Cornelia and the Jungle Machine

Having just moved into a gloomy house full of clutter and having nobody to play with, young Cornelia wearing a blue cape, goes outside to explore its forest environs with her dog. Among the tall trees a ladder descends.

Up go girl and dog high into the treetops where there’s an exciting-looking treehouse, outside which, lounging in a hammock, is a boy who introduces himself as Fredrik.

He invites Cornelia to see his numerous inventions within – hanging beds, platforms aplenty and all kinds of plants. Best of all, says her host is his jungle machine, and after some button pushing and wheel turning, tropical plants appear. These grow into a fully–fledged jungle with vines to swing on and wild animals roaming. Suddenly there alights a huge red-feathered bird and upon this they fly to a river where a boat awaits.

After a river trip, it’s time for Cornelia to go home, but Fredrik’s invitation to come every

day is one likely to be accepted by the departing girl as she returns to her parents, obviously feeling more upbeat about her new
situation.

All this unfolds through fantastic Gorey-like gothic spreads (several of which are wordless) detailing their adventure, together with a mere hundred or so words of dialogue which leave plenty of space for allow readers their own flights of fancy thanks to this immersive tale.