Marianna Coppo

#Petra2020

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.)

Petra is a giant, magnificent boulder: home to villages, witness to millennia of evolution, immobile and indestructible.

Or is she an egg, temporary protector of a fire-breathing dragon or a dapper baby penguin?

Or perhaps she is an island, a lush tropical paradise unto herself?

Maybe she's all of the above, at various points in her life, to different people?

Petra is a show more sweet, whimsical, and empowering picture book about self-identity and discovery. The smiley little rock known as Petra is forever in the process of becoming, learning new and wonderful things about herself. She rolls with the punches, always looking on the bright side of things:

What will I be tomorrow?
Who knows?
Well, no need to worry.
I'm a rock, and this is how I roll.

Coppo's illustrations are just the right mix of silly and sweet. If I stumbled upon Petra while out hiking, I'd bring her home too.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2018/02/27/petra-by-marianna-coppo/ show less

Opening with a blank page, this meta-fictional picture-book from author/illustrator Marianna Coppo highlights the two different approaches taken to the situation by the animal characters which begin to appear on the page. Four of them wait around for the story to appear, but the fifth, a little pink bunny who wants to play, begins to construct a story of his own. Eventually, his creation draws the others in, and when a story finally does arrive, the animals declare that they already have one show more of their own...

Apparently inspired (at least partially) by the play, Waiting for Godot, A Very Late Story pairs an engaging text, comprised solely of dialogue, and colorful, appealing artwork. The blankness of the pages at the beginning of the book, save for the characters themselves, emphasizes the absence of any supporting story. By the end of the book, however, the pages are full of color (until everything resets), as the characters build up a narrative of fun and play. Recommended to readers with a taste for meta-fictional tales in which the characters are aware of their role in the story, and of their audience. show less

With effective use of spot color and white space, Coppo introduces "Thingamabob." "No one knew what it was" or "what it was for." The orange shape with two black dot eyes and a small curve of a frown isn't ___ enough to be something like a basketball, a kite, or a chair. "It wasn't this or that.
It wasn't here or there." But on the playground, Thingamabob finds a child, and the two play together happily: "That day, Thingamabob was many things...especially a friend." The frown turns upside show more down into a smile; Thingamabob shelters the child when it begins to rain, and they fall asleep tucked in together that night. "Because if you aren't one thing...you can be anything." This gentle, playful book reminds readers that labels and fitting in aren't all-important.

See also: Beekle by Dan Santat show less

For the first time in awhile, I found myself immersed in a picture book. Most of the time when I read books for these assignments, I try to imagine what a child might see in the book. This time, I found myself smiling and laughing, and wanting to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the way this book humorously plays with perspective. We start out thinking Petra is a mountain, until she gets picked up by a dog. I also enjoyed that this book's character models resiliency. She refuses to show more accept the limits of the reality around her and continues to dream big. I also enjoyed the way the author was able to tell a story through illustrations. Some pages contain only images, and Petra's facial expressions are hysterical. I love this book. show less