On an afternoon like any other, an artist's imagination disappears. His quest to recover it leads him to a remote seaside hotel visited by some most remarkable guests. Illustrated by the masterful Roberto Innocenti, this book celebrates the wonders of the imagination.
A New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2002
On an afternoon like any other, an artist's imagination disappears. His quest to recover it leads him to a remote seaside hotel visited by some most remarkable guests. Illustrated by the masterful Roberto Innocenti, this book celebrates the wonders of the imagination.
A New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2002
When an artist's imagination, "apparently angry at being ignored, took a holiday," the artist goes after it, in Lewis's (BoshBlobberBosh) unusual tale. Deposited by his red Renault (which "seemed to know the way") at a seaside hotel, the artist is told "This here's The Last Resort for folks who've lost a piece of mind." There he encounters a strange parade of fellow guests, some of whom seem strangely familiar. The clues are legion; a few are easy to spot (such as Long John Silver, who "peglegs in here, signs the guestbook with crossbones"), others will keep even sophisticated readers guessing until the final pages on which their identities are revealed. The lineup includes poets, characters from novels (including Melville's white whale), an actor who "had lost his range of emotions" (Peter Lorre) and more, all of whom eventually find their lost inspiration. Lewis's colorful and imaginative prose ("blues and whites quilted the sky") will keep readers' attention, despite the meandering story line and occasionally affected tone ("The patrons of The Last Resort had shown me the road to self-discovery!"). Innocenti's artwork consistently soars. His series of detailed, playful vignettes tweak perspective and brim with arch humor (as when he reveals the Little Mermaid's identity in a page divided into four moonlit quadrants), and his spreads offer the kinds of details found in the illustrations of vintage Victorian children's books. This elegantly designed volume will be most appreciated by bibliophiles and aesthetes: the artwork is spectacular. Ages 9-up. (Sept.)
Children's Literature
We begin this unusual but lyrical and imaginative tale before the title page, as the artist narrator laments the loss of his imagination. His quest to find it takes him to the seaside hotel of the title, where he encounters several characters from fiction and history, fully identified at the end, including the Little Mermaid and Long John Silver. Their individual quests proceed apace in the surreal atmosphere, interspersed with delicate verse and humor. As he leaves, the artist notes that the "missing bingdingle" he has found there is "the ability to make real what the mind only imagines." Since Innocenti, the artist's name, appears first on the book, it is difficult to know whether the visual story came first or as a response. Each scene, sometimes four per page, once a textless double-page spooky image of the hotel, is richly loaded with details adding to the emotional impact. While the words hold us on the page, the illustrations, realistically rendered yet fraught with intrigue, also command us to linger. A book truly worthy of the time needed to appreciate it. 2002, Creative Editions/The Creative Company,
— Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Product dimensions: 8.80 (w) x 12.10 (h) x 0.40 (d)
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Overview
A New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2002