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<\/a>Some of the great books I brought home.<\/p><\/div>
\nWhile I\u2019ve locked in most of our store\u2019s holiday picks by the\u00a0show, and my rep conversations have mostly turned to Winter \/ Spring (or even Summer), I find the opportunity to refocus and refresh my perspective on Fall titles at this show really helpful. Talking to other booksellers and publishers about what they\u2019re seeing excitement for\u00a0helps me see things I may have missed and\u00a0round out my thoughts about what\u2019s coming out right now.\u00a0Coming out of the show, I shipped home a\u00a0rather large box of buzzy new books and ARCs to either spread around to staff or to take a closer look at. Some I, of course, already knew and loved; some were new to me, like the Rextooth Studios graphic novels about dinosaurs (that come with an endorsement from the Field Museum in Chicago); and others I returned appreciating in a whole new way, like Robinson <\/em>by Peter Sis.
\nI always love the depth and intricacy of Peter Sis\u2019s work, partly because that intricacy often means that his books get better and more interesting with each reading. So I very much enjoyed\u00a0getting to hear him talk about his new book Robinson<\/em>. <\/em>Rooted in an experience from childhood when Peter\u2019s Robinson Crusoe costume was met with unexpected ridicule from his friends, Robinson<\/em> brilliantly explores and illuminates the emotional aftermath of such a public betrayal. Shocked and humiliated, young Peter retreats from a world that has wounded him into a lushly imagined literary world that never has, envisioning himself on a deserted island with only his own resourcefulness to see him through. Guided by very simple text, we follow young Peter not only through his island fantasy\u00a0but through his full emotional journey\u2014from excitement and pride to shock and embarrassment to introspection and strength to empathy and forgiveness.
\nPeter Sis spells out very little of young Peter\u2019s inner experience in words, letting his incredible art do a lot of the talking and using the evolution of young Peter\u2019s expressions to great effect. His illustrations of island life also sing with <\/a>love for the natural world and cleverly feed into kids\u2019 fascination with the practical steps involved in making life happen. A page in the book showing young Peter tending to all the things he has built on the island between romps with his animal friends reminded me in an odd way of something I loved about Irene Haas\u2019s The Maggie B <\/em>when I was a kid, which was the very matter-of-fact setting out of tasks and activities for the day, including scrubbing the deck, fishing for lunch, and battening down the ship\u2019s hatches before a storm. There’s also a great sequence at the beginning of Robinson<\/em>\u00a0showing Peter and his friends playing pirates while their real world games are juxtaposed playfully against the much grander\u00a0versions in their collective\u00a0mind’s eye.
\nOne of the best things is that Robinson<\/em> can be read on so many levels, depending on the reader. It\u2019s a story of self-esteem and strength. It\u2019s a story about the magic of books. It\u2019s a story about imagination and individuality. It\u2019s a whimsical wilderness adventure. Above all, I can\u2019t think of another one of Peter Sis\u2019s books that pulses with such a visceral, primal emotional life. As young Peter builds shelter, tools, and gardens, his transformation of the island mirrors the transformation of his inner turmoil as he reclaims his identity as one that is his and his alone. And of course he doesn\u2019t mind sharing some of that restored inspiration with his friends, who eventually show up with an (illustrated) apology in hand. Rich with SEL touchstones to draw out on every page, this is a magnificent book to share and discuss. The more time I spend with it, the more enchanted I become.
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