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Aug. 12th, 2009 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darchildreThis week's Picture Book You Should Read is another one of my cherished childhood memories: Hey, Al by Arthur Yorinks and illustrated by Richard Egielski.
Hey, Al!
Al and his dog Eddie live in a tiny apartment in New York City, where Al makes a living as a janitor. One day, a huge colorful bird pokes his head through Al's bathroom window and promises Al and Eddie a perfect carefree life in a magical tropical paradise far away, if only they'll come with him. But, of course, there's a hidden catch.
Why should you read this book? Well, for one thing, the illustrations are lovely - it's a Caldecott winner, after all. I am especially fond of the way Mr Egielski conveys the unsatisfactory nature of Al's life in New York by only ever showing us the inside of his bathroom, closed in by claustrophobic walls.
But mostly you should read this book because I'm pretty sure it's the first horror story I ever read. Seriously, this book is like body horror for beginners. See, that hidden catch I mentioned above? [Spoiler Alert!] After a few weeks in their magical paradise, Al and Eddie begin to turn into birds. Which is accompanied by lovingly drawn illustrations of these terrifying half-bird/half-man (or -dog) hybrids. And, all right, Al and Eddie get away and end up back in New York ready to love and appreciate the life they left behind but the reader is left with questions. Why did the birds want them? Were all of the birds once people? Are the birds going to come visit me? It's wonderfully disquieting.
So if you're in the mood for a brightly colored but still creepy picture book, Hey, Al is definitely the way to go.
Hey, Al!
Al and his dog Eddie live in a tiny apartment in New York City, where Al makes a living as a janitor. One day, a huge colorful bird pokes his head through Al's bathroom window and promises Al and Eddie a perfect carefree life in a magical tropical paradise far away, if only they'll come with him. But, of course, there's a hidden catch.
Why should you read this book? Well, for one thing, the illustrations are lovely - it's a Caldecott winner, after all. I am especially fond of the way Mr Egielski conveys the unsatisfactory nature of Al's life in New York by only ever showing us the inside of his bathroom, closed in by claustrophobic walls.
But mostly you should read this book because I'm pretty sure it's the first horror story I ever read. Seriously, this book is like body horror for beginners. See, that hidden catch I mentioned above? [Spoiler Alert!] After a few weeks in their magical paradise, Al and Eddie begin to turn into birds. Which is accompanied by lovingly drawn illustrations of these terrifying half-bird/half-man (or -dog) hybrids. And, all right, Al and Eddie get away and end up back in New York ready to love and appreciate the life they left behind but the reader is left with questions. Why did the birds want them? Were all of the birds once people? Are the birds going to come visit me? It's wonderfully disquieting.
So if you're in the mood for a brightly colored but still creepy picture book, Hey, Al is definitely the way to go.
