Review - Draw the Line

Draw the Line
by Kathryn Otoshi
Date: 2017
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

When two boys draw their own lines and realize they can connect them together--magic happens!

But a misstep causes their lines to get crossed.

Push! Pull! Tug! Yank!
Soon their line unravels into an angry tug-of-war.

With a growing rift between them, will the boys ever find a way to come together again?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

It amazes me sometimes how much of a story can be written without a single word. This adorable book tells the story of two little boys whose playtime turns into an argument. The boys themselves are drawn nicely enough, but what really made the illustrations for me was the abstract watercolour in the backgrounds. It perfectly captures the moods of the boys as they work their way through playfulness, annoyance, anger, and eventually reconciliation.

The simple concept of a drawn line is used to perfection. It works better here than it did in another wordless picture book I read recently called Lines by Suzy Lee. I had much more of an emotional investment in Draw the Line, perhaps because there was an actual story here.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: n/a
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5