Claire and the Cathedral by author/illustrator Pam Fong (The Clock) is a wordless, intricately illustrated grayscale picture book about a child who finds profound joy in art through the glow of light and drift of music.
The book's opening endpapers depict a child, presumably Claire, and an adult caretaker venturing out to visit Notre-Dame on a cloudy day. At the door of the cathedral, the sound of a violinist's music creates an iridescent wave of color floating above Claire; embedded within the rippling colors are musical notes (the same gold color as the coins in the musician's hat). Once inside the cathedral, Claire is bored with the historic art and slips away from her caretaker. When Claire notices the rainbow hues of sunlight shining through the South Rose Window, she jubilantly dances through colorful rays of light that glisten with golden dust motes. As the rain darkens the cathedral, Claire is drawn to the soft glow of candles. Instead of donating a coin, though, she follows the rippling colors back to the violinist and gifts them her own little piece of light. The music's shimmer highlights the reflection of the stained glass in puddles, and Claire delightedly leaps, creating a riot of color in her splashes. Back at home on the book's closing endpapers, adult and child play music together, creating their own dazzling colors.
Fong's digital, grayscale renderings of Paris and Notre-Dame, with thick cross-hatching and deep shadows, are reminiscent of the European masters, while her strategic bursts of watercolor contrast the book's dreary palette while spotlighting Claire's moments of joy. Those who admire David Macauley's artwork and Aaron Becker's (Wordless Trilogy series) will likely delight in Claire's cathedral outing. --Cristina Iannarino, children's book buyer, Books on the Square, Providence, RI.