Overview
A haunting, stunningly illustrated story of loss, hope, and the power of music from multi-award winners David Almond and Levi Pinfold. Kielder Water is a wild and beautiful place, rich in folk music and legend. Years ago, before a great dam was built to fill the valley with water, there were farms and homesteads in that valley and musicians who livened their rooms with song. After the village was abandoned and before the waters rushed in, a father and daughter returned there. The girl began to play her fiddle, bringing her tune to one empty house after another -- for this was the last time that music would be heard in that place. With exquisite artwork by Levi Pinfold, David Almond's lyrical narrative -- inspired by a true tale -- pays homage to his friends Mike and Kathryn Tickell and all the musicians of Northumberland, to show that music is ancient and unstoppable, and that dams and lakes cannot overwhelm it.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780763695972
- ISBN-10: 0763695971
- Publisher: Candlewick Studio
- Publish Date: September 2018
- Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.1 x 0.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.05 pounds
- Page Count: 32
- Reading Level: Ages 4-8
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A gorgeous elegy
Award-winning author David Almold’s evocative and expressive new picture book, The Dam, tells the story of a father and daughter’s last visit to their valley community before the arrival of the newly constructed dam’s rising waters. The duo brings forth twirling, ghostly images from the past—supplied by Levi Pinfold—as they play violin and sing in each abandoned house. As remembered souls and memories drift away, the pair leaves the houses ringing with song.
Almond sets the mood with short, almost curt sentences, creating austere poetry rife with repetition. He doesn’t linger on descriptions, instead allowing the illustrations and the reader’s imagination to flesh out the story.
Pinfold poignantly illustrates this true story of England’s Kielder Dam valley and creates his own visual opus with broad, sweeping hills and hovering fog—rendered in muted colors—that foreshadow the coming loss. With incredible detail, Pinfold also gives young readers an intimate portrayal of the various creatures that made their homes in the valley with his sepia-toned portraits.
Perhaps the most extraordinarily lovely and melancholy picture book published this year, The Dam will linger in readers’ minds. But what sticks with you after the book is closed is not desolation and defeat; it’s blue water and open skies, exuberant children, dancing stars and, of course, music.
This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
A gorgeous elegy
Award-winning author David Almold’s evocative and expressive new picture book, The Dam, tells the story of a father and daughter’s last visit to their valley community before the arrival of the newly constructed dam’s rising waters. The duo brings forth twirling, ghostly images from the past—supplied by Levi Pinfold—as they play violin and sing in each abandoned house. As remembered souls and memories drift away, the pair leaves the houses ringing with song.
Almond sets the mood with short, almost curt sentences, creating austere poetry rife with repetition. He doesn’t linger on descriptions, instead allowing the illustrations and the reader’s imagination to flesh out the story.
Pinfold poignantly illustrates this true story of England’s Kielder Dam valley and creates his own visual opus with broad, sweeping hills and hovering fog—rendered in muted colors—that foreshadow the coming loss. With incredible detail, Pinfold also gives young readers an intimate portrayal of the various creatures that made their homes in the valley with his sepia-toned portraits.
Perhaps the most extraordinarily lovely and melancholy picture book published this year, The Dam will linger in readers’ minds. But what sticks with you after the book is closed is not desolation and defeat; it’s blue water and open skies, exuberant children, dancing stars and, of course, music.
This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.