A Stone for Sascha

Becker's wordless epic starts as a family of color--mother, father, daughter, son--bury their dog, Sascha. The daughter puts flowers on the grave, and then the four set off on a trip to the beach, where the girl is seen standing at the water's edge under a starry sky. Now the action shifts. In narrow, fast-moving panels, a meteor hurtles deep into the earth, a geological upthrust of a strange yellow stone results, and small human figures are seen quarrying it and carving it into an obelisk. Over the centuries, the stone is destroyed, fitted into a bridge, rescued from a debris pile, fashioned into a chest, brought to an island, and lost in the ocean, where at last, polished by the waves, it's discovered--by the girl. In contrast to the watercolors of his Journey series, Becker uses digitally manipulated pastel strokes to give his spreads a thick, supersaturated feel. Yet, as in his previous work, the satisfaction flows from enchanting views of action that unfolds in fanciful scenes that range across time and cultures. Remnants of ancient history, readers will realize, may lie very close at hand, and, Becker suggests, perhaps nothing is ever truly lost. Ages 5-9. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (May)

K-Gr 3--This wordless story begins with a framed image of a girl embracing her dog. In the next spread, she gathers flowers for its burial. Subsequent readings reveal the foreshadowing in these opening compositions. The title's golden hue--echoed in the flowers, necklaces worn by the girl and her father, and more--is the color to follow. After the protagonist tosses a stone across the water during the family's subsequent vacation, the narrative hurtles into a prehistoric meteor shower (or the girl's imagination) yielding veins of gold deep in the earth. Digital paintings presented in sequential panels and full-bleed spreads follow the pilfering and transformation of this particular mineral sample. The parade of civilizations rising and falling into ruin allows Becker to depict a range of architectural styles and costumes, creating the sort of arresting panoramas introduced in the "Journey" trilogy. Here, though, browns and grays comprise the palette of the past; the scenes are infused with more sfumato, as if seen through the mists of time before believably bringing the action back to the present day. VERDICT Combining a sensitive story line with high adventure and dramatic settings, this will inspire a variety of readers to envision histories of their own found objects.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library