The snow theater

With swirling colors woven through a snowy mountain setting, Arai (Almost Nothing, yet Everything) crafts a surreal tale of guilt and redemption. After his father's treasured butterfly book is torn during a quarrel with a friend, a rosy-cheeked boy portrayed with goldenrod skin escapes outdoors on skis. Thinking about the incident, he falls into a gap in the snow, and there finds a magical miniature theater where tiny snow people perform a circus-like spectacle. The performance, shown in radiant streaming hues, crescendoes with a dizzying song that seems to speak to themes of escape: "spin in circles, spinning high,/ spin your way into the sky." As snow flurries escalate, the child has a vision of his friend amid fluttering butterflies, and his father's hand appears, pulling him out of the snow. On the way home, Dad offers hot chocolate, and even suggests they lend the damaged book to his friend. The chilling, dreamlike narrative can be challenging to follow, but the striking imagery lyrically conveys how shame can be transcended by being open to forgiveness. Ages 5--8. (Nov.)

After a boy in a remote, snowy town quarrels with a friend, his subsequent tumble while skiing reveals a mysterious, glowing theater. As this Japanese import opens, the two companions argue over the butterfly book they're admiring. As they tussle, a page tears, and the friend skis home. The boy worriedly repairs the book (one of his father's treasured possessions), then skis off himself, seeking to quell his discomfort. Negotiating a steep downhill trail, the boy overlooks a gap and falls in. Within the shallow crevasse, he discovers a tiny theater and a dazzling musical, staged by snow people, about to begin. After he rescues a fallen performer, the troupe invites him to view their show. Whispering ballerinas, singing children, and a sudden transformation from a tiny to full-size production hint at the boy's dream state. He joins the troupe onstage as they begin a "spinning top song." A giant top appears, sparkling with snow crystals; a snow queen summons an enchanted blizzard. Arai's charming illustrations dazzle. Intentionally naïve and expressionistic, they pair thick, impasto-like color with delicately rendered performers--singing, dancing, even snowboarding. Playing with perspective, the artist contrasts the village's snowy expanses with the small figures of the boy and his father, who rescues him with a promise of cocoa and a suggestion to lend the butterfly book to his friend tomorrow. Human characters are tan-skinned. Conflict, enchantment, resolution, solace--all interweave in this beautifully illustrated tale.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.