#488 of 1001 · December 1, 2021

The Jewel Heart by Barbara Helen Berger is a book woven of pure magic. An ethereal forested landscape is revealed to the reader framed by grand red drapes, suggesting a stage. The action occurs between two human figures: Gemino, a voiceless violinist in a Pierrot costume with a red jewel for a heart, and Pavette, a dainty ballerina. The young musician loves nothing more than to play music that inspires his companion to perform her beautiful dances. One day, disaster strikes: Gemino takes a terrible fall and lies broken on the ground. Pavette, aided by whispers from ethereal beings known only as shadows, repairs her friend as well as she can. But Gemino is not quite as he was before: his white clothing has become a motley suit of shadows, his short black hair is now wisps of dandelion down, and his lost jewel heart is replaced by a seed, which blooms into a wonderful flower heart. Berger’s text instills a dreamy atmosphere with delicate metaphor (“His face was a fallen moon,” later echoed: “His face was a rising moon.”) In her soft acrylic-paint-and-colored-pencil illustrations, the shadows take the form of ordinary woodland creatures. At the start of the book, these animals gather in front of a decorative red curtain, as audience members patiently awaiting a performance. On subsequent pages, they peer in at the action from a seemingly nondiegetic outside border, their bodies now tinted pale blue and cyan. Who are these animal “shadows”? Why do they watch Gemino and Pavette? What is the nature of this strange dualistic realm? We the audience are left to wonder, imagine, and marvel. #jewel #heart #violin #violinist #ballerina #dance #shadow #shadows #flower #book #books #childrensbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks