The Water Hole

A bewilderingly rich visual conundrum from the creator of The Eleventh Hour and Animalia. Each double page spread depicts a sumptuous jungle landscape, focused on a concentrically cut out water-hole which dwindles as more and more animals come to drink from it. As the water level falls, the family of anthropomorphised frogs which features in each picture diminishes. For one frame the lushness shrivels, then a single raindrop enclosing the Earth bursts on the dry bed and the richness returns. There is clearly an ecological message underlying the spectacularly fecund imagery here, but it is as a visionary source of narrative hilde and seek that most young readers will enjoy the book. Whole menageries are camouflaged into the surface details of the landscapes, while shifting geographical and human landmarks emerge from the gaps in the foliage. This is an intriguing source of wonder and speculation for readers of all ages.