THE STORY OF SNOWFLAKE AND INKDROP

A snowflake meets a drop of ink in midair in this dreamy, creatively designed import.

Carried after a “particularly long time” by silver clouds toward a town, Snowflake looks through a series of lacy white die-cut screens at possible landings: a boat on a canal, a colorful circus tent, children on a playground. But just as the wind whispers “Go now!” a draft whirls him upward again, directly toward a falling drop of ink that is “shiny, dense, round, beautiful.” Meanwhile, a drop of ink waiting to be used by her artist catches enticing glimpses of brightly hued landscapes and other paintings through black pages of irregular, blot-shaped holes, until her bottle is jarred and she flies out the open window to an unexpected rendezvous. The two stories, bound dos-à-dos, meet in the middle on a climactic (in every sense of the word) double gatefold in which images of stars and rolling ocean, animals and people, light and dark whirl together: “They had endless stories to tell each other. Their embrace lasted forever.” The surreal plotline, plus the peekaboo pleasures of viewing each scene partially through the cutouts and then in full, will draw viewers too young to appreciate the story’s erotic aspects, but the latter lie at its rapturous heart.

A love story with design elements and harmonious illustrations that might spread its appeal from children to adult readers looking for an unusual wedding gift and beyond.