Some Things I've Lost

Gr 2–4—Young, a paper sculptor and author of The Queen's Shadow (Kids Can, 2015), Nancy Knows (Tundra, 2014), and Out the Window (Groundwood, 2014), among other titles, displays her brilliant artistry in a book replete with fantastic imagery and surprising gatefolds. The building blocks of Young's art are displayed on the book's endpapers—small tubes, cones, droplets, and fans of sculpted Japanese paper—bits and shapes that form the elaborate creations within the book. On each spread, the artist offers a minute image of one of 12 "lost" objects and a note about where it was "last seen." ("LAST SEEN: Car ride home from the noodle house," "LAST SEEN: Coat pocket—black or brown one, not the red.") Readers open the spread's gatefold to witness the object morph into a series of paper sculptures, each one taking on more characteristics of the final image. A pale blue umbrella transforms into a sea anemone, "mom's eyeglasses" become a gorgeous striped fish, and a lawn chair folds and unfolds into a colorful display of plant life visited by curious imaginary creatures. Pastels dominate these exquisite creations, which will be studied by children as they observe the changes that occur, image by image, and behold the fanciful marine life-forms that emerge.