Speaking of rabbits. I was admiring this new book from Vincent X. Kirsch (The Two Little Boys from Toolittle Toys
"Look!" I said. And also "Awww!"
"This guy has the most delicate etchy line, but his shapes are bold and strong."
"I like the little details. Look at her with her heart-shaped glasses!"
"And look, there's dance moves! That's just like my kids and their 'Guns guns guns guns and whoopie cushions' song."
"Guns..."
"Don't ask. They think because it's a song and they're being all cute and creative, they can get away with pretending to shoot each other and then make fart noises."
"And you can't laugh."
"It nearly killed me."
"Well let me write that title down," said Mrs. Rabbit. "I'm going to use this book for storytime."
"I love his little Fauntleroy type outfit."
"And he bakes her a cupcake when she catches a cold!"
"Isn't that yellow the perfect exact forsythia yellow?" I asked. Forsythia yellow is almost neon. It's blazing away in our side yard right exactly now.
"When I was a kid, I loved it when the forsythia bloomed," said Mrs. Rabbit, whose first name is Cynthia. "I had mis-heard the word 'forsythia,' and I thought they were Cynthia bushes! I thought they were my bushes!"
And if you think that story is cute, wait 'til you read Forsythia & Me!
Forsythia and Chester are best friends, and Chester thinks his friend Forsythia walks on water. When she bakes a cake, it is a slice-it-with-a-sword multi-story wedding confection. She is such a fine painter that she can paint a portrait of the royal family with her eyes shut, play the piano upside down, etc. etc. But then Forsythia catches a cold, and Chester must deploy his - he thinks comparatively meager - skills to cheer her up.
Publishers Weekly and Kirkus have already reviewed this book, and I think their reviews miss the point a bit. Both reviewers read Forsythia & Me rather more literally than I did, and were not all that impressed with the preternaturally gifted Forsythia and the devoted Chester, whom they found egoless and unrealistic.
But I think that Chester is something of an unreliable narrator. I think that as much as he admires Forsythia, she admires him right back. When she gets sick, she is gigantically impressed with that cupcake Chester bakes her. She expresses amazement over his gymnastic feat, and asks him to teach her the pirate jig he performs to distract her from her gloom. To me, this is completely realistic. I know plenty of little kid best friends who form their own Mutual Admiration Societies, who exaggerate each others feats - and it is humbling to witness how egoless they are.
Maybe little kids won't see this, and that could be a flaw. But they will enjoy the book at face value, while grownups may see a little more.
Also reviewed on The Crypto-Capers Review.
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