Alma and the Beast
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Alma's beautiful, hairy world is turned upside down by the arrival of a stranger. From the utterly original imagination of the author-illustrator of Ooko comes a story about celebrating differences and making new friends. For fans of Where the Wild Things Are and Wild.
Alma lives happily in her hairy world, where she can braid the trees, comb the grass, pet the roof and feed her plumpooshkie butterfly. Until one day . . . a hairless, button-nosed beast appears in the garden! At first Alma is scared but when she realizes the beast is lost and misses her hairless home, Alma offers to help her find her way back. As the two take a fantastical journey through the red-headed woods and the bearded mushroom glen to the beast's bald abode, they discover that they are much more alike than different.
This quirky and charming story about friendship, empathy and perspective invites readers into a surreal, fantastical world that evokes Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are and The Lorax.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Alma has a thick coat of silvery fur, and her world, including her house and the trees around it, is covered in luxurious hair. Shapiro paints the tresses in shades of chestnut, rust, and slate, following Alma's daily routine: "She braided the trees... combed the grass... and petted the roof, as one does when the days grow chilly and pink." One day, a little beast a human girl strays into Alma's garden. Its earnest eyes are just as deep as Alma's, but it wears a dress and sports no locks except for the hair on its head. When Alma is able to master her own fear, the two retrace the beast's steps home, and a splendid vertical spread shows the place where their two worlds meet. With all its soft fur, Alma's world seems warm and comfortable, while the human world, by contrast, feels a bit cold and stark ("Marvelous, indeed! Very bald!" Alma exclaims). It's no surprise that the furry protagonist is able to offer the girl Mala, it turns out friendship across realms. What's fresh is Shapiro's distinctive way of making readers consider not only cultural norms, but everything the two have in common. Ages 3 7.
