PreS-K–Nop is a teddy bear who lives in a secondhand shop; he is neither fancy nor plush. Each night, he watches as his fellow toys work hard to make themselves fancier with buttons and ribbons, so that a child might take them home in a crisp paper bag. After a while, Nop gives himself a bow tie and has a thought—what if he doesn’t need someone to pick him? With that, he gathers up spare materials and starts sewing a huge balloon, with a crinkly paper bag as the basket, to take him away on a breeze. He sails for miles, high in the clouds, until he spots a square of vibrant green on the ground. Nop leaps out and lands in a zoo, where he finds his new friend, the orangutan. With illustrations sketched in ink and filled in with soft watercolors reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s illustrations in Roald Dahl’s works, Magerl creates a touching story about choosing one’s own destiny. The story doesn’t really cover any new ground; the illustrations do far more of the work, with some drawings filling out every inch of the page, and softly muted watercolors providing depth and emotion. Readers could pore over this and find something new every time. A gentle book about deciding one’s future for oneself.
VERDICT A sweet book with beautiful illustrations but an additional purchase.
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