Isle of Shadows

 

 

Between the Swamp of Longing and the Waterfall of Bygone Days, there is an unnamed forest. In this forest, there is a dream thicket, home to a little kangaroo doctor. The kangaroo doctor specializes in treating one particular ailment in animals: "nightmares." Like a marsupial Freud, he listens to the various nocturnal disturbances of animals. He is skilled in analysis and treatment, knowing how to capture all sorts of rustling, gooey, or squeaking nightmares. The little kangaroo doctor has never failed, until the thylacine arrives with his unusual dream...

 

 

　　▸ Author Davide Calì deeply understands how to balance the fun and seriousness of a story. He crafts an enchanting journey through Australian wildlife, which then turns into a sunken Noah's Ark. He brings extinct species back to life in the story, transforming it into an undulating ecological elegy. The elusive dream elements make readers more keenly aware that species extinction is not an illusion, but a verifiable fact. Although the story implies human responsibility, humans are not mentioned until their slight appearance in the final quote.

 

 

　　▸ The several skilled painting styles in the book are all handled by the illustrator Claudia Palmarucci. Her artistic prowess is both profound and extensive, adept at fluidly switching between styles and techniques. In this book, she seamlessly transitions between classical encyclopedic scientific illustrations, 19th-century copperplate engravings, explorer-like outdoor sketches, meticulously precise close-up realism, and Italian Renaissance and Netherlandish painting styles.

 

　　▸ Her creations often have clear art historical references, adding rich layers to the picture book. Readers can appreciate them instinctively, intuitively, and non-contextually, enjoying the visual narrative without noticing the references; advanced readers can appreciate them non-instinctively, analytically, and contextually, recognizing her flexible touch in blending classics.

 

　　● About the Thylacine: Also known as the Tasmanian tiger, a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia. The last captured thylacine died in 1936.

 

　　● "Westerners seem to have a characteristic that defies rational understanding, namely, valuing what is lost far more than what exists. Otherwise, the peculiar charm of the extinct thylacine to this day cannot be explained." — "The Book of Lost Things"