Madlenka

A visually sumptuous and fascinating book presenting an adventure for the eye which begins in the end-papers: from interplanetary space we progressively zoom in on a lilac dot which turns out to be the dress worn by the child Madlenka as she stands at the window in her block of flats, at the very moment when she discovers her first wobbly tooth. She decides to tell the entire neighbourhood, embarking on a labyrynthine journey through packed and port-holed pages. Each of her visits features a person from a different culture, surrounded by popular visions of the iconography of that culture. This is simplistic and tokenistic perhaps, but part of the teacher's role in sharing this celebratory and almost hallucinogenic book might be to talk through the assumptions underlying the imagery. A well designed and thought provoking book.