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PRESCHOOL
Vogrig, Debora

Black and White

48 pp. | Eerdmans | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8028-5575-6 $17.99
(2) PS Illustrated by Pia Valentinis. In this visually striking quasi-concept book, the creative team behind Line and Scribble (rev. 7/21) plays with meaning and form to explore the bond between the title's two archetypal opposites. The pen and digital illustrations are rendered solely in black and white, a contrast mirroring the two personified colors' opposing personalities. The narrative begins as day breaks and White "spreads through the sky," revealing the dark ­silhouettes of multiple homes. After going through a window to illuminate what appears to be a child's bedroom, White expands into Black's shadowy space under the bed--cleverly expressed as a white oval stretching across the gutter of a double-page spread. This invasion of space frustrates timid Black ("Hey, stop pushing...You're squashing me!"), feelings are hurt, and tension builds. The dispute is (perhaps too) quickly resolved when Black is embodied in a sprawling octopus, impressively spraying ink across a page-turn. The action inspires the duo to collaborate on a fantastical journey through various scenarios (referencing items found within the child's bedroom from earlier), providing opportunities for Valentinis to experiment with texture, negative space, and optical illusion. As night begins to fall and Black's shadow "stretches out everything," the pair works in harmony for one final game of chess, song at the piano, and page of a bedtime story. Black and White, more abstract voices than concrete characters, lightly present a metaphor regarding the nature of difference, creativity, and collaboration.
Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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