CRISTINA PLAYS

A white rabbit enjoys a full day before heading to bed.

Translated from Spanish, Chirif’s tale opens with Cristina sitting down to a rather strange meal: a bowl of soup, two walnuts, and a tangerine so large that it fills the whole table. Each page turn finds the bunny in a new setting: for instance, reclining on a pink sofa in the living room as an enormous teapot looms or dangling from a gigantic flower in a pot outside. Cristina makes simple observations, noticing a caterpillar on one of the flowers and discovering three dog hairs (to be exact) behind the curtains. It’s not until the illustrations zoom out that readers get an entirely new perspective: The bunny protagonist is a toy residing inside a dollhouse as a pale-skinned, dark-haired tot looks on. The youngster picks up the rabbit, and the two whisper and snuggle. As the book concludes, the rabbit tucks the child in with a “Good night, Cristina.” Was Cristina the child or the rabbit? And was the child the one experiencing the day’s events all along? The narrative’s structure is deceptively simple, bringing readers along on a strange yet rewarding ride. What at first seems like a story about a rabbit turns into one about the power of imagination. Like any toy, the rabbit wears the same gentle expression throughout. Ortiz’s sweetly surreal illustrations make expert use of light and shadow and perfectly capture the intimacy of childhood fantasy.

A sweet close-up on the quiet wonder of play.