The Adventures of a Nose

ISBN: 0763616745

Author: Schwarz, Viviane

Condition: Used

Product DescriptionA brilliantly original picture book about seeking acceptance offers a cleverly hidden image on every page.Meet the Nose, a simple fellow who just wants to belong. Its easy enough for the Nose to stick out, but will he ever be able to fit in? The Noses search for a place where he can be happy sends him wandering high and low, far and wide, until he makes a remarkable and reassuring discovery.First-time author Viviane Schwarz and first-time illustrator Joel Stewart have created a world both unusual and familiar - a world where theres a special place for everyone, right under our noses.From Publishers WeeklyMagritte, in a whimsical mood, might have done these charming paintings of a disembodied nose who seeks "a place where I can fit in, and stick out." The Nose, a pale and fleshy triangle, stands upright on two slim legs (one from each nostril) that wear tasteful gray flannel pants and brown dress shoes. Collages of maps, menus and rail tickets suggest how far the restless Nose roves in search of his ideal spot; in delicate pencil sketches and squarish color illustrations, the Nose poses in green landscapes and on street corners. This tale from a first-time author-illustrator team gets the tone just right. Schwarz's understated text conveys alienation; the Nose yearns for a sense of belonging. Meanwhile, Stewart's ingenious portraits show that everywhere the Nose goes, he unwittingly creates the illusion of a face. While enjoying a good book at the library (" `This one smells of ink, and this one smells of dust,' he thinks"), the Nose sits between reading lamps that resemble green-lidded eyes; the open pages on his lap suggest a white mustache, ? la Arcimboldo. When the Nose performs a "beautiful sneezing dance," symmetrical theater curtains recall a red mask; when he wanders through a market, two orange squash simulate eyes and a broad red sombrero indicates lips. In the end, the Nose reclines on a daybed (the bulging headrest forms a melancholy brow ridge) and a therapist reassures him, "Don't you see? The whole world fits perfectly around you... because you are a Nose!" Thanks to the surreal, captivating images, the diagnosis is as plain as, well, you know. Ages 6-up.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalKindergarten-Grade 3-This is the bizarre story of a nose's quest for belonging. After searching the world over for a spot where he can both "fit in, and stick out," the Nose visits a doctor and learns that the whole world fits perfectly around him. His place is always in the middle, sticking out. Quirky mixed-media illustrations are expertly rendered and are in keeping with the story, but the concept-that of searching for a sense of place that is often right under our noses-is adult, making the book an imperfect fit for the picture-book crowd.Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NYCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistAges 4-8. Here's a Kafka-esque little tale featuring a nose on the lookout for happiness and with a longing to fit in. His travels take him to all sorts of places: a restaurant ("this is a place for mouths"); on stage as a dancing nose (too much attention); up mountains; and down in the sea. Finally, he winds up on a shrink's couch, where he learns that the world fits around him. He celebrates at a party where he "fits in by sticking out." The story sails along until the somewhat convoluted ending. But throughout, the art is memorable, strange, and witty as the nose develops a distinctive personality of its own. Set against cityscapes and rural backgrounds, the nose sometimes leans into a position that places him in the center of what almost appears to be two eyes and a mouth, turning a simple nose into a face. The imaginative, mixed-media art also uses pencil drawings on graph paper and map collages to vary the effect. Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the Au