The Boy, the Father, and the Bear

K-Gr 3–A mysterious, pensive saga unfolds in Gustavsson’s poignant story of loss and transformation, told over four parts. A boy’s idyllic rural existence is interrupted when his father begins to age and finally transforms into a tree. A cataclysmic flood soon covers the land, changing the boy’s life forever. Gustavsson relates the tale simply and matter-of-factly, never indulging in the grief and loneliness of the scenario, but instead suffusing the atmosphere with a gentle wonder. The text is pregnant with meaning, each word choice contributing to a meditative symbolism. Ordinary life scenarios are refracted as physical objects and forces of ­nature: death as a tree, ­sorrow as an ocean, danger and safety as a house destroyed and rebuilt. Prior to his ­metamorphosis, the ­father warns the boy about bears in the forest and sharks in the sea. These two elements later serve as critical turning points in the story, as a bear ultimately becomes the boy’s new companion and a shark saves both their lives when they find themselves underwater. By ­allowing the boy to connect with the objects of his father’s fears, ­Gustavsson explores the universal phenomenon of growing up and finding complexities that parents may have obscured or denied in our youth. The characters have no specific race; the digital color of the monochrome pencil art shifts over the four sections, from green to purple to blue to brown. The naive style of the images helps readers see the world through the boy’s innocent eyes, and that innocence, ­happily, is preserved at the story’s conclusion. ­