Perk up with pink
Bernie Goedhart recommends these lovely picture books.
Nasty weather can be a mood changer. Those who have been dealing with repeated bouts of snow and freezing rain this winter can be forgiven if all they want to do is curl up under a quilt, in front of the TV or with a book in hand.
What better way to lift one’s spirits, when the weather outside is dreary, than to think pink and share a wonderful picture book with a youngster? Tundra Books has two titles that will keep any reader (or listener) in the pink on those grey days.
The Pink Umbrella, by Amélie Callot and illustrated by Geneviève Godbout, is the story of Adele, who runs a café in a coastal village. Her customers see Adele as “the village’s sun — lively, sweet and sparkling.” But not when it rains, because Adele does not like rain. On grey rainy days, she “loses her spirit” and stays inside; sometimes she shuts the café, curls up in her quilt and awaits the sun.
On Wednesdays, her friend Lucas sets up a stall of fruit and vegetables in the café, transforming it into a marketplace. One day when Adele is cleaning up she finds a pair of pink boots next to the coat rack — beautiful pink boots in her size, with a sun carved in each sole. No one knows who they belong to. The mystery grows, with the sudden appearance of a pink coat and then a pink umbrella. In solving the mystery, Adele discovers a rainy day can be a source of joy after all — especially when shared with a friend.
First published in French, the translation by Lara Hinchberger reads beautifully, and Godbout’s illustrations have an appealing sophistication. It’s aimed at ages six to nine, but adults are bound to be just as charmed.
Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli, by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad, is aimed at the same ages but again will also appeal to older readers. Illustrator Morstad and author Maclear collaborated on an earlier biography — Julia, Child — about a girl who isn’t mainstream but goes on to make a name for herself in the culinary arts.
This time, the duo turns its attention to Elsa, a child who grew up in Italy in the shadow of her more beautiful sister and with judgmental parents who saw little value in her existence. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she focused on the colours of Rome and let them spark her imagination, eventually growing into an artist who created garments other women longed to wear. Pink plays a role in this book, too, since Schiaparelli invents a shade called Shocking Pink that becomes her signature colour.