David Macaulay is one of our Renaissance Men and seems to know more than anyone about everything. But... I have to confess that those wonderfully detailed crosscut illustrations of his leave me with a "wow-yawn". I found myself avoiding his work, so I wouldn't feel embarrassed at my lack of interest. Then I discovered two picture books which I love.Shortcut is a fun, convoluted mystery that is simple enough for very early readers. Each character has their own "chapter", yet each is interconnected in ways that can only be figured out by paying attention to the visual clues in the colorful illustrations. It requires a close read and that is the beauty of it. How many easy children's books have tightly constructed plots? I love watching kids flip back to find the clues that foreshadow something that happens later. This book is engaging!
When I found BAAA, which is so wonderfully dark and weird, I couldn't quite believe this was the same David Macaulay. This is humor and political satire with a sprinkling of dystopian canabalism. Wow!
A deserted earth is repopulated by sheep who gradually become more and more like humans with human problems such as overpopulation and political turmoil. Food shortages are finally resolved with "Baaa" - which affects the population problem a bit too well. At the end, after all the sheep are gone, the fish start to rise. This is not for little children! But I have read it to fifth graders and they thought it was "cool". Beasts!
Shortcut by David Macaulay
Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
1999 (first published 1995) ISBN0618006079, 9780618006076
BAAA by David Macaulay
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1985
ISBN0395395887, 9780395395882
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