Every once in awhile, a picture book comes along that falls into the deep well of classic reader response literature. A “quiet” book that reverberates for miles underground like the subtlest of seismic tremors. And it does this through the perfect marriage of evocative text and art.
The story begins immediately, as the illustrator makes good use of real estate on the copyright, dedication, and title pages to present a wordless opening. An enormous, tethered bear sits high atop a building in a city.
An old man, leading a solitary life, heads off in his pickup truck.
Where is that old man going? Why, to the factory where he works, the building with the giant bear on top.
Ellsworth’s paws wave in the wind. A passing car honks a greeting.
Every day of every season, Iver climbs to the roof to take care of and eat lunch with his friend. He tightens Ellsworth’s ropes, plucks leaves from his tummy, shines his paws and shakes snow from his shoulders. Then one day, it’s time for Iver to say good-bye.
Iver is retiring, and he is “off to a new somewhere.”
The page where the old man says good-bye breaks my heart. Note how the illustrator chose NOT to show Iver’s face. It gives readers the opportunity to put themselves in Iver’s place, to feel the emotion that goes along with that one sentence, “I’m going to miss you.”
Ellsworth continues to sit atop the building, day in and day out, with no one to take care of him. Iver goes about his solitary life. As time passes, the tethers that hold Ellsworth to the building weaken. And eventually, they break, sending him on his own journey to a new somewhere. I love how the wordless spreads show Ellsworth flying free on the top half of the page, while we see Iver leading his life, alone, on the lower half.
Ellsworth flies past a diner, past a dinosaur exhibit, past a used car lot (note the funny waving man)…and then….see below how the light fixture on the right hand page swings inside Iver’s cozy home. This is a great place to ask kids for clues that help predict what they might see on the next spread.
The language of this story is so carefully chosen, the events so carefully depicted, that when Iver secures Ellsworth to the roof of his own home, and the two sit there happily looking out over the entire world, their “new somewhere,” your own heartstrings thrum in the breeze. And when a passing car honks a greeting, you know these two friends have not only come full circle, they have also reached a new beginning.
Title: Iver & Ellsworth
Author: Casey Robinson
Illustrator: Melissa Larson
Publisher: Ripple Grove Press, 2018
Themes: friendship and commitment
Ages: 3-7
More Perfect Picture Books can be found on Susanna Hill’s website.
Jilanne Hoffmann 
I actually got goose bumps reading your description, page by page, of this gloriously simple (but beautifully illustrated book). Great review. Thanks – I’m going to get it.
Oh, you will love it! Thank you!
Oh dear…if reading your review for me sobbing, the book would reduce me to a puddle…
The best kind of puddle. 😀
Sigh…GOT me sobbing. I really should check what the tablet inserts – often not what I typed – before tapping send. Blame the distress caused by the thought of a tethered bear, and his only friend, now retiring. Waaaaaaa
Ha! I knew what you meant. Sob…..
Lovely on all counts.
Yes, indeedy. I’m getting this one for my grandkids, the ones coming along in oh, say another 20 years…..and in the meantime, for every other special child on their special day.
Can’t wait to read this one. Lovely illustrations and excellent review.
Thanks, Joy! It really is a gorgeous book.
This sounds like our kind of read. Evocative review!
Thanks, Christina! It has classic written all over it.
What a wonderful story. I look forward to reading this. I have it on hold at the library. Thank for your great review.
Thanks, Maria. It’s easy to review such a gorgeous book.
I’m on the waiting list for this book from my library! I can’t wait after seeing the webinar with the author. It looks lovely.
I hope libraries order more! It is such a kind, gentle book. The perfect antidote for our times.
Ooh, I’ll have to check this out. It’s that time of year when I have to get a small reading list together for my after-school writing clases in the fall!
It would be such a lovely book to share! And so much to learn from the way the story is told.
Oh, that is the kind of book that makes me go “aw.” I know it’ll make me go “aw” because your review made me “aw” about a half dozen times.
And now I have something in my eye.
Aw, you make me go “aw.” Now I need a tissue. Check it out. It’s even more “aw”esome in person.
Will do!
This is a wonderful book! It would be an amazing mentor text for teaching writing. The marriage of words and images truly makes it picture-perfect!
Yes! It’s a fantastic mentor text in so many ways, including marriage of text & illustration, economy of words, reader response/evoking emotion, pacing, writing an adult character that children will relate to, circular structure, etc.
It looks great, I always marvel how how simple language can be used to emotionally drive a tale, when so much adult literature needs reams of words to articulate the same point.
Writing picture books has made me a better writer, overall. I am much more conscious of how I’m throwing words around. Think of picture books in the same vein as poetry. Compression is key.
I like that analogy. I have been thinking about the topic of late and you have given me food for thought.