A ROSE, A BRIDGE, AND A WILD BLACK HORSE

The late Zolotow’s 1964 classic is stylishly updated by her daughter (author Dragonwagon) and illustrator Morstad.

“Guess what I’ll do,” a girl tells her mother. As the mother reclines on a picnic blanket, observing her daughter, the child proposes a range of activities: “I will do all your arithmetic for you.” “I’ll fight anyone you don’t like and win.” “I’ll capture a wild black horse and tame him for you to ride.” “I’ll pick the pinkest rose for you to smell.” The original edition centered on an older brother talking to his younger sister. Changing the characters to a mother and child gives the book a special poignancy, particularly when it ends with, “I’ll leave you a friend to keep you company, while I explore the world.” Morstad’s black-eyed heroines often appear expressionless, as when the girl states, “I’ll build you a bridge that is bigger than any bridge in the world,” and the two stand back-to-back, their faces unsmiling. Yet by and large, there is real affection between these characters. Morstad even incorporates some mixed media, amusingly utilized when the girl breaks whole rocks apart for her mom. The result is a deep and abiding love that still acknowledges that someday the child must depart. Dragonwagon’s afterword ties the book’s mother-daughter connections together further. The characters have paper-white skin.

Themes of familial ties and inevitable separation make for a marvelous reinterpretation of a beloved picture book.