Overview
Literary nonsense turns to whimsical imagery with a macabre twist in the pen-and-ink drawings of Jamison Odone. Stick figures have never emoted this much energy as each page brings a certain curiosity to a new light in this deconstruction of Lewis Carroll's classic. Starkly black and white, these stick characters are as much a quandary as their literary, cartoon and theatre counterparts ever were. Omitting much of the melodic verbiage of the original, Stickfiguratively Speaking creates a simple variation with an exquisitely sophisticated twist that's already being compared to Edward Gorey.
"Stickfiguratively Speaking is a way that I take stories that I love and adapt them in a visually simple way that is truthfully not all that simple," says Odone. "I view each of these books as an individual project in storytelling, design, and picture making.
Synopsis
Literary nonsense turns to whimsical imagery with a macabre twist in the pen-and-ink drawings of Jamison Odone. Stick figures have never emoted this much energy as each page brings a certain curiosity to a new light in this deconstruction of Lewis Carroll's classic. Starkly black and white, these stick characters are as much a quandary as their literary, cartoon and theatre counterparts ever were. Omitting much of the melodic verbiage of the original, Stickfiguratively Speaking creates a simple variation with an exquisitely sophisticated twist that's already being compared to Edward Gorey.
"Stickfiguratively Speaking is a way that I take stories that I love and adapt them in a visually simple way that is truthfully not all that simple," says Odone. "I view each of these books as an individual project in storytelling, design, and picture making.
Publishers Weekly
Odone's retelling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderlandreinvents the world not as dark and dangerous—as many modern interpretations have done—but with all the whimsy and wonder of a child chasing a mysterious white rabbit. Mixing text with stick figure illustrations, Odone follows an Alice who is now somewhat pluckier than in her original incarnation as she meets the iconic Wonderland residents. What is thankfully lost in the translation are the political subtexts that made Carroll's original work less like a fairy tale and more like a story of caution. Alice is simply a girl who outwits the bumbling and the bad rulers of Wonderland. The Red Queen is a villain and not a political allegory. Fans of Odone's other works, Honey Badgers and The Bedtime Train, will find Alice to be a departure from his regular style, but his neat little stick drawings are wholly reminiscent of how children actually draw during their early artistic years, making it an easy book to pick up. Odone's lighthearted take on the characters is refreshing; it allows the story to breathe and see itself in a new and magical way. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)