Stian Hole

“Do you think that there’s anything on the other side of the mirror?” Anna questions her restless father about her mother’s death. Reflections (her mother’s ghost image follows the mountain’s contours, a teapot mirrors an elephant, Anna and father’s pond reflections) and the text’s opening palindromes underscore the mystery of dying. After Anna plunges into the sky, her grieving father follows her through fanciful wonderings about her mother’s whereabouts and doings. Soon show more they emerge, Anna ready to accompany him to church. Hole’s surreal photocollaged images haunt from opening endpapers where nails rain down until they accede to raining strawberries at the back. show less

“Do you think that there’s anything on the other side of the mirror?” Anna questions her restless father about her mother’s death. Reflections (her mother’s ghost image follows the mountain’s contours, a teapot mirrors an elephant, Anna and father’s pond reflections) and the text’s opening palindromes underscore the mystery of dying. After Anna plunges into the sky, her grieving father follows her through fanciful wonderings about her mother’s whereabouts and doings. Soon show more they emerge, Anna ready to accompany him to church. Hole’s surreal photocollaged images haunt from opening endpapers where nails rain down until they accede to raining strawberries at the back. show less

This book was so strange, like really strange, but I kind of loved it! When Anna is questioning God's abilities after her mother passes she wishes there was a way to the other side. Her and her dad go into the mysterious hole and arrive in what seems to be heaven. There they see all of their deceased loved ones and that is when the story gets weird. The illustration are almost disturbing but really great at the same time. From this experience, Anna and her father finally feel at peace and go show more back home. I do not think I would put this in my classroom but I definitely would have this at home for my kids. show less

This book won't appeal to everyone ... but I loved it. It is hard to find children's books that talk about fear ... the fact that we are all afraid of something (fear of new things, fear of endings ... death, fear of change in general) but this covers all the above in a very sweet, child appropriate fashion by exploring the thoughts of one little 6 year old boy during the yearly visit from his ancient aunts on the eve of his first day of school. The art work reminds me of Monty Python cartoons.