Cybele Young

The Queen and ten of her closest animals courtiers attend a ball in this somewhat surreal picture book exploration of animal sight, organized as a mystery. After the ballroom is briefly plunged into darkness and the Queen's shadow goes missing, suspicion falls on each of the attendees in turn. Mantis Shrimp, who is the Royal Detective, must find the culprit, and he lands first upon Sir Chameleon. That noble defends himself, arguing that he couldn't have stolen the shadow, as his eyes were show more operating independently at the time of the incident, and he would have been unable to take aim without using both of them. Blame falls next on Captain Shark, and then each of the other attendees, with every one revealing how the particular nature of their vision would preclude them from being the guilty party. Each accusation features a defense by the animal in question, as part of the main narrative, as well as a factual aside giving more information about the science of that creature's eyesight. The book closes with an extensive back section giving more information about how vision works, the animals featured in the story, and a glossary...

The Queen's Shadow: A Story About How Animals See is the fifth picture book I have read from Canadian author/illustrator Cybèle Young, and features the same kind of creative story ideas and stylish, appealing artwork I have come to expect from her work. That said, I don't think it quite worked for me as well as some of her other titles have done. It's Young's first foray into nonfiction, and I found it very interesting—the decision to write this as a mystery was a bold one, and I liked the overall concept—but somehow the final result didn't quite come together. I think it's because I expected and wanted to be more entertained by the mystery element, but found myself getting distracted by the factual asides throughout. By the same token, I found the information about animal vision presented here fascinating, but couldn't really take it in fully, when the mystery was what was front and center. In the end, the two different strands just didn't work well enough together, for the reading experience to be truly engaging. Despite these critiques, this was still enjoyable, especially as I found the artwork, done in pen and ink and then colored in Photoshop, quite appealing. I'm not sure I'd strongly recommend it, either as a picture book mystery or work of science, but I'm glad to have read it, as I am an admirer of its creator. show less

Viola and Ferdie walk to school in this creative picture book from Canadian author/illustrator Cybèle Young. Not really interested in moving, or in going at all, Ferdie is prodded into action by the older Viola, who turns their walk into one imaginative game after the other: flying through the air with their superhero capes, sailing through the seas on their journey to buried treasure, fighting fire-breathing dragons to save a princess. When it is Viola who runs out of steam, Ferdie shares show more his magic bean with her, and they manage to complete their walk of a few blocks...

Having enjoyed this creator's two ornately illustrated picture books about ten befuddled birds and their misadventures—Ten Birds and Ten Birds Meet a Monster—I sought out more of her work, and requested A Few Blocks from the library. I am glad that I did! The artwork here is in a completely different style from those other books, created using painted scenes done in ink and watercolor, that were then cut out and assembled as paper sculpture. Apparently Young is known for this art form, and has exhibited her work in this vein internationally. The effect here is quietly appealing, with the "real world" scenes being done simply, drawn with a limited color palette and featuring no sculptural elements, while the sequences featuring imaginative play are more colorful, and done with three dimensional sculpture. The mirroring of visual and textual elements here give the book extra power, and the reader is drawn into the internal world of these children, as they perform the seemingly mundane task of walking to school. I enjoyed this one far more than I expected to, when I first picked it up and looked at the cover, and that is a testament to the skill of its creator. I'm looking forward to tracking down Young's other book in this vein, A Few Bites, and would recommend this one to picture book audiences looking for stories about the imagination and the sibling relationship. show less

Elephants never forget... except in the case of Nancy, the adorable little elephant in this picture book from Canadian author/illustrator Cybèle Young. Nancy knows she's forgotten something important, but she can't quite recall what is is, and so she thinks of all different kinds of things, tiring herself out in the process. It is only when she relaxes that it finally comes to her: she is her friend Oscar is waiting for her in the park...

Nancy Knows is the sixth picture book I have read show more from this creator, and was a true pleasure. It features the same kind of understated but ultimately engaging story as in A Few Blocks and A Few Bites, which depict two siblings and their imaginative games. Here the theme is memory, and the truth highlighted is that we cannot always recall certain facts at once and at will, and must sometimes relax and think of other things, before it comes to us. This is an experience many have had, I would imagine, including the child readers and listeners of this book. The text is in loose rhyme, and reads well, while the artwork, created using pencil and a collage technique using little sculptures made from Japanese papers, is engrossing. The visuals here are lovely, with lots of white space on the page and then the outline of Nancy, filled with images of various items depicted using paper sculptures in all different shades. This business of image, within Nancy, then recedes as she relaxes, until her realization leads to a burst of little images, outside of her outline, and scattered across the page. This design choice really highlights and accentuates the story. As is often the case with this creator, there is a wealth of subtle meaning in the details here, but even a reader not as attuned to this visual feast will still enjoy the simple story of an elephant who finally does remember. show less

Those imaginative siblings Viola and Ferdie return in this follow-up to Canadian author/illustrator Cybèle Young's A Few Blocks. In that previous book they confronted the everyday experience of walking a few block to school, managing to turn it into an entertaining game of make-believe. Here Viola confronts a situation in which Ferdie does not want to eat the lunch she has prepared, using stories of dinosaurs to get him to eat the broccoli, aliens to convince him to eat his carrots, and a show more story of deep sea adventure to get him to (partially) eat his ravioli. Nothing will convince him to finish however, and all seems at odds, until Ferdie himself initiates a game of make-believe, involving Viola...

Much like its predecessor, A Few Bites features a story in which the mundane events of life are recast in an entertaining, story-centered way, one which showcases the power of the imagination in the child's life, and how it can be used to transform unappealing tasks and overcome challenges. The ending, in which not all challenges are overcome completely, is realistic and relatable, and I liked the way Viola was at first exasperated, and then relented in the face of Ferdie's own attempt at storytelling. The artwork here is in the same illustrative style as the first book, created using painted scenes done in ink and watercolor, that were then cut out and assembled as paper sculpture. Here again, the "real world" scenes were done simply, drawn with a limited color palette and featuring no sculptural elements, while the sequences featuring imaginative play are more colorful, and done with three dimensional sculpture. This creates a visual contrast that parallels the contrast in the text, and adds power to both. Recommended to picture book readers looking for stories about siblings and/or imaginative play, as well as to those who read the first book about this pair. show less