Mäko

K-Gr 2—Béziat sets his first picture book among the marine creatures living in a frozen blue, gray, and white Arctic world. Mäko, a walrus, is an ice sculptor who creates three-dimensional versions of the fish he has foraged. In the process, he produces "life-sized maps" that "help all his friends find food." When the floe collapses, the animals drift apart and the maps disappear, as does some of the logic in this slightly heavy-handed narrative. There are no secondary individual characters; rather, the friends react as one voice with new appreciation for Mäko's function in their society. They now "realize his work is important" and implore him to sculpt something that will draw a food source to their habitat. When the artist ultimately crafts a whale, attracting a live counterpart that spews an enormous mouthful of fish, the previously skeptical friends now "understand Mäko's passion for art" as they delight in dinner. Viewers can't help wondering how there was enough ice to form a whale after the dramatic collapse and breakup, and how everyone got back together. While Mäko is an endearing figure, rendered with expressive black cross-hatching, and the shifting perspectives and horizon lines lead to some visually interesting scenes, the characterization, plot, and writing lack the necessary development to raise the whole from message to story.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library