The ear
(Book)

Separated from the head, Ear struggles to make her way in the world alone. On the initial spread, a yellow chair, a framed picture, and a vase of sunflowers clue savvy readers to Ear's provenance-the head of van Gogh. Wandering through a surreal dreamscape, Ear takes the form of a cloud, a mushroom, a fish, a snail, and a butterfly as she experiences existential crisis: "She didn't know who she was anymore." Then, a series of animals appear-each needs a listener, and Ear discovers a purpose. Listening is not an uncomplicated gift, though; spider's "poisonous words" ensnare Ear, and her friends must rescue her. Half the magic of Raud's strange, subtle fable is in the illustrations, which combine rounded shapes, linear tangles, and idiosyncratic detail to conjure a whimsical world in which the moon and stars adorn elephants, and an ear with round, unblinking eyes can make its own way. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A disembodied ear suffers an existential crisis.Readers never learn how the ear became separated from her head, though frontmatter images of a white man with a red beard, a vase of sunflowers, and a wooden chair with cane seat provide clues to readers familiar with art history. But van Gogh is not the point. The point is that with no head attached, "I am no one," the Ear weeps. But then a doleful frog asks if he can sing for her, which cheers them both up. She goes on to listen to an elephant's story and a hare's confession (she ate a snowman's nose). Pretty soon, the Ear has earned a reputation as "the best listener in the land." Then a spider comes "with a voice as sweet as honey" to whisper unkindnesses as it spins its web around the Ear. But with a "Chomp!" the frog dispatches the spider, and they all live happily ever after. Raud's little tale is about as weird as they come, and the Ear's staring eyes are more than a little unsettling. But the Estonian author/illustrator's surreal, two-dimensional images, populated with smiling, stylized animals, have a zany matter-of-factness that eases readers into the story. Characters perch on the horizon line, strong verticals and horizontals combining with rounded corners to convey stability, while swirling interior lines hint at emotional complexity.This quirky affirmation of the value of listening will have readers thinking. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Separated from the head, Ear struggles to make her way in the world alone. On the initial spread, a yellow chair, a framed picture, and a vase of sunflowers clue savvy readers to Ear's provenance—the head of van Gogh. Wandering through a surreal dreamscape, Ear takes the form of a cloud, a mushroom, a fish, a snail, and a butterfly as she experiences existential crisis: "She didn't know who she was anymore." Then, a series of animals appear—each needs a listener, and Ear discovers a purpose. Listening is not an uncomplicated gift, though; spider's "poisonous words" ensnare Ear, and her friends must rescue her. Half the magic of Raud's strange, subtle fable is in the illustrations, which combine rounded shapes, linear tangles, and idiosyncratic detail to conjure a whimsical world in which the moon and stars adorn elephants, and an ear with round, unblinking eyes can make its own way. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)