VIVALDI

A cat and a composer create an escape for a young bullied girl.

Tyra dreads school—not because she’s a poor student but because she is ostracized by the other kids. She never speaks at school, only inside her house. But when she’s alone with Vivaldi, her adopted kitten, or with Grandma listening to the music of the composer Vivaldi, or even playing the piano, then Tyra comes alive. The complex, contradictory emotions and nature-evoking sounds in Vivaldi’s music allow her to fly away, into the music. Tyra’s internal life is conveyed in a linear set of loose third-person vignettes, as if each page or two is a textual and visual poem, a bite-sized insight. The text, translated from the original Norwegian, is lyrical, at times gently humorous and at others poignant, yet ultimately life-affirming. Strong lines and bold shapes in a striking array of muted colors create the groundwork for compelling illustrations filled with symbolism, such as the giant eyes that float around a shrinking Tyra sitting at her classroom desk. Eventually, Tyra’s classmate alerts adults to her situation, and the ending leaves Tyra connecting with the school psychologist through her love of her cat. Created by an award-winning author-and-illustrator duo, this long-format picture book with a compact trim is a shorter, more visual read-alike for R.J. Palacio’s Wonder (2012) and other books about kindness and compassion. Tyra is depicted with beige skin and black hair.

This quiet, contemplative story explores the beautiful, complex internal lives of children.