French / France
Ours à New York
(Bear in New York)
Wisniewski, Gaya
(text/illus.)
[Nantes]: Éditions MeMo, [2020]. – [35] p.
ISBN 978-2-35289-477-3
New York City | City | Life | Meaning of life | Self-realisation | Picture book
Reading age: 6+
White Ravens issue: 2022
Is this really the life that Aleksander had dreamed of as a child? A beautiful apartment in a trendy part of town, daily trips on the subway to a well-paid job – looking quite serious in his suit and carrying a briefcase? Yet what many might consider »success« comes at a high price: loneliness, an increasingly boring job, and the hectic life of New York City, that glittering juggernaut. When he becomes caught up in growing self-doubt, Aleksander’s two long-missed childhood companions – a giant bear and a tiny fox – kindly but firmly draw his attention to the contradictions in his life. At first Aleksander tries to block out their advice. How his wise friends help him achieve a happier life is the subject of this expressive picture book drawn entirely in black-and-white by Belgian artist Gaya Wisniewski. With her large-size city scenes depicting streets, bridges, parks, and skyscrapers in a wintery New York, she composes a gorgeous modern fairy tale about the meaning of life. [SW]