Review: WHAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING YOU KNOW ABOUT HORSES? by Richard Van Camp

Van Camp, Richard. 1998. What’s the most beautiful thing you know about horses? Ill. by George Littlechild. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press. ISBN 0892391545.

PLOT SUMMARY:
In this colorfully illustrated picture book, the young narrator spends a freezing cold day quizzing his family and friends on what they think is the most beautiful thing about horses.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The unsophisticated wonderings of the text created by Van Camp is paired nicely with the childlike illustrations by Littlechild. The narrator cheerfully explains why he is very familiar and comfortable with dogs, but finds horses to be a completely foreign and unknown creature. Although the illustrations never depict the narrator, the excitement of the text enables the reader to easily imagine the energetic, inquisitive child hounding his (or her) family with questions. What the vibrantly colored illustrations accomplish is to show the reader what the narrator envisions while pondering the mysterious horses.

Several cultural markers which lend a sense of authenticity can be found in this book. A few words in the Cree and Dogrib languages make their way into the story. The narrator notes that in both languages, the words for “horse” translate to “big dog.” One interesting cultural aspect of the book is found in the introduction when the narrator states, “I am half Indian and I am half white. The good news about all this is I could be the cowboy or the Indian when we used to play Guns.” The accompanying illustration depicts a man split in half as a cowboy and an Indian. It makes one wonder if he would have felt restricted to only playing the Indian if he was not half-white and vice versa.

REVIEWS:
School Library Journal: “The author engages in a remarkable free flow of musings, questions, and answers. His startling narrative style, lively pace, offbeat sense of humor, and refreshing stance give readers a lot to think about… In Littlechild's vibrant, surrealistic illustrations, horses vibrate and prance off the pages, dogs bay or lounge at the center of attention, and distorted figures eye readers. Brash, bold hues enliven the special aspects of each figure, while narrow bands of color along one side contrast with the central image.

CONNECTIONS:
The colorful illustrations and lighthearted text would make this a good choice to include in a preschool story time, especially when paired with other horse-themed books.