Aska's Animals

Linda Perry is a senior policy analyst at the Ontario Ministry of
Colleges and Universities.

This book for young readers tells of the imaginary origins of real
animals. Aska’s wonderful paintings portray the fantastical creation
of such animals as the zebra—rising like water music from a floating
piano. The polar bear, for example, falls from thunderclouds onto
icebergs, to be calved off into the sea: “In bright flurries they fell
/ glittering from the sky / Onto mountain tops, where / they gathered
and grew / Then, huge and unstoppable / as an avalanche, / They roared
down the mountains.” Clearly, for young readers, this is a read-to
rather than a read-myself book.

The book is beautifully produced, with 14 full-page colored
illustrations depicting the mystical beauty typical of Aska’s work.
The poetry conveys the origins of Aska’s animals with a powerful
simplicity, and the author and illustrator have been well matched in
creating this child’s poetry gallery.