It's a visually and linguistically lyrical story that celebrates the natural environment, and music as a tool for storytelling and memory.
In the story, a dam is built and when filled, will change the countryside dramatically. The fields and old buildings will be gone, replaced by a lake.
But before the dam and its lake take over, a man and his daughter take a journey across the land, playing a fiddle in all those places that will soon disappear. As they create music, they remember all the people who lived and played there.
And when the lake is created, and the man and his daughter visit and admire its beauty, they remember the music and hear it in the new landscape as they explore.
The Dam combines the talents of the Carnegie Medal winner, author David Almond, with Kate Greenaway Medal winner, illustrator Levi Pinfold.
There's an almost dream-like quality to the story and its artwork. The text is quite poetic, and ranging from full page illustrations to strip style illustrations, the pre-dam pictures are in a sepia style palette, while blues brighten the post-dam pictures.
The Dam is an unusual, beautiful book.
Title: The Dam
Author: David Almond
Illustrator: Levi Pinfold
Publisher: Walker Studio, $24.99
Publication Date: September 2018
Format: Harrdcover
ISBN: 9781406304879
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture book
