Burt's Way Home - John Martz - ★★

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AUTHOR: John Martz
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
PUBLICATION DATE: September 13, 2016
RATING: 2 stars.


This was nice but it could have been much better.

Burt is an “intergalactic trans-dimensional time traveller” who is stranded on earth after a cosmic accident damaged his time-and-space travelling device. He is adopted by an older earthling named Lydia. While she does take good care of his physical needs, she seems to miss out on his emotional requirements. All Burt wants is a way to return home to his parents.

The story itself makes for a poignant possibility. And to a certain extent, it delivers on the emotions. Lydia’s haplessness and Burt’s strong sense of ‘hiraeth’ is conveyed clearly. However, this is a picture book that might leave its little readers somewhat bereft of satisfaction because:
1. It doesn’t have a happy ending. Heck, it doesn’t even have a proper ending. It just has a dangling emotional scene at the end.
2. The story is written in a dual style. Lydia’s 1st person thoughts are written on a blue background with a full-page illustration on the other side of the page. Burt’s 1st person pov is written in a graphic comic format, with four story panels on each page. Having both the narratives in first person is confusing because the only clue about the change in narrative is the change in storyboarding. Younger children might get confused with this approach.

The illustrations are in shades of dominant blue with black and white flourishes. The colour palette suits the story. The sketchwork is quite simplistic yet impactful. I liked how Burt was drawn but couldn’t understand why Lydia was portrayed more like a mouse/rat than a lady. Even her neighbour is portrayed as a beaver.(?) Why this decision when the story has them living just as humans do?

Other reviews mention that the story works as a metaphor for the foster care system. This wasn’t obvious to me at all; I was in a literal sci-fi mode and hence missed out on anything allegorical. But if their observation is right, why is the story so melancholy? It will end up depressing children who are in the foster system even more. Surely they deserve more happiness and require more support for their wellbeing.

Overall, I would have loved the story much more if it had tackled the above issues. It had great potential to be an emotionally impactful experience but it ended up as an average read for me.

My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra, and NetGalley for the ARC of “Burt's Way Home”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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