Other worlds and other places
Bernie Goedhart selects offbeat titles for these strange pandemic times.
The Postman From Space Guillaume Perreault Translated by Françoise Bui Holiday House
Ages 7 to 10
In these global pandemic times, when so much of life seems to revolve around an abnormal turn of events, some of us may be wondering whether it’s time to go in search of someplace else to live — another planet, perhaps. But Guillaume Perreault’s graphic novel, The Postman From Space, suggests we’d just be trading one set of problems for another.
First published in French by La Pastèque as Le facteur de l’espace, this new Holiday House version in English, translated by Françoise Bui, brings us Bob, a “spacial postman” who has just been assigned a new route — one outside his comfort zone — and we’re along for the ride.
Perreault, based in Gatineau, Que., employs a cartoonish style reminiscent of Tom Gault and Chris Ware, and takes us to five different planets for deliveries to various intergalactic residents: a giant gardener in a place where it rains 20 hours a day; a tea-drinking old lady who lives in the path of a steady stream of asteroids and space refuse; a solitary and demanding fellow who could be an adult version of Antoine de
Saint-exupéry’s little prince; a pack of dogs eager for some fun; and some duck-billed aliens who attack Bob’s space vehicle in an effort to get their hands on the package, which turns out to contain a beloved vacationer who mailed himself home.
Bob, initially planning to demand his old route back, decides by the time he gets back to the post office, that he’s developed a taste for adventure and can’t wait for his next assignment.
Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey
Lori Mortensen
Illustrated by Chloe Bristol
Versify Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Ages 7 to 12
Still in the vein of the extraordinary comes a picture book biography of an artist who epitomizes a flair for the absurd. Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey, written by Lori Mortensen and wonderfully illustrated by Chloe Bristol, tells the story of an illustrator whose work is known to any adult with a fondness for the PBS Mystery! series on television (Gorey is responsible for the graphics that accompany the title and credits), and any child who has read the mystery novels of John Bellairs (illustrated by Gorey).
This new bio explains Gorey’s artistic bent and his passion for the whimsical aspects in storytelling, as well as the more dark and disturbing.
A flamboyant and colourful character in life (he died in 2000 at the age of 75), he left behind a series of small illustrated books that have captured the hearts of young and old alike. (A favourite of mine is The Gashlycrumb Tinies, an abecedarium in which 26 children meet with often gruesome fates.)