Red Head & White Horse

8/14/2018

Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a a Horse
by Marcy Campbell ill Corinna Luyken

I have one simple request: Dial Books should include a box of tissues with every copy of this book. Seriously. Not one copy of Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse should leave the warehouse without providing plenty of tissues for the reader.

Meet Chloe, the no-nonsense girl who knows what she knows, sees what she sees. When the strange boy in her class tells her he has a horse, she is doubtful. All facts seem to disprove his declaration. She uses logic and evidence to figure out that this cannot be true.

Conclusion: Adrian is lying! She is sure of this. She tells her classmates, confides in her mother, even confronts Adrian with the evidence: Adrian does not, in fact, own a horse.
When she persists in arguing the point, mother decides that it is time to take a walk. She walks with her daughter to the neighborhood where Adrian lives. With fresh eyes and new insight our little protagonist comes to a stunning conclusion. What Adrian possesses is an incredible imagination.

As a child I was fascinated with Eleanor Estes The Hundred Dresses. I remember sitting spellbound, listening to my teacher read this story of the immigrant girl with only one dress who is mercilessly bullied by her classmates. The feeling I had on hearing that story has never left my heart. Similarly, Marcy Campbell's picture book has the potential to touch the hearts of children in a profound way.

Corinna Luyken brings her signature style to the pages. Figures are lean and rendered with sparse deliberate lines. Facial expressions are exquisitely captured with a minimum of marks. Careful attention to structure and shapes express motion in a gentle flowing manner.
Use of color plays an important part. The color pallet is mainly muted lavenders and various shades of green. The one striking color is the brilliant red of Adrian's hair and striped shirt. This particular shade of red echoes in the contents of his messy desk and in his own backyard. Adrian owns that red. It is all his. His alone.

Adrian Simcox is a classic story of understanding the unique qualities found in others.