Storyboarding has its place in the world, but it is not an effective way to map out a picture book. The laziest kind of picture book is the kind that feels like it began life as a serious of quick sketches tacked up on a wall somewhere. Yet for all that she has an animator’s heart, Idle avoids the pitfalls that have felled many from her field that have come before her. Kirkus, in their review, said that there is a “courageous use of white space” in this book, and I have to agree.
The white background sort of clinches it. From a miserable (mouthless) hurt glare to a skeptical raised eyebrow, to gentle trust, and, finally, pure pleasure. Though at first she attempts to keep her face relatively placid, as the book goes on, a variety of emotions flit across her punim. They tend to have very expressive protagonists. You can recognize an animator pretty easily right from the start. It’s a style of drawing you’ll find in the works of folks like Tony Fucile or Carter Goodrich. Idle has the mark of the animator all over her. Chastened, the flamingo offers a wing and the two embark on a fantastic dance, culminating in a joyous leap into the water and an elegant bow and curtsey. In a moment of cussidness he bleats at her, causing her to tumble head over heel into the water. But when he starts to stretch (or is he dancing?) he can’t help but see how she tries to imitate him, wing for wing. It does not notice the single flippered foot that appears behind it nor, at first, the bathing suited little girl that mimics his stance. Are you getting enough flamingo picture books in YOUR diet? If not, time to start.Ī single flamingo lands and perches on one leg beneath the falling pink blossoms.
No, Flora and the Flamingo is notable because it is a perfect amalgamation of wordless storytelling, likable (or at least understandable) characters, and an artistic sensibility that will make you forget its unique formatting and remind you only of the classic picture book days of yore. That is, without a doubt, the most common storyline in ballet picture books today. Now, before you get to thinking too hard about it, let me assure you that when I discuss a book like Flora and the Flamingo I should right off the bat say that this is NOT a book about a bird that wants to be a ballerina and must overcomes obstacles to achieve that goal. Did you know that flamingos are pink because of their diet of plankton? Did you know that the flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas? And did you know that when it comes to a pas de chat or a particularly fine jetée, no bird exceeds the flamingo in terms of balletic prowess? No? Then you’re clearly not reading the right literature these days.
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