By Jed Alexander
Published by Creston Books
Mom's Review
Olive is a beautiful wordless picture book illustrated in shades of grey and olive. Starting with a seed dropped by a bird, the reader follows the story of a tree as it hosts animals and child who uses it as a ladder to a giant’s realm. The child is welcomed by the giant, whose hospitality she enjoys for a day before climbing down to her home where she observes creatures for whom she herself is a giant.
Olive may look like a simple picture book, but it sparks imagination and prompts readers to consider different perspectives and their own perceptions. The lack of words invites the readers to dive deeply into the story, pondering what they might feel or think in the characters’ situations. One cannot help but reflect on how the child’s experience first with the giant, then as a giant compared with “small” creatures and think about one’s own experiences in different roles. In light of the giant’s hospitality, we are likewise led to ask ourselves about our hospitality to strangers (particularly unexpected ones) and what it would take to better understand what at first might appear to be wildly different circumstances.
The importance of considering other perspectives is emphasized in the final illustration where the child appears giant-like, with the background miniaturized in the distance.
Olive is a thought-provoking book. And it’s beatiful.
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