#754 of 1001 · August 24, 2022

For a with a compelling emotional core shrouded in a cosmic riddle, look no further than Mượn Thị Văn and April Chu’s In a Village by the Sea. The viewpoint of the story moves continuously inward, shifting its perspective ever smaller. We begin with a house, then move to the kitchen, then the stove, a woman cooking, a child beside her, a hole in the floor, a cricket, and even a miraculously tiny seascape the cricket is painting. However, in a truly mind-bending turn of events, the story pushes ahead into the cricket’s art, where a little boat navigates a rough, stormy sea. The sailor on this boat is none other than the husband of the woman cooking in the kitchen of the little house. What has happened? Is the cricket somehow able to produce a detailed representation of the outside world? Is the universe nested inside itself, a path of infinite recursion? These questions are for the reader to answer…or simply to ponder. The rich shading and dramatic angles of Chu’s illustrations complement Van’s simple and eloquent text. #village #sea #ocean #house #kitchen #cricket #painting #storm #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks