It’s easy when it comes to kids’ books to just gush about the illustrations. They tend to be at least 50% of the story and be very eye-catching. And Magic Words is definitely one of those books that I’d get just for the stunning pictures by Mike Blanc.
However, the story, while very short and simple, is what really made this books stand out. Translated from the Inuit by Edward Field, Magic Words is a folk tale about “a long time ago” when magic really occurred. The straightforward presentation coupled with the pictures really conjures up ideas of what that world would have looked like. It is definitely a book that feeds the imagination regardless of age, and my favorite part is the last page which declines to offer an explanation for how such things could have been.
My thanks to Vanita Books for providing me with a copy of Magic Words via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion of the book.