Among books dedicated to encouraging children to explore the wonders of the world, Tereza Sediva's Mole in a Black & White Hole distinguishes itself with its bravura art. Also setting the title apart: there's probably no other picture book with the same theme in which the case for adventure is made by a turnip.
Mole lives under the ground, and he likes it that way: "It was dark and it was damp but it was his home." He has built-in company in the form of "a bright pink chandelier"--actually, a turnip that grows through Mole's ceiling. The turnip/chandelier's color--a rarity in Mole's black-and-white world--is enough to make him wonder "if there might be more out there if he looked." But Mole is scared to leave his home, so it's up to the turnip to convince him to peek outside. Mole is a hard sell, though. It's only when his pink friend goes missing, which creates a hole in Mole's ceiling, that he is forced literally to see the light.
Mole in a Black & White Hole succeeds as both a parable and an art object. The pictures in Czech author/illustrator Sediva's debut abound with mottled surfaces and clearly defined edges, calling to mind natty woodcuts. Nearly every page is a stunner, whether it shows Mole's color-deficient home or the color-decked glory of outdoor sights. Aqua, lime, mustard and reddish pink dominate the palette, and their interplay and overlap can transform even a garment hanging on a clothesline into something worthy of being framed. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author