An Island in the Soup

Lorraine Douglas is the youth services co-ordinator at the Winnipeg
Public Library.

It’s dinnertime, and Victor is called in to eat. What he faces is a
bowl of strange fish soup. Embarking on an unusual adventure, Victor
jumps into the bowl and, while getting rained on by enormous peas and
carrots, rows across a cheesy swamp toward an island he spots. After he
arrives at the island, he encounters a fearsome pepper dragon. Fleeing
from it, Victor takes refuge in a nearby castle, but still finds himself
in danger. The castle is the home of Bad Fairy Zoop, and in no time Zoop
captures him. Victor calls out for help. His mom, donning her conical
funnel hat (with streaming dish towel), comes to the rescue, vanquishing
Zoop. Victor and his mom celebrate with two pieces of chocolate cake
they find in the castle’s beautiful garden. Upon returning home,
Victor finds his now-cool soup delicious.

Mireille Levert’s illustrations set the magical tone for the story.
One feels like one is looking into a medieval world with a flattened
perspective. Rich hues of opaque red, green, and blue give the viewer a
cosy feeling until one notices the malevolent creatures lurking, like
the black dog with sharp fangs at the edge of the island’s celery
forest. She repeats several motifs, like the curls of steam from the
soup bowl that look like question marks, which are later echoed in the
curl of the tiger’s tale. Details like these—and the hairy foot in
the celery forest—let the reader know that things are not what they
seem to be. Half-circle illustrations alternate with full-page
illustrations, giving a nice rhythm to the story through page design.
Recommended.