Then, one by one, it reminds
the girl of the warm, happy memories that are still inside her, and as they
manifest on the page, they gradually lift up her spirit and add color to the
book. The girl and mother can leave after she sees “all the colors in the sky,”
the bird says. What’s most important is to “stay together.” In Duzakin’s
soft-edged illustrations, mother and daughter have pale skin and straight,
black hair; their home is unspecified, but architectural and decorative details
suggest Eastern Europe. The book ends with the mother and child on the move
with a few bags, looking at a vista of their shattered town illuminated by a
rainbow in the sky and holding each other’s hands.

A heart-penetrating, heartbreaking
book with exceptional mastery in text and illustration. (Picture book. 8-14)