FICTION

Garmann's Secret

by Stian HOLE
illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Eerdmans. 2011. RTE $17. ISBN 978-0-8028-5400-1. LC 2011022459.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2–4—Hole shares his thoughtful and poetic insights into the mind of a child in this third book about a sensitive, towheaded boy. Here he is befriended by kind Johanna, who takes him into the woods to see what appears to be a space capsule. Keeping the discovery a secret from her bullying twin sister, Hannah, they spend hours playing in and around the capsule. Hole's collage illustrations experiment with proportion and dimension and are at once weird and wonderful, real and surreal. The themes of loyalty, imaginative play, and individuality are universal. Although the characters are young, the plainspoken narrative and novel artwork will appeal to older children. For larger collections or those that circulate the earlier titles.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC
In this third book about Garmann, his classmate Johanna takes him into the forest to show him what looks like a ruined space capsule; this becomes their hangout, where they exchange confidences and a touchingly impetuous kiss. In an effective move, Hole, who seems to be working in photo collage, frequently has the characters look right at the reader.
Reviewed by Lisa Egly Lehmuller , Apr 01, 2012

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