The Dam

If you're going to pair one of my favorite authors with one of my favorite illustrators, why can't the book be three times longer? ...Other than, I suppose, the integrity of the story and all that. Sigh. So lovely.

The skyescapes where just what the cover promised and as a reader I felt like I could wander into many of the illustrations.Although the end result held many good things, a beautiful lake for swimming and boating, the time spent playing to the houses was cut up by snapshot illustrations and spectral images. While the landscapes and the idea of playing through the heartache of loss is an appealing one, some of the images I fear would be too challenging for some children. The later pictures of the lake the dam created are beautiful with bright figures and new life, contrasting with the earlier images of boarded up homes and dusty color palate.

A true story of a father and daughter who play their instruments in abandoned homes in their village just before water is released to create a dam. Bittersweet but with a message that places change and can be used for other things.

lovely, true story of dam built in England

Al di là della diga
nell'acqua la musica resta,
non svanirà mai.
La sentiamo quando camminiamo lungo le sue sponde,
…
Quando guardiamo le stelle.
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