Lift by Minh Lê

Abstract

Reviewed by: Lift by Minh Lê Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Lê, Minh Lift; illus. by Dan Santat. Little, 2020 [56p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-368-03692-4 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-368-06174-2 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R 4-7 yrs Pushing the elevator button to take her family up to or down from their city apartment is a serious job, and young Iris approaches it as such. She’s horrified, then, when her toddler brother hits the button one day, earning applause from her parents and taking her place as the button pusher. When she sees a maintenance man toss out a malfunctioning button from another elevator, she grabs it, tapes it to her bedroom wall, and uses it to transport herself to wild, magical worlds. Pigtailed Iris narrates with minimal text, so it’s really Santat’s art, in this followup from the creative partnership behind Drawn Together (BCCB 6/18), that pulls the storytelling weight, and the comics-styled panels easily carry viewers along. Perspective and composition also play a big part in conveying emotion here: tight closeups on Iris’ face express her fury; larger panels emphasizing her diminutive little figure denote her lack of agency in the whole situation; and full bleed spreads of the magical lands she visits give pause, inviting audiences into the whimsy of the tale. Visual cues indicate some serious sibling jealousy—baby brother has clearly and without permission taken her favorite toy—but the story itself makes a kid-appealing metaphor about leaving the familiarities of baby and toddlerhood behind for new, exciting adventures. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois