#137 of 1001 · December 15, 2020

There must be a moment at some point in all children’s lives when they wish they could run away from their families and dwell in a fantasy paradise. In her idiosyncratic book The Parent Thief, Mitra Modaressi explores that very impulse and follows it to its logical conclusion. Jack Parsley, bored to tears on a family cruise, meets the mysterious Quinn, who whisks him away via bathtub-balloon-boat to an island where children live free of parental oversight. How to stave off Jack’s parents’ inevitable worry? Quinn volunteers to go back to the cruise ship in his place. But, Jack protests, Quinn looks nothing like him. Not to worry—Quinn will magically hypnotize the family so they perceive him as Jack. The disturbing implications of this power are made manifest when Quinn overstays his allotted time, and Jack must go and confront him to reclaim his rightful place in the Parsley family. Modaressi’s tone and illustrations leaven the frightening concept of alienation and replacement by an untrustworthy doppelgänger. #parent #parents #thief #family #island #doppelganger #doppelgänger #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks