#371 of 1001 · August 6, 2021

Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Alternatively, have you ever convinced yourself that you weren’t really to blame but later looked back and realized you were? The tension between these possibilities informs @levi_pinfold’s merrily insightful The Django. Jean leads a peaceful existence traveling, working, and making music with his Roma family and community. One day, he begins receiving visits from the Django, a bizarre little creature who routinely triggers bouts of mischief and then promptly vanishes, leaving Jean to take the blame. After finally losing his temper and banishing the tiny imp, the boy finds that he misses its playful nature and feels guilty for speaking to it so harshly. The book, with its playfully conversational narrative voice, slew of invented words (“cozzler”, “smunch”, “grotsnobbler”), and rich, engaging watercolor illustrations, can be read on multiple levels. The story functions both as a freely imaginative celebration of the life of legendary Jazz musician Jean “Django” Reinhardt and as an account of visitation by an entity that may be either a supernatural creature or a child’s invention to buck responsibility for trouble he himself has in fact caused. #roma #music #troublemaker #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #classicchildrensbooks #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks