Zigzag

A veritable feast for word connoisseurs.

Paschkis (The Barking Ballad) plays with language and image in this sensory fantasy starring a word-swallowing alligator. ZigZag, rendered with a delicate ink filigree and calligraphically hatched scales, experiences words synesthetically: "Swivel was slippery and slightly sour," while "Bulb had a thick, purple taste." Though he's previously partaken of vowel multiples, trouble arises when ZigZag encounters, and impulsively swallows, tambourine, "and all of the vowels--a, e, i, o, u--with it." The protagonist's linguistic world is suddenly reduced to consonants ("A tasteless, dull tmbrn was all that remained in his mouth"), and ZigZag must reassemble the vowels in order to reconstitute their use. Collecting an a from the "A-a-a-a-ah" his grandmother utters when he scratches her back, and an e from a rat's "Squ-e-e-e-e-k," he takes pleasure as words become available to him again ("He ate a tart apple and beamed"). Gracefully wrought flowers and fruit give each image the feel of a stately tableau in this perception-oriented picture book exploration of words. An author's note concludes. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"This cheery story about delighting in words and wordplay will appeal to readers who enjoy increasing their vocabularies and testing the sounds and feel of new terms... Paschkis incorporates numerous [words] in her illustrations... these gambol gleefully throughout her colorful, lively artwork featuring all-animal characters and intricate patterns. A veritable feast for word connoisseurs." —Kirkus Reviews

"Julie Paschkis uses her distinctive style of colorful folk art to confect a book of wordplay with ZigZag. The eponymous main character is an alligator with a strongly developed sense of the pleasure to be had from savoring zestful words... Young readers [are sure to] appreciate both Zigzag's enjoyment of words and his dismay when, by accident, he begins to encounter them in truncated form. Here's how it happens: When ZigZag swallows the word 'tambourine, ' he also swallows every non-consonant in the alphabet. 'All of the vowels were gone, ' we read. 'No vowels? Seriously? Srsly. N vwls.' ... Eventually everything is put humorously to rights—ZigZag finds that he can collect vowels from friends and family—but not before young readers are given a new respect for the humble vowels that make words possible." —Wall Street Journal

★ "This clever book is filled with words... The wonderful illustrations, in pen and ink, are so detailed, with texture that is filled with lines going every way imaginable, shading, an abundance of color, and a lot of movement. There is a classic feel, an Eastern European flavor not unlike a Ukrainian easter egg making it a feast for the eyes, and the abundance of sounds are just fun to read aloud. Librarians should put this on the top of 'to read' piles: it is very imaginative and attractive." —Katrina Yurenka, Youth Services Book Review

"Paschkis plays with language and image in this sensory fantasy starring a word-swallowing alligator. ZigZag, rendered with a delicate ink filigree and calligraphically hatched scales, experiences words synesthetically... Gracefully wrought flowers and fruit give each image the feel of a stately tableau in this perception-oriented picture book exploration of words." —Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR THE WORDY BOOK, THE COMPANION VOLUME TO ZIGZAG

"Some children's books feel like classics the first time one encounters them. It's not hard to imagine young poets embracingThe Wordy Bookas warmly as new generations keep embracing The Little Prince."―Naomi Shihab Nye, for the New York Times

★ A Publishers Weekly High-Concept Picture Book for Children
★ Selected for 2021 Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition
★ Kirkus starred review