Review

Dematons's 2004 picture book The Yellow Balloon sent children on a wordless global journey; in this follow-up, that same balloon appears to be settling down in the Netherlands eagle-eyed readers can spot it throughout Dematons's busy rural and urban scenes of contemporary Dutch life. As in The Yellow Balloon, quirky oddities await (a witch swoops over the miniature park of Madurodam), and Dematons includes many references to the region's artistic history, including a certain moody-looking redheaded painter seen working in an attic studio. The lovingly detailed paintings go well beyond windmills, although children unfamiliar with the Dutch landscape will need parental help filling in the blanks, since this book is also wordless. Readers seeking text-driven information about the country can find it in 1000 Things About Holland, which is available in a two-book package with this title. Ages 2 up. (Oct.) --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Jesse Goossens (1969) is a writer, journalist and editor at Lemniscaat and the author of Right to Play, Plastic Soup and the YA novel, It's a Wonderful Life.

CHARLOTTE DEMATONS (1957) was born in the Netherlands, went to school in France, and studied art at de Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Art in Amsterdam. Ms. Dematons has made many illustrations for children's books, and received the most prestigious illustration awards. Uniquely talented in picture book art, Charlotte's work has the appearance of an old master, painted with loving care.