Fall Reading 2017 The Blue Pool of Questions

Those looking for cultural diversity in children's books will be glad to discover this title. It is written by "an award-winning Palestinian novelist, poet, and children's book writer." The illustrator "won an Etisalat Award for best illustration for the Palestinian edition" of the book. And the translator is a Palestinian-American photographer. 

All credentials aside, the book tells the story of a man who comes to a city where he doesn't fit in. Everyone thinks he is odd because "He sang strange tunes. Dried flowers fell from his sleeves. Books slept inside his coat like shoes in a closet." The city dwellers are too busy to deal with someone so different, especially with all his questions that gather into a big blue pool in the streets. "They knew everyday answers so well that they had forgotten what questions looked like, and the pool of questions frightened them." Isn't that what most people do? They are so busy with their everyday lives that they forget to sing a song or arrange flowers or ask questions, and when someone else does those things, it is unnerving and makes them uncomfortable. The ending illustration with the man a part of a starry constellation leaves us with the admonition "to ask more questions, throw them into the blue pool, be brave, and dive in."

In a funny twist, I was thinking that the lyrical text reminded me of Naomi Shihab-Nye's writing. When I went to Amazon to post a review, I saw that Naomi was quoted in the editorial review section for the book. She recommends giving "it to all your friends, big and little." Good idea.