STANLEY MOWS THE LAWN

What begins as a routine chore literally takes a turn, with a satisfying and visually creative result. Stanley begins mowing his lawn, up and back, up and back, repeating until a critter, Hank the snake, causes Stanley to take pause, alter his course from a perfectly straight swath to a zig and a zag, inspired by the shape of the snake he’s discovered in the tall, green grass, and leaving Hank some grass as well. Frazier’s imaginative conceptual and graphic solution will appeal to younger and more sophisticated readers. Endpapers comprised of photo-realistic piled up cut grass in different shades of green create varying depth, light and color. Like Stanley, Frazier is hard at work, adding an artistic touch to his project. He interjects a play between the artist and the computer, creating the illustrations by hand and coloring them on the computer. Juxtaposition of straight and curved lines, light and dark, large and small shapes, varying perspectives and a hint of the surreal (kidney-shaped clouds) offer an engaging visual experience. The story concludes: “When Stanley finished mowing he looked at his lawn and he liked it, so did Hank.” And so will the reader. (Picture book. 4-8)