One Too Many

Ian Wylie Toal is a freelance science writer living in Martindale,
Ontario.

This picture book concerns a boy who wishes there were someone around
just like him. His wish comes true when his exact duplicate rises out of
a pool. Joy is fleeting, however, as things don’t work out as planned
and the boys must go on a mystical journey to undo the wish and reunite
them as one.

Although it may appeal to some people, I really did not like this book.
The story is extremely sketchy. No real reasons are given as to why the
boys so rapidly come to dislike each other (this transformation should
have been the core of the story). Instead, the central theme becomes the
journey they must take to undo the wish. Directed by a magic woman, the
boys take a dangerous trip into a cave, unravel the obscure clues, and
(verbally) defeat the two-headed giant at the end of the trip. This
action reunites the two, and the story ends. The dangers are insipid,
the outcome is predictable, and the lesson learned is negligible.

The pencil illustrations are lavish and dramatic, but they have a
benign feel about them that I found slightly irritating. The pictures
seem a compilation of mythic/magic moments throughout history. As a
picture book aimed at young children, One Too Many is acceptable at
best. Not a first-choice purchase.