Red Rock: A Graphic Fable

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Red Rock is, in fact, a picture book with a moral, not a graphic tale.

Old Beaver is admiring his handiwork from his vantage point opposite
the weird red rock that sits at the top of a cliff when he overhears
plans to develop “his” valley and build a luxury resort. Despite
their best efforts, Old Beaver and his friends are unable to stop the
destruction of their homes.

All seems lost until “a little girl in the city” makes a wish upon
a star. That night, zapped by the red rock, Old Beaver is transformed
into a superhero. With his magical power he makes the evil developer see
the error of his ways, changing the man’s teeth to read “GREEN”
instead of “GREED.” The destruction stops and by morning the forest
is restored to its original beauty and tranquility.

To distinguish it from the rest of the story, which is illustrated in
colourful single- and double-page spreads, the dream sequence, drawn in
black on tan, is a wordless comic inserted in the middle of the book.
While this unusual technique adds interest, the writing seems stilted
and the author’s approach to the issue of habitat destruction tends to
be rather heavy-handed. There are other books that get the message out
just as effectively and much more subtly. Recommended with reservations.