A young space explorer discovers the natural beauty of the abandoned Earth, left to grow untamed in this beautifully expressive, wordless picture book.
A pink-haired, round-faced astronaut steps from a small spaceship onto the deserted planet, greeted by swaying grass, a tall daisy, and the bright sun. The young space traveler, who has visited dozens of other worlds, is amazed to locate a viewfinder whose reel of sepia-toned photographs depicts the planet's past. A pseudo-treasure hunt commences in which the explorer sees each of the landmarks captured on the tiny transparent squares now overrun by odd mushrooms.
Christine D.U. Chung's boundlessly imaginative drawings take on a surreal quality with Salwa Majoka's dreamlike use of color and light. The Toronto-based artists nestle a cosmic escape in an earthly setting. Their protagonist meets a shy rat, rambunctious monkeys, and a mother and baby giraffe, all with aquamarine fungi sprouting from their fur. Viewfinder is a gorgeous, digitally sketched and painted picture book debut that welcomes the deeply curious to piece together a surprising and touching tale of what it means to find home. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer