Little Land by Diana Sudyka (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Little Land by Diana Sudyka Kara Forde Sudyka, Diana Little Land; written and illus. by Diana Sudyka. Little, 2023 [48p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780316301763 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 5-9 yrs "Once there was a little bit of land" begins this picture book, referring to what resembles a floating lump of layered sediment with growing plants, upon which [End Page 269] a child stands. It quickly becomes apparent that this little land represents Earth, and the transformation in the little land happens in ways both fast and slow, from glaciers melting to wildfires burning, but life has always begun anew. Now, as people have built on the little land and drained its resources, the changes seem unstoppable. Sudyka is not the first to tell the story of humans' impact on the climate for an audience of young readers, but her approach is particularly compelling because it shares no unnecessary details and distills our planet's ecological arc down to its emotional essence. The text is unadorned, so the gouache art does the heavy lifting to illustrate the interconnectedness of life on Earth with scenes of vibrant flora, fauna, and geological features moving in tandem. Innovative layouts create striking transitions, as the pages depicting changes are marked by sharp diagonal divisions, including a spread in which slivers of images of intensifying urban development seem to rotate and turn upside down, representing a world out of balance. The concluding pages emphasize the role of individual kids to attend to the "little bit of land" that they know and can care for. Dense end matter includes an author's note citing inspiration from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a glossary of terms and of living beings depicted in the book, descriptions of geological epochs, and further resources available online. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois