Ish

Very similar in theme and style to his 2003 picture book The Dot (VL-11/04), Peter H. Reynolds' Ish (2004) tells the tale of Ramon, a happily prodigious young artist (he even draws while seated on the toilet) who is squelched after his older brother makes a disparaging remark about one of his pictures. Eschewing his former spontaneity in favor of laborious attempts to make each illustration perfect, Ramon crumples up one drawing after another. Unbeknownst to him, however, his little sister is retrieving Ramon's supposedly botched efforts and turning her bedroom into a veritable art gallery. What Ramon's sister teaches him is that while his version of a vase of flowers may not boast exact verisimilitude, it's certainly “vase-ish,” and before long Ramon's creative juices are flowing again, and he produces drawings that are “tree-ish,” “house-ish,” “peace-ish,” etc.—even taking a stab at writing verse that is “poem-ish.” In a clever twist on the traditional fairy tale ending, we're told that Ramon “lived ish-fully ever after.” Narrated by Chester Gregory, with a bouncy soundtrack by Joel Goodman, this animated ode to artistic expression is recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)