Flooded

Description

Flooded

Mariajo Ilustrajo

(Frances Lincoln)

The water seems nothing ore than an irritation at first, and then a chance ‘to wear wellies‘. In fact everyone just gets on as before. Then there are the stories about the problem began, maybe with a hippo and an overflowing bath. However it wan’t really ‘a problem’ because the city ‘carried on in its usual rhythm‘. It means they do not hear the warnings, the alerts. Will it be too late?

Mariajo Ilustrajo offers an allegory of community and responsibility in Flooded. While we watch the growing distress of the smaller animals, we’re aware that there’s a sort of inverted pride in this inattention. Then again, across the pen and ink pages, we see an urgent yellow tail scrawl. It seems to be desperate to gather everyone’s attention. Will anyone stop and look? Then again, what will it take?

Bookwagon recommends Flooded highly for reading together, talking about and understanding. Like exceptional picture books such as It Fell from the Sky, this book has hidden depths, such assurance in its skilled presentation and then such meaning. Altogether, it means that we wonder and think on this book, alongside looking back over it and making constant new discoveries.