Kaethe

Mac would like to tell you a story about a girl named Chloe and a Lion. Adam, the illustrator, thinks a dragon would be cooler than a lion. Chloe's tale comes to a halt as the puppets depicting Mac and Adam argue. Another illustrator is brought in, and Mac tries creating the art himself (possibly that order is reversed). Eventually, all is resolved.Way cool! Reading the book should only take ten minutes or so. But reading aloud a book like this invites the reader and the listener to take an active part as well. What kinds of voices do the characters need? Doesn't Chloe remind you of both Tip fromThe True Meaning of Smekday and the girl from Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World (who's name I don't recall)? Look at those puppets. Look at the stage with the scenery. Dragons ARE cooler. That other artist guy: is that a real person in makeup, and if so, who?We spent more like a half an hour on it. Metafictional pictures books engage us on so many levels, and we feel compelled to just blurt out whatever we're thinking, and stop and point at whatever we're seeing. My advice to the prospective reader is two-fold: do not tackle this at bedtime. this is serious brain-stimulant stuff. And also, even if you're old enough to read it silently to yourself, don't. Enlist someone else to read it with you. To get the most from the experience, you have to share with someone, and interact. I mean it. Do not go quietly into this good book, or you'll miss the fun.Library copy.