Review: The Heart and the Bottle Oliver Jeffers
(HarperCollins, £10.99)
Saturday April 17 2010
Oliver Jeffers is one of the most important picture book artists this country has produced. With almost a million books sold in 19 languages, and countless awards already under his belt, this new title sees him in top form.
From the blue pencil sketches on the end papers, to the clever double-jacket cover, every aspect of this book is beautifully designed, making it a pleasure to hold and read. The illustrations are fantastic, spare, yet full of the emotion, energy, colour and quirky details we've come to expect from Jeffers.
When a little girl's father -- a man who understands wonder and delights in sharing it with his daughter -- dies, she is so perplexed by grief she takes out her heart and puts it in a bottle. She wears it around her neck to keep it safe, and there it stays until she grows up and meets someone who knows how to take it back out again.
A simple story, yet one full of wisdom and magic. A story which will equally bewitch adult and child, just like a classic children's book should.
Irish Independent
