Abstract

Reviewed by: The Secret-Keeper April Spisak Coombs, Kate The Secret-Keeper; illus. by Heather M. Solomon. Atheneum, 2006 [32p] ISBN 0-689-83963-4$16.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 2-5 The path to Kalli's cottage in the woods is familiar to almost everyone in Maldinga: Kalli is the village secret-keeper, and most residents regularly trek out to bring her their secrets. Kalli accepts the secrets without judgment, storing each one in the hundreds of tiny drawers that line the walls of her cabin. Although few of the confidences are truly sinister, the collective weight of many small dark secrets over several years oppresses Kalli and makes her ill. The townspeople and the secret-keeper's future love (the one man who never brought her a secret) rally around her, lifting her gloom by sharing their good secrets with her as well, a practice they make an annual tradition. This original fairy tale is elegantly and tenderly told, and it avoids moralizing about the existence of secrets, instead accepting them as a fact of life. Solomon's watercolor and oil paintings are lushly colored, establishing Coombs' story in an imagined rural European landscape. The intricate details, such as the concrete forms into which the secrets transform in Kalli's keeping and the uniquely shaped drawers covering every surface in Kalli's cottage, slow the eye and invite repeated viewings. Readers who are still several years away from Sharon Shinn's The Safe-Keeper's Secret (BCCB 6/04), which explores similar issues in more depth, will enjoy both the beauty and ethical weight of this picture book. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.