Review - Pandora

Pandora
by Victoria Turnbull
Date: 2017
Publisher: Clarion Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Pandora lives alone, in a world of broken things. She makes herself a handsome home, but no one ever comes to visit. Then one day something falls from the sky... a bird with a broken wing.

Little by little, Pandora helps the bird grow stronger. Little by little, the bird helps Pandora feel less lonely. The bird begins to fly again, and always comes back—bringing seeds and flowers and other small gifts. But then one day, it flies away and doesn't return. Pandora is heartbroken.

Until things begin to grow...

Here is a stunningly illustrated celebration of connection and renewal.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

The pictures are cute, and the beginning of the story is sweet as Pandora rescues a little bird and nurses it back to health. But I was pretty underwhelmed by the ending. What? Why? How? I don't get it. If you're okay with just accepting things as they're presented, you might feel differently than I did. But the weak ending kind of makes me think that the whole story was just a vehicle for the illustrations (which, don't get me wrong, are lovely).

With a stronger story and a little more explanation, I think I would've liked this one more than I ultimately did.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.17 out of 5