Mary Marianna, Great Owl, and the Chess Master

PreS-Gr 2–On a city sidewalk, propped beside a chessboard set for a willing opponent, a cardboard sign reads, “It’s your move.” Next to the game sits Viktor, a white, unhoused man with a gray beard and threadbare clothes. Blissfully unaware, first grader Mary Marianna, with tan skin and brown hair, approaches Viktor singing a ditty. When she sees him slumped on the ground, her gaiety fades, replaced by confusion and sorrow. She seeks answers from her mother about Viktor’s situation, who only responds, “It’s one of those things.” Mary Marianna, resolute in her desire to find support for Viktor, is visited by an owl at her window. Great Owl beckons her into the nearby forest, where she offers Mary Marianna the wisdom that “happiness finds us when we help others.” Morkill’s altruistic picture book addresses the collective societal responsibility of assisting people who are unhoused. Despite the story’s sincerity, it languishes from a saccharine tone and a long-winded, disjointed narrative. The story’s underdeveloped chess theme misses its potential, as its relationship to the story leans heavily on telling versus showing. Great Owl, who contributes considerably to the story’s didacticism, feels like an extraneous character, as Mary Marianna draws her own conclusions about aiding Viktor before the owl’s influence. Solis’s digitally painted illustrations adequately depict the narrative, but offer little in the way of expanding on the text. An author’s note extrapolates upon the growing issue of people unhoused in the U.S.