This is the wonderful, quirky story by Eric Sanvoisin of a young boy whose father owns a bookstore. Our nameless protagonist hates books, but has to work in the bookstore, spying on customers and watching for shoplifters. This is torture until he sees a strange-looking man using a straw to suck the ink out of books. The adventure begins. The Ink Drinker is a slim book, with great illustrations. I loved it for its quirky, thoroughly unique (hallelujah) story. Those who want more can check out sequels: A Straw for Two, Little Red Ink Drinker, and The City of Ink Drinkers. Here's a review of two of these titles from CM Magazine.
As soon as I saw the illustrations, I wondered if this was a European book. Sure enough it was originally published in France. I'm not sure what it is about the illustrations that made me think that, but there are slighly offbeat and definitely not "cutesy." Reminds me somewhat of the wonderful illustrations Stephane Jorisch did for Jabberwocky, part of Kids Can Press's Visions in Poetry series. All of the art in this series is fabulous.
1 comment:
I picked this up as an adult reader and was charmed by its subversiveness!
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