NEIL’S CASTLE

A take on the idea that making art requires making choices. Trying to re-create a castle seen in a particularly detailed dream, a child artist uses and rejects various media before finding a satisfactory one. Having discovered that sand is too dry, wooden blocks too small, and a blanket-over-chairs too dark, Neil turns to his artist father, who pulls out conveniently large rolls of paper, and helps him tape them up over a corner of his room. Neil sets to with pencil and paint, quickly producing a floor-to-ceiling chateau. As his castle is rendered in exactly the same style and palette as the rest of the illustrations, with perfectly even colors, no visible brush strokes, and a sophisticated disregard for perspective, this scores low marks for verisimilitude—but it does give young readers a peek into the creative process, and the final scene, of painter and appreciative (single?) parent sitting together, adds an intimate touch. (Picture book. 6-8)