The Mosaic take this
one step further, depicting change not as the harbinger of disruption and upset
but rather the catalyst for something altogether beautiful, comforting and …
new.
The day Mama’s vase broke marks a distressing turning point for young Frankie. Like the vase, her
world shatters. Dad leaves and with him a huge chunk of Frankie’s childhood
memories and loves. Mama fades away. Nan assumes control. And although Nan rescues
as many broken bits of the vase and the family as she can, nothing is quite as
it was.
For Frankie and many youngsters like her, this sort of upheaval, is at best upsetting but also often instils itself into everyday thoughts and behaviours draining one’s life-colours. Before this happens, Nan takes Frankie for a trip into the city. Here, they visit an art gallery.
Frankie is entranced and enthralled by the light,
and patterns, the colours and shape of the various artforms until, after
stepping around a corner, she encounters a sight so magnificent, it leaves her
breathless with wonder.
Gazing at the floor to ceiling mosaic, Frankie marvels
at its composition. From afar, it is a landscape that ignites visceral reaction.
Closer up, she is able to discern each detail, each piece’s form and beauty at
once incomplete yet also entire because of their re-purposing within this new
creation.
This collage of creativity illustrates a world of
possibilities for Frankie and the realisation that even though the pieces of
her world are no longer arranged as she was once accustomed to, they are just
as beautiful and important and … there. It’s how one rearranges the
pieces of their lives into new and wonderous and meaningful (visual) narratives that truly
matters.
The Mosaic encapsulates
the essence of endurance and love with elegantly phrased narrative and telling
illustrations divinely mosaiced together. Kelly’s text escorts the reader from
Frankie’s broken world to her moment of epiphany with just the right degree of
emotion and rhythm, while Johnston’s touching water-colour illustrations
provide the gorgeous musical accompaniment to this lilting song.
It's an experience that addresses family dynamics,
coping with change of and of course creativity and art. Finding the beauty of
life within its wrappings of discomfort and discord is not easy for the best of
us, let alone children grappling with disruptions to their normal. The
Mosaic helps us find and appreciate that beauty in a myriad of joy-filled ways.
Highly recommended reading.
Title: The Mosaic
Author: Deborah Kelly
Illustrator: Nicky Johnston
Publisher: EK Books, $24.99
Publication Date: 2 October 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922539731
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book
