Take the Big Picture

Barbara Lokach was a social worker and freelance writer based in Toronto.

James Reaney, English professor at the University of Western Ontario, is also a poet, playwright and novelist for both adults and children. Take the Big Picture concerns the adventures and misadventures of an unusual family, the Delahays and their six children — two girls and four boys, three of them triplets.

Fired from his job at the University, Mr. Delahay takes his children to British Columbia for the year where they have adventures with Sasquatches, and a mean carwash owner named Buck. When they return to Ontario, they contend with such experiences as a house that falls into the river, a grandmother who hires ex-convicts, and the continued antics of the “terrible three.”

Though this book is basically quite creative with an interesting use of humor, its overall presentation comes across as artificial and plodding. Perhaps this effect is partially a result of “so many different things in the same show.” For example, in addition to a story within a story, there are also the author’s opinions about such (timely) subjects as nutrition, animal rights, and the environment.

A young child might lack the attention span to follow this book to its conclusion, whereas someone older might find the characters or plot too contrived. Perhaps this story would have given more pleasure read aloud.