SWEET IMAGES OF FEAR (review)

Who would be scared “when the Elephant walks”? Through the pages of this story by Keiko Kasza, children barely taller than a table may discover that this enormous creature starts a chain of reactions while simply strolling. Every wild animal runs in fear followed unintentionally by a bigger one. But…who would be scared when the little Mouse scurries?

The huge Elephant of the story walks carelessly when he comes across the busy Bear, who is collecting honey. As soon as the big Bear glimpses the Elephant, he runs away. In his escape he surprises the relaxed Crocodile, who gets scared too and swims for his life. And the chain goes on till the little mouse scurries in terror. Surprisingly, children find that the Elephant gets scared and dashes when he bumps into the smallest animal in the story.

Undoubtedly, colourful and expressive pictures are the core of the tale. The skilful writer and illustrator succeeds in narrating movement through the use of images. In order to achieve this, she builds repetitive sequences in which every animal is scared, runs and scares another one. The transitions are produced smoothly by devoting a whole page to each feeling and reaction. This treatment of the space becomes meaningful since pictures are carefully distributed to convey the impression that the characters are running one after the other.

In addition, Kasza plays with the size of the animals to create a message of vulnerability beyond appearance. At the end of the story, little children realize that no matter how tall and strong you are, anyone could get scared. Even the biggest may be frightened of the smallest.

“When the Elephant walks” presents funny and sweet characters to deal effectively with the idea of fear. It shows that being afraid is a natural feeling. After all, who would not be scared when the little Mouse scurries?

 Mojico, Ana and Trenti, Andrea